A large corner house, sheltered by hedging and a pleasant triangular front garden, no 1 Whitethorn Road has all of the solidly comfortable aspects of its Crampton-built provenance intact. It has also, thanks to a refurbishment and thoughtful extension, a great deal of additional flair and light. This is a family home with heart and, as spring takes hold and Whitethorn Road comes into its green and leafy best, an obviously good location.
Built in the late 1940s, the salient Crampton features of good workmanship, parquet flooring and a practical living design are happily married to a two-storey extension with open kitchen/diningroom on the ground floor and a first-floor main bedroom suite. The entrance hallway shows off its origins in the solid panels of the staircase while elsewhere and throughout the house original many-paned windows (all remodelled by Rationale), internal doors, cornicing, picture rails and a panel of original coloured glass in the new, heavyweight front door all keep the 1940s mood alive.
The vendors have lived for “12 happy years” in no 1 and are selling to satisfy the space needs of a growing family. The pleasures of Clonskeagh will keep them in the area, however. They bought no 1 Whitethorn Road for €960,000 in 2005; agent Lisney is asking €995,000 this time round.
Garden space
A decent-sized 174sq m (1,874sq ft) house, it has four bedrooms (main en suite), three reception rooms, family bathroom and an open plan kitchen/dining/familyroom. There is off-street parking to the front as well as a healthily green lawn with thriving shrubs. To the rear, there is a nicely private decking area and lawn.
The Kube-designed kitchen is painted a coolly stylish tones of pale-stone and white, the floor is Amtico and the worktops and centre island have polished quartz tops. The sink and worktops are cleverly fitted into a wide bay window and the whole space leads naturally into a family room with a wood-burning stove. From here, a 10ft-wide wall of window allows expansive views of neighbouring trees and no 1’s rear patio and garden. A mushroom-coloured, front-facing drawingroom on this level has a wide bay window, parquet flooring and picture rails. A study has a range of built-in shelving.
The main bedroom suite has character, comfort and a great deal of storage. Its front-facing bedroom has a quirky ceiling-to-floor jewellery storage unit – though the many “pockets” could be home to any class of small object. A wardrobe-lined corridor leads to a dressing area and a fully tiled en suite shower room. All three of the other, good-sized bedrooms have built-in wardrobes. The beige-tiled family bathroom has a deep bath and a window giving natural light.
