When they were first brought to the market in 2009, the three substantial houses built on a small infill site at the original Fairbrook House in Rathfarnham met with unfortunate timing, as the houses were completed just prior to the market deteriorating.
The properties, built on a triangular site to a design by architect Brian O’Donoghue, were rented out until they were brought to the market again in 2015, with prices starting from €850,000. Number 2 was at the time seeking €875,000 and its current owner purchased the property for €925,000 (inclusive of VAT; its entry on the Property Price Register states €814,798).
After they bought the house, the owners engaged Newcastle Design to create a new kitchen, and the company was also tasked with wardrobes in the bedrooms, new storage units in the playroom/home office and window seats in the playroom and formal livingroom.
The double-fronted house, with three levels behind its Butterley Brick facade, extends to a considerable 213sq m (2,293sq ft). A playroom and large livingroom with a marble fireplace and an open fire flank the front hallway, which also has a bathroom. Beyond lies a large open-plan kitchen, dining area and informal living space, which is bright thanks to French doors to a west-facing terrace and a line of Velux windows in the kitchen. A large Rangemaster electric range takes centre stage in the kitchen with high-end Liebherr appliances within units, painted Farrow & Ball’s Stiffkey Blue, and quartz countertops.
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There are four bedrooms and a generous bathroom on the first floor, while a large bedroom with under-eaves storage is on the second floor. It could, given the size of this room, be used as a further reception room or a teenage den.
To the rear, an impressive west-facing garden was given a complete overhaul by landscaper Darren Joyce, who won RTÉ Super Garden and a Bloom show medal in 2018. “The garden was on a slope and needed to be designed for our children, so it is a very family-orientated space,” says the owner. Indeed new families will delight in the sunken trampoline, large wooden shed and children’s playhouse – complete with a sand pit – to the rear, which is balanced by a limestone sun terrace with bench seating surrounded by specimen plantings in the more formal area just off the kitchen.
The house benefits from dual pedestrian gated side access along with rear pedestrian access from a lane. It has off-street parking for four cars in a smart cobble-lock driveway.
The property, which is in a secluded enclave off Ballyboden Road, is close to Rathfarnham village and is well served by primary and secondary schools, golf clubs and the Dublin mountains for walks and hikes.
The house, which is in walk-in condition and has a Ber of B3, is on the market through Hunter’s Estate Agents, seeking €1.195 million.
