Stylish home offers magnificent views and room to grow

The current owners of Greaghlone - a five-bedroom detached family home - didn't know East Morton at all, but were in the village to look at a new home. “We just saw the For Sale sign for Greaghlone.

"You have to see the house to appreciate it, as although we had seen the details they didn't do the house justice. We liked the sweeping driveway, the private setting and lovely views.

"Once seen, we put in an offer and it was accepted straight away."

That was 13 years ago when their son was two and their daughter four. "It has been a lovely family home for them to grow up in.”

The house was built in the 1930s and was once owned by the Jowett family - of motor manufacturing fame.

"We were told an Irish man built the house and named it after an Irish lake just outside Dublin called Greaghlone, which he loved."

In later days the house was owned for several years by a member of the famous dambusters team, who, in May 1943 used 'bouncing bombs' to destroy German dams.

The owners have carried out a lot of work including decorating the whole house, laying new carpets and wood floors, while at the same time being careful to maintain original features such as a stone fireplace, original oak doors and window frames.

"We lifted the patterned carpets and found a beautiful original wood floor in the lounge."

They also extended to include a bedroom, dressing room and en-suite over the garage, extended the children's rooms to make four double bedrooms and a fifth bedroom or office. A new handmade oak kitchen was installed, as were two new bathrooms.

The rather deceptive nature of this property certainly offers versatile and flexible family living accommodation with a wealth of character features including stone mullion leaded win-dows together with the modern conveniences of partial uPVC double glazing, gas-fired central heating and fitted alarm system.

Very much the heart of the home, the kitchen is a superb space fitted with a quality range of handmade units with granite work surfaces, two fitted display cabinets, built in fridge, integrated dishwasher, microwave, wine cooler, spot lighting, African-style slate flooring, central work island with wood work surface and a pantry.

Outside, the property is complemented by a superb plot with an electronically-controlled gate, large driveway extending to the rear of the property, double garage, beautifully presented landscaped gardens to the front and rear and paddock to the side of the property.

When the owners moved in, the grounds were overgrown but were quickly landscaped to make them very easy to maintain. "We have fun on the sit-on mower for the paddock. We also have a super greenhouse and enjoy eating home-grown vegetables."

Today the gardens are beautifully presented at the front and back and there is also a paddock to the side.

Although they couldn't choose which rooms in their home were their favourites, they agreed that there was one thing in the garden gave them great pleasure.

"There is the most beautiful Magnolia tree, which when it blooms once a year is very special.

"We love sitting on the large south-facing patio that runs the length of the house, which is great for garden parties or just to sunbathe. We also love to sit out and have our breakfast in summer.

"This has been a great family home for children to grow up in. Private with lots of space for children to play. It's also within walking distance to the excellent East Morton Primary School and their friends in the village, so the best of both worlds.