Touch of class in deepest Foxrock
LATONA, TORQUAY ROAD, FOXROCK, DUBLIN 18 €1.45m
Agent: Hunters (01) 289 7840 Viewing: By appointment
IF a prospective buyer wanted to know how Latona on leafy Torquay Road in Foxrock looked when it was first built, they would only have to look to its next door neighbour. There they would see a flat-roofed house with a touch of Art Deco about its corner windows and curved walls. Accordng to Paul Aherne of Hunters, who are handling the sale, the two properties were built at the same time back in the 1950s. Sometime in the 1990s, though, the then owners of Latona carried out an extensive renovation, adding the airs and graces expected of a Celtic Tiger home in one of the plusher suburbs of the capital, and catapulting the house into a completely different era of architecture.
Chief among the changes was the addition of a big and beautiful family room to the rear of the house that effectively re-orientated the property to face the pretty back garden. Two walls are almost entirely comprised of concertina glass doors that fold back to make for an easy flow between indoor and out and lead out onto a large raised deck. East-facing, it catches the morning sun, and no doubt many a morning coffee has been enjoyed while contemplating the order of the day.
Indoors, the entrance hall is imposing and designed for impact, with a curling cast iron staircase that winds up to the top floor, a highly polished porcelain floor and just one reminder of the house’s original architecture – a tiled 1950s fireplace. To the left is a dual aspect drawing room with a fine limestone fireplace, while to the right is the formal dining room; both have solid oak floors.
Given the scale of the house, the kitchen is surprisingly compact but has plenty of potential to be enlarged into a linking room that is currently empty. It has doors leading out to the deck and also opens onto the dining room. It has granite-topped units, a central island with a sink, and that stalwart of the Irish kitchen, the Aga, as well as an electric hob and built-in Belling oven. One half of the kitchen is given over to a second dining area where more informal meals could be served, and a large skylight means the space is light-filled all day long.
The first floor has four double bedrooms, three with ensuites, all of which have showers, and one has a walk-in wardrobe. The master suite has the bonus of a mirrored dressing room with enough shelf space to house the most generous winter, spring and summer clothes collections. The bedrooms are bright and spacious with have wooden floors. The family bathroom is also on this floor.
During the renovation, the then owners replaced the original flat roof with a pitch, gaining another storey which comprises a number of attic rooms, including a shower room and dressing room as well as generous under-eaves storage. The conversion added an additional 54 sqm to the property’s 346sqm.
‘There is considerable interest from potential buyers drawn by the lure of golf and tennis clubs on the doorstep’
The house is situated on approximately one-third of an acre and has access on both sides to the sheltered back garden. This is a peaceful spot which has obviously been well-tended. There is a rockery and stone seating area hidden under the branches of a weeping willow, while a raised sitting/dining area is located to capture the evening sun, and would make for a good barbeque spot. A large outhouse that currently serves to house tools and garden clutter, is fully plumbed and wired and could be repurposed, subject to planning, as further accommodation or as a home office. A garden shed offers additional storage.
While the property would benefit from some updating of bathrooms and the addition of a utility room, it is essentially in turnkey condition.
Torquay Road is in the heartland of desirable Foxrock and properties of this size and price in this location are always in demand. According to Paul Aherne, there is considerable interest from potential Irish buyers who are drawn to the property’s proximity to the village of Foxrock and the lure of golf and tennis clubs literally on the doorstop. For parents, there is also the bonus of a number of well-regarded local schools, including Loreto Foxrock 15 minutes’ walk away.