With a mixture of architectural styles and sizes, it is difficult to compare prices achieved for houses on Leinster Road in Rathmines, Dublin 6. Another factor is condition, and with the current building costs, not to mention the waiting time for tradespeople, builders and architects, houses in turn-key condition are now selling at a premium.
Because of these factors, there will be much interest in 70 Leinster Road in Rathmines, a recently launched double-fronted two-storey over-garden house in excellent order.
Back in 2006 it was on the market seeking €2.6 million after it had been transformed and rescued from a bedsit existence. It was upgraded again by the last residents into what it is now; a five-bedroom turn-key house. It is listed on the Property Price Register from March 12th, 2021, as having sold to its current owners for €1.7 million, in what was then an off-market sale.
To say it is all a bit of a movable feast is an understatement. It has five bedrooms, two of which lie at garden level, and one of these is being used as a gym.
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On the top floor, the principal suite takes up the entire depth of the 322sq m (3,466sq ft) Victorian property. The room is bathed in light thanks to its dual aspect and the fact that a glazed double door divides the room with a fine en suite. This is not a box-sized bathroom attached to a bedroom — it actually occupies a space that would originally have been a full-sized bedroom.
Here a free-standing bath takes centre stage against the backdrop of a large sash window. The loo and shower — which is laid out like a wet room — are hidden behind separate doors that allow privacy and keep the room from looking too busy.
At hall level are two reception rooms: a spacious dual-aspect drawing room with an all-white palette, allowing the family’s art collection to take centre stage, while a sage green dining room lies opposite. These rooms retain impressive period features such as intricate coving and marble fireplaces.
Also on this level is a study, while a smaller office lies on the return.
A lovely sense of peace emanates from garden level, where an eat-in kitchen flows into an informal living room. Herringbone oak parquet runs throughout these rooms and marries well with the muted tones of the pastel green kitchen units. Cooks will appreciate the four-oven Aga and storage in the twin larders and integrated Liebherr fridge and freezers.
The gardens of these houses were enormous in their heyday, when they were originally built for army officers. Two mews lie to the very back of the rear gardens of No 70 and its neighbour No 71 on Grosvenor Lane, and the mews behind No 70 achieved more than €1 million in November 2021.
What remains is a 28m-long rear garden laid out with neat box hedging framing Acer palmatum, silver birch and other specimen trees. A pathway from the living room leads to a spot about halfway down the lawn where the family have barbecues and catch the evening sun.
Two doors down, No 73 achieved €2.5 million in an off-market sale in 2018, and No 70, which is BER exempt, is now on the market through Sherry FitzGerald asking €2.4 million.
