For the young couple and their two children living in number 14 Rathmines Park in Dublin 6, this split-level villa-style house has been the perfect retreat. It starts with the street itself, a quiet cul-de-sac tucked away off Upper Rathmines Road, with a small median in the centre around which cars have to crawl to their parking spaces. Better to have a small car if you’re planning to move here, and that’s if you need one at all as you’ve got lots of public transport options. Garland House, a former church built in the 1920s, is a recognisable landmark.
Number 14, a period redbrick built circa 1890s, has a lovely, long-railed front garden laid in lawn with plenty of plants. In the summer months, when the hydrangea and lavender are in full bloom, the garden is a joy to behold, says the owner.
The house itself has been extended to the back, but there is scope to further extend, subject to planning permission. As it stands, the house measures 96sq m (1,033sq ft) with a D2 Ber rating, and is for sale through Mullery O’Gara estate agents, seeking €795,000.
The hallway has a low ceiling for a reason: a shower room has been added on the first floor return, although there is a space just inside the hall where the light comes in from the fanlight.
The living room to the right has the high ceiling intact, and this, says the owner, is what really sold the house to them. The 13ft-high ceiling gives the living room a wonderful, spacious feel without compromising on cosiness. It has a stained timber floor and a fine bay window with double-glazed sash windows and built-in seating, plus a cast-iron fireplace with tiled inset and marble mantelpiece. The room has ceiling coving, a centre rose and picture rails, and to put the finishing touches on this lovely room, the owners sourced a beautiful old chandelier, which adds a flash of elegance.
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On the lower level, new stained timber floors have been put in to flow nicely with the original. Bedroom one is here, and has a cast-iron mantelpiece, picture rail and double-glazed sash window looking out to the back garden, which is nicely private and secure and not overlooked.
The kitchen has dark-grey painted wooden storage units and solid-wood worktops, a Belfast sink and subway-tiled walls. Beyond that is a narrow dining room, just wide enough to fit the dining table and bench seating, with three tall windows looking out to the rear patio. It’s a clever use of space, but it would be tempting to extend it out and create a full-sized kitchen/dining/family hub, and maybe add in a downstairs loo. The utility room and boiler room are both accessed through the back garden.
The two other bedrooms are upstairs facing the rear, both with cast-iron fireplaces, fitted wardrobes and double-glazed sash windows, as well as the shower room painted a moody grey with a Velux window overhead.
So, how will you get a big moving truck through Rathmines Park? No problem: there’s rear access into the back garden via a handy laneway. You’re a three-minute walk from the centre of Rathmines, close to the Luas and several bus routes, and within walking distance of Rathgar and Ranelagh villages. Schools in the vicinity include Kildare Place, St Mary’s College, Rathgar Junior School and St Louis.
