A double-fronted residence that is set well back from the road, number 173 Rathgar Road is on the Rathmines side of the street. It was renovated when its current owners, who have lived here for 20 years, returned from the US.
They were drawn to its fine period features, lofty ceiling heights and practical layout. There are three rooms at entrance level, two square rooms to the left of the Portuguese limestone floored hall, and a large dual-aspect drawingroom that runs the depth of the property. The smaller rooms are used as home offices.
A talking point feature of the front room is its swaggy drapes, which the owner describes as her “presidential” curtains. These are said to have came out of the office of former presidential candidate, Seán Gallagher’s, according to the owner’s then-decorator, Gwen Kenny.
The larger room to the rear is a library and a place some of the children come to read and this is part of its appeal. There are rooms enough here for every member of the family to inhabit.
At garden level there are two principal rooms, each extending from front to back. Cooks will love the kitchen where there is a gas-fired Aga and a separate six-burner Smeg range cooker. The space has coffered ceilings that are just over 2.4 metres at their highest point, and the exposed granite arches in the eat-in part have been uplit to dramatic effect.
From here, doors open out to the garden, one of the property’s real draws, for it is as wide as it is long. Bounded by granite walls and mature trees punctuating its lawn and flagstone paving, it gets sun in different spots all through the day. In the evening there is an electric-powered awning that encloses the patio with infra-red heaters to create a warm, outdoor room.
The TV room is also light-filled, but this is a room where the family likes to congregate watching films on the 72-inch TV screen which the owner says gives a full cinema effect.
The house also has a good-sized, dual-aspect utility with space to set up clothes-horses on the days you need indoor drying, and with separate garden access.
On the first floor there are four good-sized double bedrooms. The main bedroom has a large en suite with separate shower and bath.
Extending to about 278sq m/3,000sq ft, the BER exempt property is seeking €1.795 million through agent SherryFitzGerald.
