You’d be forgiven for thinking you were in the City of Light on walking into 1 Portobello Place in Dublin 8. There’s a distinctly Parisian feel to this charming two-bedroom home, which visitors often remark upon when entering.
Perhaps it’s the long, double-glazed, latticed sash windows, which flood the property with light; the inlaid polished wooden floors arranged in a circular design; or indeed its upside down layout, which is not unusual on the Continent, but rare to find in Dublin.
Built in 1843, this end-terrace Victorian residence near Lennox Street in the heart of Portobello is now on the market with Owen Reilly, seeking €685,000. It is accessed via gated stone steps, flanked by honeysuckle and lavender bushes. The steps lead to a private courtyard of five houses from the same period.
The pale blue Georgian front door of 1 Portobello Place is original and opens to a hallway with two double bedrooms and a bathroom situated off it.
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The 66sq m (710sq ft) house, which has a D Ber, previously served as the headquarters of an architectural firm and it was the owners who in effect turned it upside down, making the main reception room into an open-plan kitchen/dining/sittingroom, upstairs.
The current owners bought it in 2023 and have decorated this dual-aspect room in a bohemian but homely fashion – cosy, yet chic. They built bookshelves around the windows in the sittingroom, and replaced the cupboards above the sink in the kitchen with a cottage-style delph shelf instead. They also had a pantry cupboard installed here and constructed a Juliet balcony accessed through double doors off the kitchen, adding to the Parisian feel.
They converted the attic, too, which now serves as a playroom/office, and added a spiral staircase to access it from the sittingroom.
Downstairs, they renovated the bathroom. At the back of the building is a small, private east-facing courtyard, and here you can see the original boundary walls.
Planning permission is in place to build a ground-floor extension to the house and a roof garden.
Portobello is a picturesque district, previously known as the Jewish quarter of Dublin, and now home to artisan establishments such as Brindle Coffee and Wine and the Bretzel Bakery. It’s about a 15-minute walk from Grafton Street.
Despite its proximity to Dublin city centre, 1 Portobello Place has a tranquil setting and is just yards away from the leafy banks of the Grand Canal.
[ Look inside: Dartry home with garden designed with family life in mindOpens in new window ]
