The pleasures of number 11 Belmont Park, a Victorian redbrick in a quiet Donnybrook cul-de-sac, are two-fold. The location and exterior have the cachet of period and peace while an internal, opened-up design has light-filled spaces that are the inverse of its 1905 lay-out and intention.
Vendors Ronan and Jenny bought in 2011, when number 11 cost €380,000. They “gutted from top to bottom” and by November 2013 had a refurbished and reconfigured home. “We left original features like cornicing, ceiling centre pieces, sash windows and banisters in place,” Ronan says, “but opened up the reception rooms, did a mammoth job creating insulated flooring and walls, put floor-to-ceiling glazing in the kitchen, vertical radiators everywhere for more heat, and raised ceilings for more light.”
Uncluttered
All this, and much more, fitted into a stylish design. A widely curving bay window is a feature of the living/dining area. This is an uncluttered, relaxed space where the walls are a gentle, white colour, the flooring wide-planked engineered timber and fireplaces have had their mantel-surrounds removed – one has a stove inserted.
The rear kitchen, where the floor was lowered to give height and light, shows off its Italian styling in aubergine-coloured fittings. A large circle of white glass fronting the extractor fan makes a style statement and a French window leads to a small patio with high, white brick walls and shed.
There is another touch of aubergine in a family bathroom on the return where there is a free-standing bath and aubergine towel rail-cum-radiator. The once dark, now skylight-lit, first-floor landing leads to two bedrooms, both with raised ceilings. The third bedroom, on the second return, has a horizontal window.
The 86sq m (926sq ft) floor area has three bedrooms (main en suite), open living/dining area, galley-style kitchen and family bathroom. Agent Sherry FitzGerald is asking€735,000. (Number 3, Belmont Park sold for € 560,000 in 2015.)
Ronan and Jenny have loved living in number 11 but families grow and they need more space and so are moving. Though they won’t be travelling far: the lure of the area is too strong for that.
