Hidden behind a discreet set of electronic gates in Monkstown, Co Dublin, is a small development of about six houses called Stable Lane. Number 28C is the original coach house that its owner believes was once part of a property on neighbouring Alma Road and there is still a water pump from that era to the front.
She and her husband bought it in the early noughties and were happily ensconced there when the recession hit and her company lost more than 60 per cent of its clients. With their kids already grown they decided “to turn a negative into a positive”, rent out the property and head west to Westport. They have never looked back and when they bought on the edge of Clew Bay they decided it was time to say farewell to Monkstown.
Subiaco, a two-bed, two-storey property named after the Australian town where one of the owners was born, measures 92sq m and has lots of charm, starting with the high granite wall that borders the property. The hall has salvaged cherrywood flooring and opens into a sizeable living room, a large rectangular room with timber floorboards, two low-set windows and an open fireplace.
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A door leads from it to the kitchen, which can also be accessed from the hall, through a narrow door frame. The units here are a warm shade, and there’s a nook towards the end where there is a table that seats four. Banquette seating could easily add to the number you could seat here. Glass doors lead out to a gorgeous and private patio that is east-facing but also gets southern light streaming through the common area.
Sea view
Up a neat staircase is a long landing with a sloping tongue-and-groove panelled roof. The main bedroom is at the end, has windows on three sides and from one offers a peek-a-boo view to the sea that probably improves in winter when the leaves on the tree outside have fallen.
The second bedroom is another double and there’s a charming bathroom kitted out with Victorian style sanitaryware.
The house won’t suit everyone. It won’t appeal to stair-averse downtraders and its single-glazed windows will need to be replaced if the E2 BER rating is to be addressed. But the siting of the property is rather special, and the pictures fail to do justice to its real-life charm. A small family could thrive here.
The property, which measures 92sq m/990sq ft, is seeking €625,000 through agent SherryFitzGerald.
