Number 88 Lower Churchtown Road is an imposing double-fronted redbrick property that was built in 1960 and has all the hallmarks of that upbeat decade – plenty of space for a clatter of kids to run around, good ceiling heights and is set on a decent-sized plot that includes a detached garage to the side and a southeast-facing garden almost as wide as it is long – 75ft by 60ft.
The catch is that hasn’t been touched in decades and needs upgrading but for a family willing to take on a project the reward is a very well-located family home.
The detached house has nine-foot ceilings and opens into a roomy hall with interconnecting reception rooms to the left. These have lovely simple wooden mantlepieces with less-lovely tiled inserts. The room to the rear opens out to a small conservatory that is old and in need of a rethink.
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To the right of the hall there is a smaller den in the bay window room to the front and a kitchen to the back that is very much in need of aggrandisement. Knitting these two rooms together is one answer. There is also a guest WC and storage rooms to the rear.
Possible extension
You could also, depending on the depth of your pockets, extend out the back or to the side where there is about 3.5m of space that the detached garage and outhouses currently occupy. Both have sunny aspects and an architect, subject to planning, will be able to weight up the pros and cons of each option.
Upstairs, the landing mirrors the roomy hall below and there are four bedrooms leading off it. Three are really generous with room for plenty of wardrobes and study desks. Either of the bay-windowed rooms to the front could be the master bedroom. Both overlook Milltown Golf Course, one the 12th, the other its 17th hole. A mirrored door through the wardrobes leads from one through to an en suite bathroom that was the height of fashion when it was built. Magenta sanitary ware was once almost as commonplace as much reviled avocado and the shell-shaped sink might work in a more contemporary setting. There’s also a lovely teardrop-shaped copper light pendant in the living room downstairs that could be repurposed.
The large southeast facing garden is really private and mature with scope to expand into it. The property, which measures 189sq m/2,045sq ft, is asking €1.2 million through agents DNG.
The location is first-class for families of secondary school kids with plenty proximate. The Green line Luas stop at Windy Arbour is just a five-minute walk and there is off-street parking for several cars.
Golfers will love its proximity to Milltown Golf Club.
