Modern mews hidden in the heart of Ranelagh for €975,000

“This is my favourite view,” says Sorcha, “from my desk out across the rooftops.” We are looking eastwards out an upstairs window in her home, number 76 Chelmsford Lane, and relating the roofscape to the map, on which the lane curves from Ranelagh village around to Sallymount Avenue.

Number 76 is one of five mews houses on a spur of the lane that runs behind Cullenswood Terrace, a line of Victorian houses on Ranelagh Road. Designed by Liam Brennan of Extend Architects and completed in 2019, it is a bright three-bed whose clever, thoughtful layout makes excellent use of its 113sq m (1,216sq ft).

The house respects the mix of old and new that characterises Ranelagh. As you turn down the lane, which starts across the road from Meagher’s pharmacy, with its beautiful old stained glass, you could be following an ancient footpath connecting the roads to Donnybrook and Milltown. And as you stand at the front door, noting the ribbed oak panels and cladding, and the warm off-white render, you realise the stones that form the lower facade blend beautifully with the lane’s brick boundary wall.

Although they were living overseas during the planning and design of the house, Sorcha and her husband, Nick, were very sure of what they wanted, and put a lot of thought and care into choosing fixtures and finishes, taps and tiles, windows and worktops. They laud Brennan’s ingenuity in maximising the confines of the site, and praise their obliging contractor, RoeSavin Construction who, as well as building the house well inside a year, laid water and services for this stretch of the lane to save other mews-builders having to dig the road again.

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They also credit the craftsmanship of joiner Eugene Dunne of Rathdrum-based Dunne’s Design. Starting with the hall – an Extend hallmark – Dunne built storage into every nook, from the utility room at the front through to the kitchen and, on the turn of the stairs, unobtrusive bookshelves with pop-out drawers underneath.

The oak outside continues to add soft drama to the interior, with solid planks underfoot and on the stairs, which are defined by Brennan’s efficient fin-like spindles stretching up to the top-lit landing. The lowermost part of this arrangement opens to reveal understairs storage. The guest toilet is papered with a big-leaved design, and real-life plants add texture to the unfussy lines of the house.

All three bedrooms have built-in wardrobes, and there’s a walk-in, perfectly planned space in the main bedroom, where the bright en suite has a generous shower and double basins. The second bedroom, which has floor-length windows on two sides, doubles up as Nick’s office and the third, with that morning-light view, is a jungle-papered nursery as well as a home office. The main bathroom has a bath with shower over, and the walls are tiled in a mix of iridescent pinks. A recessed mirrored cabinet runs the width of the room, and the three bathrooms have the same big-format whitish floor tiles.

Back downstairs, the kitchen/dining/livingroom is a long L, with the units, including a double larder unit, running from a floor-length window at the front to the dining area near the rear. Couches and easy chairs form a cosy living space at the other side. The air-source heat pump also keeps it warm: the Ber is A3.

The island, topped with white stone, is on wheels so the couple move it for summer parties, putting the dining table on the patio. Full-height pale aluminium doors fold back from the middle to the edges and open the room to the southwest-facing garden, which has a mix of paving, planting and a little patch of artificial grass, with mature maples and old walls on either side. Part of the main bedroom suite is cantilevered over the patio, sheltering the outdoor seating, and there is a store with wooden door built into the side of it.

The way the couple store their bikes is a reminder of how handy this house is; having a car-parking space – and EV charging point – outside the door is rare in some parts of Ranelagh. However, says, Nick, with shops, schools and Smith’s pub “a few seconds away”, the Luas a few minutes away, buses including the new S2 around the corner, and the city centre a 15-minute walk, they rarely use the car.

Having poured their hearts into this home, they are moving to gain more space for their growing family, and have put number 76 on the market through Mullery O’Gara with an asking price of €975,000.