Long a favoured destination of buyers in search of a family home, St Albans Park is a pleasant enclave of solid, early 20th century houses at the Merrion Gates/Strand Road end of Sandymount. Number 38, St Albans Park ticks all the boxes expected of the location.
Converted with elan from a traditional, late 1920s Crampton-built house to one that is perfect for contemporary family life, it offers such comforts as zoned heating, a converted attic, a play-shed in the garden and solar panels. The main living spaces – four good-sized bedrooms, three reception rooms, the attic and a family/kitchen/dining area – are stylish, practical and up-to-date and make up 242sq m (2,600sq ft) of floor space.
For sale by private treaty, the asking price is €1.4 million and the agent is DNG.
The vendors, who are moving to satisfy a hankering for coastal views, bought in 2002. “It needed a complete overhaul,” the vendor says. “We wanted a functioning family home and did a full job, retaining as many as possible of the old features. We preserved the original bedrooms too and put zoned under-floor heating on the ground floor.”
The rear-of-house kitchen/ dining/family area has the sense of a sunroom as light spills in from double skylights in the pitched roof and from a wall of feature windows and a glass door overlooking the garden. The Crema Marfil-floored kitchen/dining area occupies two- thirds of the space while the final, oak-floored third is designed for family lounging and TV viewing.
Double doors, and a continuation of the oak flooring, lead to adjoining drawing and diningrooms, traditional in style, with a pair of striking, wood-surround fireplaces. Original doors, picture rails, cornicing and, to the front, a wide bay window with a bright, leaded glass frieze, give the rooms an Art Deco touch, and feel.
The long, bright hallway continues the Art Deco theme with a black-and-white tiled floor, Dado rails and coloured leaded glasswork in the front door. A study/office off the hall has shelving and a front-facing window.
The addition of a flight of stairs from the first floor landing to the converted attic, with a large dormer window, has given a lot more light to the upper part of the house. The main bedroom has a walk-in wardrobe and en-suite shower room, a second bedroom has a bay window with leaded frieze while the other two overlook the rear, south-facing garden.
The attic has rooftop views. Solar panels on the roof deliver hot water from May to September. There is a pale, stone patio and lawned garden to the rear. The front garden has off-street parking for two cars.
