A more cared-for Victorian home could rarely be found than that which stands at number 19 Heytesbury Street in Portobello; the current owner has painstakingly restored the one-storey over basement property’s period features by hand over more than a decade. For example, he removed layers of paint from the intricate ceiling cornicing in the livingroom with a dental pick and recast the original ceiling rose in the hallway by hand using a silicone cast; this level of care and patience is evident throughout.
As well as carefully restored features, when the owner bought the property, it offered an extensive footprint due to an old extension, and he retained all 227sq m – including four bedrooms and five bathrooms – to embark on a renovation which has resulted in a stunning, contemporary home. With the owner set to move on to renovate a farmhouse cottage in Cork, 19 Heytesbury Street has come to the market through Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €1.575 million.
The location is unparalleled, about a 5-minute walk from Camden Street and 15 minutes from St Stephen’s Green in Dublin city centre. The street is said to have been named in honour of the first Baron Heytesbury, who was lord lieutenant from 1844-46, and it was first proposed circa 1820 to provide an artery to the harbour at Portobello. Number 19 is understood to have been built circa 1846, according to the owner, and plots of two houses along the street were bought by different developers, meaning there are varying features inside each set.
Another feature unique to the house is an old safe, complete with an ornate key. Now in the walk-in closet in the bedroom to the rear of the house, it is thought to have been installed by the watchmaker who occupied the property in the early 20th century, according to the 1901 census.
The entrance to the property sits atop granite steps with a royal blue door framed by a decorative arch and under an original fanlight that features the house number and blue accents. Entering the entrance hall, with elaborate original cornicing and centre rose, the eye is drawn past two ornate archways to the window to the rear in a bedroom on the first-floor return.
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The livingroom is to the right off the hall and features a substantial grey-marble fireplace and updated six-over-six double-glazed sash windows in the style of the original. It opens into the diningroom through original double doors. The Victorian aesthetic makes way for a more contemporary feel in a stunning modern sittingroom to the rear, which features a large picture window, rooflights occupying the entire ceiling and an exposed-brick feature wall. The bay of the original window was retained between the diningroom and the sittingroom. The owner notes that as it was originally the plan to turn this room into a kitchen, it has the plumbing and electrical infrastructure in place to do so should a prospective owner wish.
A double bedroom occupies the first-floor return, beside which is a shower room adorned with silver/grey tiles that have a patterned Damask effect.
The ground-floor level is reached by the original wooden stairs. The ground-floor entrance is to the front under a restored brick archway – the porch here can be used to store bikes and the like. A double bedroom looks out to the front of this floor with an en-suite shower room. Beyond that is a second generous double, also with its own en suite, which has French doors out to the rear patio.
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A galley-style kitchen is accessed off the end of the hall, featuring extensive storage in the form sleek, white handleless units, with quartz countertops and grey and white patterned floors. This leads on to the bright and modern hub of this home; it features a dining area which has roof lights overhead that can be opened by remote control, and a 6m glazed sliding door, allowing you to open the room up to incorporate the tiled rear patio. It would be the ideal place for a summer party. This room has a living area to the rear.
Off that, is the fourth and final en suite double bedroom, which also opens on to the patio. This room features a walk-in closet (home to the old safe) and the rear door, with access to a private laneway.
It’s fair to say there is nothing to dislike about number 19 Heytesbury Street; it offers prospective buyers the opportunity to walk in to a fully realised modern home complemented by period touches, located just a stroll from the city centre.
