Tucked away at the end of a quiet estate off Dundrum‘s Ballinteer Road is an enclave of spacious single-storey Modernist-stlyle terraced homes. They are essentially pairs of C-shaped homes built around a central courtyard, designed and built in the late 1960s.
Number 38 Ailesbury Lawn was thoroughly renovated in 2020, building on the work of a previous owner, who was an architect. It is a beautiful, four-bed, two-bath property bursting with character and flair. It is on the market through Sherry Fitzgerald, seeking €900,000.
Pops of subtle colour adorn every room without exception, but a clever symmetry of style in terms of flooring and new windows anchor the multitude of colours used by the owners, ensuring a relaxed and harmonious vibe throughout the home.
The front door and entrance hall are to the side of the 141sq m (1,517sq ft) house, off a long driveway laid with pebbles. Hedging and planting to the front of the house add privacy, but one could imagine a busy household using the entrance in the utility room, that opens into a bootroom.
Three of the four bedrooms and a family bathroom are to the front of the property, and each bedroom has been redecorated in Farrow & Ball colours. Wood panelling is used to great effect throughout the bedrooms, and the family bathroom is tiled in a sea-green Zellige-style (glazed-effect) tile.
An internal courtyard divides the two parts of the house and an internal corridor connects them. Just off the courtyard and benefiting from a huge picture window that floods it with light is the sittingroom. The owners installed herringbone oak flooring and a slate-tile surround around the fireplace here; the fire is gas. The Ber is C3 and there is underfloor heating beneath the large grey stone tile in the rest of the living area.
A long, large kitchen with green units and oak worktops lies off the sittingroom, with the bootroom and utility connected to it. White tiles brighten the kitchen, which features built-in bench seating, backed by a large mirror that brings the garden views into the kitchen.
To the left of the kitchen, overlooking the garden and with double doors opening on to it, is a superb garden room. It is employed as a spacious home office but would make a great second sittingroom or teenage hangout.
At the end of the house is the nicest bedroom in the house, along with a guest bathroom, tiled in a pretty dusky pink. The bedroom is a fabulous room, with built-in wardrobes painted a pale blue, painted panelling behind the bed, a large roof light and a picture window looking out on to the garden.
The garden is lovely, filled with interesting trees and plants including a cherry blossom, multi-stem amelanchier, acer and fatsia Japonicas. Facing southwest, it gets plenty of sun during the day and well into the evening.
Moving on to another renovation project, the owners will miss the proximity to Dundrum village and town centre, not to mention the Luas green line, which whisks them into the city centre for work in about 20 minutes.
