When the owners of Number 9 Greenmount Road in Terenure bought the property more than 30 years ago, the house was divided into flats. Luckily, the landlord hadn’t ripped out the original features and the coving, fireplaces and floors were relatively intact. It was a straightforward enough job to bring the house back to its former glory, although it did involve lots of trips to antique shops and auctions.
But the improvements didn’t end there. Over the years the couple have restored and renovated the house, adding many contemporary touches to this Edwardian four-bed, making it a tasteful mix of old and new. The first thing you notice is the light: the house sits on the southwesterly side of Greenmount Road and the owners have made sure the light gets in where it is needed.
They also ensured a good mix of formal and casual. There are elegant reception rooms, perfect for receiving guests, and there is the family-friendly hub: a kitchen/breakfast/garden room area that at first glance looks like a modern extension but is actually part of the original house cleverly remodelled to have a high, cantilevered ceiling with rooflights to let in lots of sunshine. The kitchen has a panelled wall and floor-mounted units with granite countertops and island, and has been handcrafted by a top Dublin cabinetmaker using the Cooks’ Kitchen by designer Mark Wilkinson as a model.
This area opens out to a wonderful, private back garden with lovely mature plants, a pergola to catch the sun all day, a barbecue/outdoor dining area and a quaint potting shed that gets lots of use through the spring and summer months.
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Upstairs is a generous return with a large double bedroom and a large family bathroom with marble countertop and old cast-iron rolltop bath. Upstairs are three more generously sized bedrooms, two with en suites, with the master bedroom boasting large bay and casement windows and lots of panelled wardrobe space along one wall. There is also a limestone fireplace with a gas fire for those winter duvet days.
A simple attic conversion offers the possibility of a teenagers’ den, music room, home office or a space for yoga and meditation. The street — right between the villages of Terenure and Rathgar and, according to a road sign dating back more than 100 years, three miles from the GPO — is quiet enough to allow for peaceful relaxation but not sedate or stuffy, the residents enjoy a street party every now and then, say the owners.
The house’s Ber rating of E1 is impacted by the number of open fireplaces in the house, but the owners have never considered closing off any of them to increase the insulation. “A house has to breathe,” they say.
Certainly this house breathes lots of life, and will provide ample space and sanctuary for the right family. Number 9 Greenmount Road is 265 sq m (1,776 sq ft) and is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald with an asking price of €1.595 million.
