Located off Dunville Avenue in the much sought-after village of Ranelagh, 69 Moyne Road is a great example of how to prepare a house for sale. There isn’t a blade of grass out of place and attention to detail makes rooms look streamlined, making the selling agents job that bit easier. It also allows potential buyers to see where their belongings can fit into the four-bedroom mid-terrace house. “I got the advice from Sinéad Considine and Niamh de Barra of The Interiors Project,” says vendor Frances Berry of the slick interiors.
Berry, who now works in design after some interesting employment abroad – including a stint as an administrator of a professional soccer club in Hawaii – has been restoring period Victorian homes in Dublin 6 for the past 20 years. “I would buy them as bedsits, renovate them and rent them out, and I am now moving out of property into the art world,” she says.
In pristine condition, the old pine floors have recently been restored by EV Kidd, and the 170sq m (1,830sq ft) property retains many of its original features such as ornate cornicing, ceiling roses, twin marble fireplaces with brass hoods along with original doors and sash windows.
It has the usual Victorian arrangement with interconnecting reception rooms off the hallway, and the neutral palette colour scheme used throughout gives a lovely flow and continuity while also bouncing the light through the rooms.
Beyond is the kitchen which in turn leads to an informal livingroom that overlooks the back garden, which Berry added on about 20 years ago. It is a lovely space and the high ceiling and exposed chimney breast add both interest and texture.
Upstairs are four bedrooms, the principal of which is an en suite and overlooks the back garden. The three other bedrooms include two doubles (one on the return) and a single – currently set up as an office overlooking the front garden.
The back garden is quite private and is set out mainly in lawn with a sandstone patio and low-maintenance planting, while the front is framed by railings with gravel and a variety of plantings.
Moyne Road, with two-storey redbrick houses, is a residential conservation area and buildings on the road are protected, so number 69 is Ber-exempt. It was developed back in the 1860s by Edward Henry Carson of Harcourt Street, who was the son of a Scottish immigrant who became a well-connected architect and civil engineer.
In turnkey condition, Berry has placed number 69 on the market through Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €1.4 million.
