Stylish redesign in Ranelagh for €975,000

Four-bedroom redbrick designed by Aurora Aleson with a west-facing back yard


Beechwood Avenue Lower leads from Ranelagh's main street to the intersection with Beechwood Road and the Beechwood Luas stop. Traffic here is one-way and in the evening on-street parking can be difficult for residents. Number 55 is situated just far enough away from the bustle and wafting restaurant aromas of Ranelagh.

When the owner bought the period redbrick in 2005 it was subdivided into five units. Under the aesthetic eye of interior designer Aurora Aleson – who worked on the Morrison Hotel with John Rocha and the G Hotel with Philip Treacy – and builder Tony Gerrard, they have created a deceptively spacious family home.

Originally, the two reception rooms had interconnecting doors, but the rooms had been divided to accommodate two of the house’s five flats and it was decided against reinstating them. Each of the rooms, the sittingroom to the front and the diningroom – a very soothing space – to the rear, have Regency-style openings in the fireplaces which have been surrounded by firebricks and piped for gas. Cleverly, the radiators in each have been positioned to allow the next owner to reinstate the interconnecting rooms without further configuration.

The rear extension was redesigned and rebuilt. The kitchen is in what was originally the breakfastroom and its Alno pale grey gloss units were a canny choice as they have aged beautifully despite being in situ for 10 years. With a small central island and an Aga, it’s a place to cook rather than linger. A half-wall shields it from the pitch-roofed diningroom, a dramatic, lofty space well suited to its function.

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A glass wall overlooks the west-facing paved rear – a lovely patio to enjoy the evening sun. It also offers valuable off-street parking on this road that is often clogged on both sides.

The first bedroom is on the return. It has a shower en suite. There are two more doubles on the first floor. They share a fine bathroom.

Fourth double

The family bathroom would traditionally have been situated on the second floor return. Aleson extended this to create a fourth double, also with a shower en suite. All the bedrooms have discreet built-in wardrobes.

The 191sq m (2,055sq ft) property is asking €975,000 through agents SherryFitzGerald and might appeal to an ex-pat who may return home in the next few years and is looking for a rentable investment now. Andrea Whelan of SherryFitzGerald estimates it could command a rent of €4,000 per month.

Number 55 Beechwood Avenue Upper, a three-bed redbrick of 152sq m, came to market asking €1.15 million and went sale agreed last month for just over €1 million. Another three-bed, number 57 Upper Beechwood Avenue, asking €1.25 million, sold for that price last December.