Fancy having the President of Ireland as your neighbour? Well, it would be a bit of a stretch to say that this would be the case for the new owners of 1 Ashtown Villas on Blackhorse Avenue, Dublin 7, but the property does back on to the Phoenix Park – the largest city park in Europe and, of course, the location of Áras an Uachtaráin.
The period two-bedroom semi-detached house, built in the late 1800s, extends to 107sq m (1,152sq ft), with a C3 Ber. It has an attractive brick facade and a pitched-roof extension to the rear, which had been added before the *current owners bought the home in 2014 – for €310,000, according to the Property Price Register.
The house is quirky and full of surprises, offering a lot of character and potential for a prospective buyer. It’s a bit of a squeeze in the entrance hall, as the foot of the stairs comes close to the front door. The sittingroom is to the left of the hallway; painted forest green, it benefits from decorative original cornicing and a ceiling rose. There is laminate-wood flooring which could be swapped out to achieve a more modern finish, and a vertical radiator, beside which one of the owners has positioned her favourite chair to make the most of the cosiness. The owners had new soundproof windows fitted, which keeps any noise from the road to a minimum.
The sittingroom opens on to a second reception room through double doors. Used as an office/music room, it has a fireplace on an angled wall, above which is a space in the ceiling where light travels down from a skylight on the roof of the house.
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Walking further into the property, there are two doors off a small hallway – one leads to the main bathroom, which has a corner bath, the other to a utility cupboard.
The kitchen/dining/livingroom is in the extension to the rear; it is flooded with light from four skylights in the wood-panelled pitched ceiling and French doors leading out to the back garden. The wooden kitchen units and tiled floor are slightly dated, and a cosmetic refresh would really make the most of this bright space.
The south-facing back garden is low-maintenance, with paving and a lovely stone wall to the rear, shared with the Phoenix Park. One of the owners is a keen gardener and has a gorgeous array of potted plants on display.
There is a split landing upstairs, with the second bedroom to the rear of the property. A good-sized double with a built-in wardrobe, it has a nice view out to the park. The main bedroom is to the front of the property, up a few steps, with two built-in wardrobes and an en suite shower room which can also be accessed through a door from the landing.
The location is great for those who enjoy the outdoors, and the owners often take their dog for walks in the Phoenix Park, where they stop at the Visitor Centre for tea and scones – the scones must be good as they both mentioned them separately. The house is a 10-minute walk from Ashtown train station and five minutes from a bus route into the city centre. Number 1 Ashtown Villas is now on the market through Sherry FitzGerald Castleknock, seeking €475,000.
*This article was amended on Wednesday, October 11th, 2023.
