Clean lines in Killiney

A GARAGE in which to park the Tesla may not be top of the list of requirements for house-hunters in the market for a modernist mansion inspired by the work of Mies van der Rohe, but it’s nice for them to know that it’s there should they ever need it.

Hendre, in Killiney, has been designed to maximise the natural light reflecting up the hill from Killiney Bay below and features fullheight glass walls and windows. The house sits on the site of what was Lt Col E Watson’s 1906 estate, but was completely rebuilt in 2007 by architects Smith and Kennedy and renovated again in 2014.

With 637sqm of living space, the brief to the architects was that the house encompasses communal and private spaces for both work and leisure, so it can function as both a family and corporate space. The living space is arranged over three floors that cascade down the wooded site, with views out to the sea from all the principal rooms. At garden level, there are four en-suite bedrooms, as well as a large home cinema, office with double-desk space, private conference room, gym, and spa bathroom with sauna and steam room. The mezzanine floor is the main living space — there is a magnificent kitchen — and connects with a 118sqm entertaining terrace outside, while the first floor is taken up with the twobedroom master suite.

Hendre stands on gardens of just over an acre, planted with a selection of minimalist, contemporary and low-maintenance rockerystyle gardens, specimen-grade mature trees, herbaceous borders, and grass areas.