Winding its way from Ranelagh to Rathmines and ending at Belgrave Square is the signature thoroughfare of Charleston Road. A mixed bag of styles and ages, period homes on one side are dominated by a terrace of tall redbrick semi-detached houses, set well back from the road.
One such is Number 53; a Victorian pile set two storeys over basement which is approached via a flight of granite steps. Here the front garden offers parking for four to five cars as the house is set back 82ft from the footpath behind a manicured hedgerow which, along with mature trees, give lots of privacy to the four-bedroom house.
Located 3km from St Stephen’s Green, it has been painstakingly restored, refurbished and extended by its current owners with lots of internal craftsmanship.
Having purchased the property in 2005, they added a Hampton conservatory to the rear. With its southerly aspect, it is now one of the standout features of the property, which is BER-exempt.
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“It makes such a difference to light and heat. We didn’t need to switch the heating on down here even when it snowed,” say the owners, who are downsizing to be closer to town.
They also decided to install a home office, which was, like other houses with a designated home office, a blessing when the pandemic arrived. Substantial in size, as it occupies 48sq m (517sq ft), it benefits from having its own entrance to the front of the property, so is versatile in use and residents need never be bothered as it is self-contained.
“It was on our wish list to have a place we could make a home office. It’s just so handy, as you don’t feel like you’re in the house down there, yet we could pop up for dinner when the kids were small, and go back down if working late”.
Craftsman Ray Shields of Natural Wood Designs in Co Laois was busy at Number 53, and has worked with the owners on a number of previous projects.
“It’s great when you trust someone’s work so much that you can get them to do the entire kitchen along with all the wardrobes, the bathroom and even radiator covers”. When the owners purchased the house, they say, “there wasn’t a staircase connecting downstairs with the upper level” so Shields was engaged to install a flight to connect the internal space.
Accessed from the conservatory, the rear garden is a real delight. Having lived for a few years in the house prior to commencing the garden, the owners knew exactly what they wanted and “knew all the best spots” so undertook all the work themselves.
It now has a large lawn framed by white mop-head hydrangeas behind box hedging with clematis, jasmine and white roses climbing along a framed walkway where two hammocks hang for summer snoozes. A patio lies off the conservatory where the family dine on summer evenings.
One of four bedrooms, the principal lies on the first floor; a second bedroom at this level was taken to make space for a very large en-suite. The fourth bedroom lies on the first floor return off the hall where two formal interconnecting reception rooms sit.
Number 53 Charleston Road, with 356sq m (3,832sq ft), is an impressive house.
“It is really a forever home. What will attract buyers is not just having all works completed, it’s also having a home office of such a high standard” according to Andrea Whelan of Sherry FitzGerald who is handling the sale of Number 53.
It is on the market seeking €3.4m.
