I stayed overnight in a showhouse and these were my favourite features

On Saturday night I was invited to try out a showhouse in Greystones.

I'm house hunting at the moment so I was interested to see what these houses had to offer but I was particularly interested in how they were using their space. The house my family and I stayed in was roughly the size of house we would be looking to buy ourselves so I was keen to see how they optimized the space. The property was a four bedroom semi-detached house in the new SeaGreen Gate estate in Greystones, Wicklow. As well as four bedrooms (two en-suite) the home was comprised of a living room, kitchen/dining area, downstairs toilet, utility room, upstairs family bathroom and back garden. There was also a nice press under the stairs, should Harry Potter come to visit. Some of the small features that I really thought were clever and helped create a stylish vibe while still remaining functional were the light fittings, shelving and safety blind cords which I noticed straight away having two small children. Two rooms in the house were my personal favourites and utilised the space they had brilliantly and in ways that I hadn't seen in other homes before.

The first was the kitchen/dining area.

The apartment that I currently live in at the moment has a tiny kitchen and you really can't have more than one person in it at a time. That's why when it comes to house hunting my one big thing I have to have is a nice kitchen. When I've looked at other houses, L shaped kitchens filled me with dread because they are often squashed and very hard to light naturally. This kitchen/dining area was quite the exception as it was extremely well lit and I could really imagine myself spending a lot of time in it. I attended a talk of Dermot Bannon a couple of months ago where he discussed how important a good kitchen is and though while we often refer to the sitting room as the living room it's actually the kitchen that most families 'live in'. I would have to agree with this as I see the sitting room as somewhere to spend the evening while the kitchen is really the heart of the home. In that regard, this home had a great heart. My husband loved that the oven and hob were separate and as he's over 6ft appreciated that the cooker was a nice height off the floor. My favourite part was the little snug as I could see myself sitting there with a cup of tea reading (which a did).

My absolute favourite feature though was in one of the master bedrooms and it's something I've never seen before.

Yes, it's a window that transforms into a balcony. Normal windows will never be enough for me again. This is was the bedroom I slept in during my overnight stay and the sea view was spectacular to wake up to. It was a really warm morning so it was really lovely having this window that opened so wide to let in the sea breeze. We all really enjoyed our overnight stay, I actually had a struggle convincing the kids to leave. It would be so handy if all house viewings came with an overnight stay because you really do get a feel for the property and can tell if it is the right home for you and your family. Prices for properties in the new SeaGreen estate start at €480,000 but are eligible for the help to buy scheme for first-time buyers. If you would like to find out more about this new development you can at the Seagreen Property Greystones website.