The two doors at the base of the front steps of Number 54 Sandford Road in Ranelagh, Dublin 6, are the only indication that this grand, landmark, 19th-century house was subdivided in a previous life. Once inside, there are no traces of the 11 flats that made up the interior when it was advertised for sale for €900,000.
The current owner bought the protected structure in 2015 – for €770,000, according to the Property Price Register – and embarked on a huge project that involved demolishing a modern return, re-establishing landings, repairing and replacing windows, reinstating shutters, rewiring, replumbing, replastering . . . redoing just about everything.
In addition, they built a single-storey extension across the back of the house, with a wide terrace on its roof.
The house is located on a corner, at the end of Sandford Place and the top of Marlborough Road. It is almost directly across from Sandford parish church, with its distinctive entrance, rose window and bell tower, and a stained-glass window depicting St Peter and St Paul, executed in Art Deco style by Harry Clarke in 1927.
It is a busy junction with a pedestrian crossing, and so the entrance from Sandford Road is a pedestrian gate; there is parking for a few cars at the back of the house, accessed through a gate in the granite wall along the Marlborough Road footpath. There is a separate, unconnected mews house between the garden and Marlborough Lane.
Once through the front gate of Number 54, calm descends. A path curves through the lawn, which is bordered by low evergreens, and there is a step down to the garden level. Creamy granite steps lead up to the handsome entrance, with the original fanlight above double front doors with leaded glass panels. The hall is shorter than you might expect, floored in the wide, engineered oak planks that continue throughout. The decorative ceiling plasterwork also features on the arch over the stairs.
To the left is a grand, dual-aspect drawingroom with tall sash windows, a white marble fireplace and delicate cornices and centrepiece. With interiors partly staged by Breeda O’Sullivan, the room feels airy and bright.
Across the hall are two reception rooms connected by glass doors; as in the drawing room, one side is painted slate blue and each room has a white fireplace and a little arched window in the gable wall that is replicated on the floor above.
At the end of the hall, double glass doors open out to the roof terrace, which has artificial grass underfoot and a frosted glass balustrade. Set back from Marlborough Road by a couple of metres, it faces the morning sun.
The first-floor landing is lovely, with a roof light above the stairs, an arched window reinstated at the rear, and a lovely view from the front window across to the church and beyond to the mountains. Off this are three double bedrooms, two of them en suite, and a family bathroom with bath and separate shower. On the top are two attic rooms, one of them used as an office with views to the Poolbeg towers.
At garden level, past a guest toilet under the front steps, there is an en suite double bedroom to the left. Opposite is a white kitchen, with a window to the front and a huge island, custom built for the slightly wedge-shaped space. There is room for a breakfast table and a sofa, past which the room opens up to a large living/diningroom in the extension. Beside this is the utility/boiler room, with controls for the underfloor heating at this level. The Ber is B3.
Two sets of sliding doors lead to the garden, which could be reconfigured with more planting and less parking, given the proximity to the Luas, bus routes and cycle lanes. Ranelagh and Donnybrook villages are a few hundred metres away, and there are at least four schools almost within sight of the gate.
Having been a corporate let for two years, at a monthly rent of €7,500, Number 54 is all set for a family to soften its edges and add colour and character. It is for sale through DNG with an asking price of €2.25 million.
