Try it on for size: could you live the showhouse life? What would it be like to live the dream life in a new home and to stay overnight in Glendale, where the designer’s inspiration comes from the imaginary occupants and their lifestyles . Gemma Tipton
W hen designer Eily Roe is creating her showhouse schemes, she starts by dreaming up characters. “I see the house, the location and the potential buyer, and I give them a personality. They nearly have names in my head.” We’re sitting in the grey-shaded kitchen of number 1 Glendale, just on the outskirts of Delgany, drinking wine and assessing the house’s strong points. I have been invited for a sleepover, which makes a certain sort of sense, as how can you really tell what a house is like until you’ve woken up in it? Roe, and Dave Kelly, who works for the Wood Group, a family-run company building homes for three generations, point out the finishes, little touches and attention to detail that they say characterise Wood Group homes. “Women buy with their emotions,” says Roe. “They walk in, and if it feels right, they go with that. Men for the most part acquiesce. If you get the gadgets right, they’re happy too.” Number 1 is a very nice house indeed, and I agree that the limestone fireplace in the livingroom is well done, and that the coving is clearly classy. I’m not so sure about the low-hanging pictures of fruit, or the silvered kidney-shaped ornament that turns out to be a seashell. But they are pretty much standard showhouse stock, where it strikes me the brief must call for a tricky mix of witty, generic and inoffensive.
Nevertheless, I’m still thinking of the imaginary family, and when my friend joins me at the house, prior to a very tasty meal at The Hungry Monk in nearby Greystones, we have another glass of wine and wonder some more. The table at Glendale has been laid for dinner for eight. There’s champagne and strawberries in the fridge, and four flutes set out on the counter top. There are also scented candles by local company Brooke and Shoals everywhere. Before we go out, it will take us a certain amount of time to track them all down and extinguish them. I don’t like the thought of setting fire to the showhouse, not when everything’s been finished so beautifully. “It’s like they were suddenly called away,” my friend says. “Maybe he discovered she was on Ashley Madison, ” I muse, warming to the theme. “Just before dinner. And they couldn’t go through with it. Even though this was the night he was going to cement his campaign for presidency of Greystones bowling club.” “No, tennis. They’re definitely tennis types.” “I think they’ll stay together though. Their son loves his bedroom so much.” I can’t blame the imaginary son; his large bedroom on the third floor has great views, an en suite, and a hangout area. If this was my house, I’d have this as the master bedroom, but Roe tells me most parents like to sleep on the same floor as their younger children. So getting into the spirit of it, I opt for the first floor room, also en suite, and also decked out in a symphony of greys. “Are all your showhouses grey?” I ask. “No, this is the first, I’ve never used it before, ” she says. Sleeping over, I notice more touches: the plug sockets and light switches have all been very thoughtfully placed. It’s lovely to wake up to the sound of distant church bells, and it’s extremely well insulated and beautifully silent and calm. Glendale is a development of just eight four-bedroom detached houses by the Wood Group. Three are still available to buy, with Sherry FitzGerald for €625,000. But don’t despair if they’re all suddenly snapped up. A new Wood Group scheme, Seagreen, launches nearby this week. There’ll be 180 three, four and five-bedroom houses, starting at €400,000, and if Glendale is anything to go by, sensitive design and good quality are guaranteed. So, in the end, how did I sleep? Brilliantly.