A four-bed with a €1.5m guide is part of a terrace of three houses in Monkstown which blends in perfectly with its period neighbours - but the homes have just been built. Orna Mulcahy reports.
A newly-built terrace of three houses on Pakenham Road in Monkstown, Co Dublin, has been attracting a good deal of drive-by attention in recent months. The redbrick row blends in so well with the mainly Victorian/Edwardian streetscape that it's hard to believe they've only just been completed.
The developers behind the scheme are husband and wife team John Bourke and Isabel Morton, whose previous work has been mainly in refurbishment. The site originally had one large house that had fallen into disrepair. After a lengthy planning process, the present houses were allowed to go ahead, and now one of the three is on the market.
Longford Lodge, a four-bedroom house with a roomy 218 sq m (2,349 sq ft) of living space that includes a terrific attic floor will be auctioned by Lisney on May 12th. The guide price is €1.5 million. The remaining two houses are being held by the owners.
Finished and decorated to a high spec with particularly good bathrooms, Longford Lodge is large enough to accommodate a family, but it will also appeal strongly to couples trading down from larger homes in the area. It's a turnkey house with every bit of space used to the best advantage. While the façade is a faithful Edwardian reproduction, the layout inside is an improvement on 19th century designs, with a large eat-in kitchen at the back of the house and large Veluxes used throughout to allow as much light in as possible.
The entrance hall, lit by a side window, opens into a long inner hall that leads to a fine double reception room with twin white marble fireplaces, high ceilings, and a wide bay window overlooking the front garden. It's arranged as a drawingroom and diningroom, but it's likely that most of the dining is going to take place in kitchen, where steps lead down to a large area with space for a table for eight. Overlooking the back garden and with a big rooflight overhead, it's a charming space.
The working kitchen has a full range of hand-painted units with granite worktops and stainless steel appliances, including a double range cooker and an American fridge, which are to be included in the sale.
A compact utility room off the dining area is fully fitted with matching units. Also leading off the dining area is another split level room, a family room- cum-study, warmed by a gas fire inset in a period fireplace.
Upstairs there's a very good bathroom on the first return. Fully tiled in marble, it has an oval Jacuzzi bath and a separate walk-in shower. On the first floor, the main bedroom and guest bedroom have luxurious en suites and extensive fitted wardrobes, with the remaining two bedrooms sharing the family bathroom. The handsome staircase leads on up to the attic level, where there is a spacious study with a concealed shower.
As one might expect, the back garden, accessed via patio doors from the kitchen, is not particularly large, but its granite walls make it private, and there is plenty of space for a handkerchief of lawn and a large patio area for outdoor meals. Off-street parking in front completes the package of this smart, low-maintenance home.
