When the owners of 243 Kimmage Road Lower in Dublin 6 purchased their current home in 2019 (for which they paid €535,000, according to the Property Price Register), it had been a rental property “in poor state with about five people living there”, the owners say.
“We were very conscious that we lived in the city, and wanted a home that would be a really calm space. Now when you’re in the back garden, as there are three gardens between us and the next house, you really forget you live so close to everything.”
With the design, they made sure you can see straight through to the back garden through glazed double doors when you enter the front hallway. And the double doors not only allow light to flood the home from its westerly aspect, they enhance the sense of space. “It’s like another room out there, and as we keep the double door open most of the summer, the patio gets lots of use.”
Over the course of six months, with mini diggers a familiar scene on site, the family renovated the 148sq m (1,590sq ft) house – a figure that includes the 22sq m attic room – to what it is today: a bright and airy four-bedroom, three-bathroom property in turnkey condition.
The new Ber of B2 is indicative of works undertaken, especially those you can’t see – such as high levels of insulation, an air-to-water dual-zoned heating system and triple-glazed windows. “It retains the heat really well, so much so that we don’t need the heat pump or heating on for about four or five months of the year,” says the owner.
Its double-fronted layout allows for a livingroom to the front. The rest of the ground floor consists of a spacious L-shaped open-plan kitchen/living/diningroom which wraps around the central hallway. A utility room lies beyond the stylish streamlined kitchen, while a loo lies beyond that again, giving the property three bathrooms in total.
Upstairs, four bedrooms and a bathroom occupy the first floor – with lots of storage in the principal room overlooking the front driveway.
[ Modernised home on quiet cul-de-sac a stroll from Monkstown village for €1.35mOpens in new window ]
While previous owners had undertaken a basic attic conversion, the current residents upgraded this space to incorporate a home office alongside a full bathroom with a wet room layout.
The back garden is a major selling point of the property and the owners say it was a godsend during Covid, as they had just moved in. They had the west-facing space landscaped and it now has two patios, one of which is sunken. Plants in situ include a lovely Acer palmatum, providing wonderful autumnal hues, and a pear tree and apple tree. There are also two vegetable beds alongside raspberry canes and strawberry bushes, providing a bounty of fruit in late summer.
A convenient spot, 3.5km from St Stephen’s Green, the home is walking distance from Harold’s Cross, Rathgar, Terenure and Rathmines, in addition to Sundrive Shopping Centre.
The young family who live here have enjoyed their time at 243 Kimmage Road Lower, which they first launched last September. They have since relaunched it, so their turnkey home is currently on the market through DNG, seeking €850,000.
