This handsome Georgian terrace at 90 Harold’s Cross Road was last purchased in 2013, when it was transformed into a sleek, industrial-style home under the guidance of David Shannon of The Architects.
The B-rated home extending to 165sq m (1,776sq ft) is now on the market seeking €895,000 through Sherry FitzGerald, offering an innovative layout and cool interiors.
Steps from the street lead to the front door and there is a parking bay to the right of the house – for which residents have permits. The current owners spend more time skating into Dublin city centre than driving, however, as is evidenced by their skateboard collection which is mounted on walls throughout the house; the first set are in the lobby, which has an interior door connecting it to the living area.
It’s a house of many levels and ingenious spaces with bulb lighting suspended throughout, which is run by a smart home system. The owners only have to command Alexa to “turn the lights purple” to instantly bathe the living areas in a warm violet glow.
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To the right of the entrance lobby is a small well-laid-out sittingroom, with built-in shelving on either side of a cast-iron fireplace. The windows and shutters were upgraded, and sliding doors were installed so this room can flow into the dining area beside it or be self-contained for work or meetings. The agent’s listing suggests this room could be used as a third bedroom if required.
Steps lead down to the kitchen. The original wall to the left side of the house has been exposed, a rustic feature repeated throughout the home. Spaces that could feel clinical with extensive glass, stainless steel and polished concrete floors, are continually softened and restrained by a flash of wood or stone.
This style is notable in the kitchen, where a long island topped in stainless steel faces a bank of birch-ply cabinets. There are fun and quirky touches throughout the space, with a burnt-orange sliding door revealing a loo and another at the other side of the kitchen concealing a utility area.
A corner overlooking the garden has been turned into a seating area with benches and cushions, and a low breakfast bar is set into the kitchen island with birch-ply cube stools. A cocktail cabinet on wheels hides beneath the long worktop and can be moved to wherever the party is happening, either outside in the long garden or in the lower-level living/cinema room, in what was originally the basement.
The living/cinema room has extensive storage that houses the owners’ impressive film and record collection. Steps leading up to the kitchen are actually blocks of storage.
Extending the footprint of the house did not take much away from the long garden, designed by Mike Carbery, which has a beautiful mimosa tree at its end, sheltering a shed and an apiary. The bees, however, will be moving with the owners, who are relocating to Co Wicklow.
There’s a bathroom on the return, the stairs are lit by skylights and there are two generous double bedrooms on the first floor. The principal has a handsome en suite while the other bedroom to the front of the house has light pouring into it from a pair of windows and skylights in the roof above, as the owners extended upward into the attic space.
Number 90 Harold’s Cross Road, across the road from Harold’s Cross Park, is a swift commute from the city centre by bus, bike or even by skateboard, which the owners say takes just 15 minutes.
