Central village home for ¤1.5m
Refurbished red-brick refitted from top to bottom, writes Mark Keenan
19 Albany Road Ranelagh, Dublin 6 ASKING PRICE: €1.595m AGENT: Sherry FitzGerald (01) 4969909
IN ANY survey of the “hottest” Dublin residential markets — that is where competition for homes is at its most ferocious — Ranelagh always makes the top three. While many believe the gentrification of the centrally located former flatland suburb in D6 began during the Celtic Tiger years, in truth it was happening right back in the early 1990s long before the distinctive “ding” of the Luas was heard around these parts.
Outsiders are most familiar with the village itself and the main drag of upmarket eateries, pubs and boutique shops that make up its centre. But they’d certainly get lost in the veritable warren of interlinking red brick streets that can be found between Charleston Road and Cowper Road, both linking Ranelagh to Rathmines at either end.
It was in these lesser-known streets, where more manageable two-storey Edwardians dominate, that Ranelagh’s resurgence began. Long before the three-storey terraces of Main Street were coming out of flats, professional families were quietly buying up terraces and semi-detached dwellings which would ultimately end up being right on the Luas line back when the service first opened.
Among the more sought after streets here is Albany Road. A refurbished three-bedroom red brick at No19 has just been brought to market with a price tag of €1.595m. Refitted from top to bottom, it has also been extended to provide an open plan kitchen, living and dining space at the rear. The end result is a home of both period and contemporary character which spans 1,862 sq ft.
The open-plan entrance hall comes with a high ceiling, coving and a centre rose and is spot lit, it leads into the drawing room with its box-bay window and an open fire with polished granite chimney-piece and a coal-effect gas fire. There’s a door from here to some substantial understairs storage and a guest WC with a cloakroom area.
From here you walk into the home’s strongest feature, the modern kitchen, breakfast room and family room. This has floor to ceiling glazing with two sets of double doors leading out to the garden. The room is dual aspect and comes with a coal effect gas fire heater.
The kitchen space has a range of cream wall and base units with polished-granite worktop areas with Neff appliances including a fivering gas hob, integrated fridge, integrated double oven and integrated microwave. A decent-sized island unit has even more storage units along with a stainless-steel sink unit, integrated dishwasher and a wine rack. This open plan area also has spot lighting, surround sound speakers and underfoot is a Travertine floor. Taking the washing machine, dryer and freezer out of the family area is the utility room with granite worktops and a freezer.
Upstairs, the master-bedroom suite spans the full width of the house and is dual aspect. Three windows overlook the front garden and this has a walk-in wardrobe and its own shower room ensuite bathroom.
The second bedroom is single sized and currently used as a study while bedroom three is double sized. There’s access to the floored attic via a Stira and this area is naturally lit by a large skylight overhead. At first-floor level the main family bathroom has a tub along with a substantial towel press. The front of the house has off-street parking and overlooks the grounds of Beechwood Church.
The rear garden includes an awning which cranks down from the rear of the house as well as a sandstone sun patio. The area has been landscaped and also includes a food and herb garden as well as a decent-sized garden shed for storage of your garden furniture in winter.
This house is two miles from St Stephen’s Green and also within reach of some of the country’s best schools. These include the Jesuit Gonzaga school, which is right on its doorstep as well as Sandford National, Sandford Park, Alexandra College for girls at adjoining Milltown, St Mary’s College, Muckross and St Louis which are all within walking distance.
There are cinemas and swimming handy at Rathmines and the Luas stops at Beechwood and Cowper.