Belles of St Mary’s: Double delights in D4 for under €2m

16 St Mary's Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 

There can’t be many houses on St Mary’s Road in Ballsbridge where the rear garden is still intact. Pricey mews buildings are the norm, but not at number 16 whose long back garden, with parking and guest accommodation, make it an appealing proposition for families looking for a well-located house that’s ready to walk into but which still has potential.

The owners bought in the late 1990s and some years later renovated and extended with such flair that their late Victorian house – which looks from the outside like so many others in the city – could easily be featured in a style magazine.

The 226sqm (2,438sqft) property now has four bedrooms and a shower room on the first floor, and in the top return, what would have been a large bedroom was turned into a luxurious bathroom. Beside this is a dressingroom with custom-built storage.

Glazed extension

The biggest change to the layout is at hall level where a mostly glazed extension was added at the rear – accessed down a couple of steps from the back reception room and also from the hallway.

Its clever design features a divider down the centre with a wall of doors which incorporates storage and a built-in desk. A deep granite-topped breakfast bar provides a further room divider.

On one side is a sleek fitted kitchen with plenty of storage – white to reflect light; on the other is a dining space currently furnished with a long dining table. Glazed doors open out to a patio with built-in seating and a barbecue area fitted with a Belfast sink. Tucked away off the hall is a large utility room.

The renovation was careful to keep the original plasterwork and fireplaces and the original floorboards were replaced throughout the ground floor with – much nicer – oak parquet.

Adding the extension changed the function of the rear reception room, which is now shelved out as a library – although the family who are trading up have mostly moved out and so the shelves are bare. The front reception room with its deep bay window is a lovely, bright room.

Lushly planted

Number 16 is on the Northumberland Road end of St Mary’s Road and its rear garden is north-facing.

The gardens both front and back have been landscaped and are lushly planted – the pretty front garden is a sea of tulips, adding colour to the tall box hedging.

The two parking spaces at the rear are a definite plus on a road where parking is at a premium as it is adjacent to offices and shops. In the back garden the glazed-fronted garden room is divided into two; on one side is a room with an ensuite, ideal guest accommodation; on the other is a space used as a home gym, and there is access through this to the secure off-street parking.

The house is in walk-in condition; buyers could move in and enjoy the long back garden – or consider future development plans for it. Number 16 is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald for €1.85 million.

9 St Mary’s Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 

At the upper end of the market estate agents talk of “walk-throughs” – where a house isn’t openly on the market but an agent, knowing the budget and taste of the househunters it has on its database, “walks through” a few likely buyers. Number 9 St Mary’s Road was put with an agent late last year and there were some walk-throughs and significant interest at the then suggested price of €1.65 million. But the sellers decided to wait, and now, having changed agent, the four-bed end-of-terrace period redbrick is on the open market through Lisney for €1.9 million. The owners bought in 1996 and are now downsizing, leaving behind a home in walk-in condition.

This is one of the earlier houses on the road which was developed in the 19th century. It had already been modernised when it last changed hands but the owners continued updating and maintaining, regularly decorating, redoing the family bathroom and ensuites less than 10 years ago, and giving the kitchen-cum-diningroom in the back return a complete makeover just last year.

Mature privet

This is a spacious 218sq m (2,350sq ft) period house on a wide site. Like its neighbours number 9 is set back from the road, behind high mature privet and still with its original slim and tall wrought iron gate. The front garden has been landscaped for easy maintenance and all-round colour.

The best rooms are the interconnecting reception rooms – with their original features such as marble fireplaces, floorboards, plasterwork and connecting doors intact. The rooms have the fine proportions of the early Victorian period and, with their high ceilings and wide window in the front, they are elegant rooms. The owner installed a pair of doors in the rear reception room to access the garden.

Stone worktops

The kitchen – with its beech units newly painted a soft grey and now with a centre island and stone worktops, has a green Aga with a colourful Fired Earth splashback. There’s space for a good-sized table and sofa. Under the stairs has a guest toilet and is plumbed for a washer-dryer. Upstairs off the wide landing – with its coloured glass Victorian sash window – are four double bedrooms, two with ensuites. The smallest has been fitted out by Oakline as a home office and there is a wall of built-in wardrobes in two of the rooms.

Houses on this side of the road would originally have had long back gardens – but in number 9 a slice of that was sold off long ago by former owners for a mews. That’s where the side access that comes with an end-of-terrace comes in useful; the mature rear garden is small but south-facing. Parking is on-street which – as this house is opposite a primary school and close to the Baggot Street end of St Mary’s Road – can be busy. Lisney is the agent, asking €1.9 million.