The quartet of houses in this quiet close behind Northumberland Avenue in Dún Laoghaire were built when the owner of a large guest house and an adjoining property on the avenue realised he could hive off space in gardens and create the small development.
It may have been small, but the development took a long time to be completed due to planning delays and the original builders running into difficulty, resulting in these houses laying idle for years with the interiors unfinished.
New builders finished the project and the original vision of the owner/developer has now been achieved and it is stunning. It’s no wonder that number 4, the three-bed end-of-terrace home now on the market through Sherry FitzGerald seeking €995,000, feels like a new build as it was only lived in for a few months by the owner, who was obsessed with storage and the maximising of living space, this is evident in every room throughout this lovely home.
Like so many houses in this part of South Dublin, the garden walls are a warm granite, and this is echoed in the house’s facade of buttery bricks that opens into a hall with a large bathroom on the left that serves as a wet room. Space was taken from what should have been the utility for this extra large downstairs bathroom, but a sliver of space was retained, enough to house a washing machine and dryer, and beyond that is a great understairs storage area.
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The livingroom has handsome cream built-in units either side of the fireplace, a large, boxy window and a herringbone parquet floor. The pale painted units, cream stone fireplace and spot lighting all make for a calm, light-filled space. Double doors open on to the kitchen, fitted out in smart grey units that contrast well with a white quartz countertop, with a warm stone tile underfoot. The double ovens are Neff and the kitchen units, along with the livingroom units and wardrobes upstairs, were all built by BeSpace.
The back of the house is south facing and light pours in through the large windows. With an air-to-water heat pump system, the three-bedroom 144 sq m (1550 sq ft) house has an A2 Ber rating. The smart, maintenance-free garden is sure to be a big draw with buyers, with porcelain tiles that bounce light around, a wooden pergola and well planted beds with an attractive mix of shrubs and trees not yet mature but selected to grow swiftly and provide optimal privacy.
Upstairs the heat efficiency of the house becomes even more apparent, on a warm summer’s day the internal heat levels are up to 25 degrees. The three bedrooms are carpeted in plush, grey carpet and the bathroom here is just stunning. The principal bedroom has an en suite with a large shower, lit by a skylight and the other two bedrooms overlooking the garden have deep box windows.
This is a smart, energy efficient house with a canny eye for design evident everywhere. There are two car parking spaces to the front of the house which is tucked away down a quiet lane within just a few minutes’ walk of Dún Laoghaire town centre with its host of amenities including the new swimming baths, yacht clubs and the People’s Park.
