Phoenix Terrace is a row of six Victorian houses which were built as homes for sea captains. No 4 has been home to a prominent architect for 25 years, and she has kept the property in tip-top condition, nicely balancing the period charm of the house with a modernist eye for detail. She has furnished the house with art deco furniture, but original features are still very much in evidence, including oak flooring, fireplaces and high ceilings.
There is a kitchen extension to the rear at garden level, with a bathroom extending from the ground-floor return. The kitchen is Scandi style, long and narrow but also modern and bright; the ceilings at this level are quite low, and tall people will have to stoop as they enter the room. There is planning permission for a single-storey bay-windowed extension here and also permission to bring the extension up another storey, so that would solve the headroom problem while adding considerably to the existing 149sq m (1,604sq ft).
Phoenix Terrace looks straight out to Blackrock Park from the front, and from here it’s a short stroll through the park into Blackrock village, and also to the Dart station. There’s residents’ permit parking on the terrace and in the park. Up a few steps and through the yellow front door and you’re in an entrance hall with ceiling coving and an archway leading to the inner hallway. Off the inner hall is a bright livingroom overlooking the park and providing sea views out to Dublin Bay. Folding doors lead to the diningroom to the rear, overlooking the west-facing back garden. The original sash windows and shutters are all in good working order.
The family bathroom is on this level, and has timber floors, an antique roll-top bathtub with clawed feet and a step-in shower unit. There’s a nice feature tiled wall at the sink.
There’s a window on the first-floor return letting in lots of evening light. There are two large double bedrooms on the first floor and one small double. The main bedroom overlooks the back garden and has a Victorian fireplace and a fitted desk unit for handy working from home. Bedroom two to the front enjoys great views out over Blackrock Park and Dublin Bay. The sea captains must have been in their element here.
Going downstairs to garden level, there’s a cloakroom and storage area on the return. To the front is a large bedroom which could also be a den or a playroom; it has a cast-iron fireplace, lots of built-in shelving and double-glazed doors leading out to a small front patio below street level. There is access to a storage area underneath the front steps; it used to be the “coal hole” where coal was dropped in from the street.
To the rear, adjacent to the kitchen, is a cosy living/diningroom with French doors leading out to the back garden. The westerly aspect of the back garden makes it perfect for evening meals and barbecues during the summer months; there’s a paved patio area, a timber sundeck and a gravelled area surrounded by high walls. A gate opens into the Marine View development behind the terrace, and you can drive or cycle right up to the gate through here.
The superb location will add to the attraction of 4 Phoenix Terrace. Blackrock Clinic is just across the road, and schools such as Blackrock College, Willow Park, Sion Hill and St Andrews are all within walking distance. Bus routes run along the Rock Road, and both Blackrock and Frascati shopping centres are within easy reach.
No 4 Phoenix Terrace, at 149sq m (1,604sq ft), is Ber-exempt and is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €1.375 million.
