It’s a brave buyer who’ll take on the daunting task of completely refurbishing a large Victorian home, especially with the cost of construction and materials today, but back in 1996, when the owners bought number 35 Palmerston Road, they weren’t in the least put off by the prospect of doing a total refurb.
Built in 1877, the house has had only three owners over the past 146 years. The first was one William Becket, the second was Trinity College professor William Wright, who bought it in 1965. The current owners bought it at auction from Wright’s wife, Barbara, following his death, paying €400,000 for the property – a record price for Palmerston Road at the time, as reported in The Irish Times on March 28th, 1996. Working closely with a conservation architect, they set about turning the house into an elegant family home, which has served them well over the past quarter of a century.
Number 35 is one of just a handful of detached houses on this stretch, set well back from the road on 0.3 of an acre, and is cosily wrapped in secluded, landscaped gardens designed by Paul Doyle. Extending to 447sq m (4,811sq ft) the Ber-exempt property is now for sale through Sherry Fitzgerald, seeking €5.25 million.
The owners reckon the site was originally meant to be a road linking Palmerston Road with Cowper Road, but it makes the perfect space for this charming period home with a mix of Victorian, Gothic and Arts and Crafts features, blending nicely with the modern extension to the back which the owners added on in the past seven or eight years.
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A collage on the wall shows the scale of the work done on the house, including turning the straight granite steps to the front door into a curved stair, allowing better access for several cars in the large cobblestone driveway. The interior had been flats and bedsits, and many of the original, characterful features had been covered up with paint or plywood. There was even a bathroom built precariously on the minstrel gallery, looming over the hallway, that was unceremoniously removed.
There was also a split-level drawingroom-diningroom that was bisected by a big wooden divider. The owners replaced that with more discreet mahogany railings, and now it’s a perfect spot for dinner parties, the diningroom comfortably seating 10 guests, and the drawingroom perfect for a pre-prandial. The space is wired for sound, and the hardwood flooring is well able to support multiple dancing feet.
If period houses are your style, you’ll find much to marvel at in the many details and design touches, from the recessed motifs and ornate Gothic handrails on the banisters to the cornicing over the oriel bay window in the front study. The hallway has a mix of encaustic tile and mahogany hardwood floors, with vaulted high ceilings up to 6.69m high. The minstrel gallery – now mercifully bathroom-free – looks benignly down on the hall. An anteroom with a sash window overlooking the front garden leads to a guest WC with bespoke Vernon Tutbury fittings.
Upstairs on the first floor return is a fine family bathroom, with fully tiled travertine walls and floor, bath with jets and a large shower cubicle with a rain shower and hand-held shower. To the rear on the return is a double bedroom, dual aspect with a window seat and fitted wardrobes. There are three more dual-aspect double bedrooms on the first floor; the principal bedroom has a large walk-in wardrobe and an en suite shower room. All bedrooms have great views over the gardens and a lovely sense of privacy. There’s also a shower room with tiled shower cubicle on this level.
Downstairs at garden level are bedroom five and six, both large doubles with sash windows and plantation shutters looking out to the front. There’s a separate front entrance at garden level which gets more use than the main front door. It leads into a nice, big hallway with plenty of space to kick off boots and hang up coats, lots of built-in storage and a part-tiled guest WC. An archway leads in to the inner hallway and the stairs to the main hallway.
Underneath the main granite steps, behind a bespoke cast-iron railed door, is a generous wine cellar with fitted wine racks and shelves. There is also an enormous games room with a wooden floor, Velux windows and a drop-down cinema screen.
The utility room stands on what used to be the original kitchen; it has a tiled floor, multiple fitted wall and base units and a ceramic sink with tiled splashback.
The new kitchen is a large L-shaped room with tiled floor and all the units you’ll need to cater to a big group of people. Appliances include a Miele induction hob, double oven and an espresso machine, and rest assured there is also an Aga. There’s more storage in the central island/breakfast bar, and there’s also a breakfast area with a large lightwell and fully glazed sliding door leading out to the back garden. This lovely modern space is topped off by a huge, light-filled family room with a triple aspect looking out to the back garden on all sides, extensively glazed with bifold doors and a vaulted ceiling and six Velux windows allowing in all available light from outside.
The back garden is a wonderful haven in the heart of Rathmines, laid out in lawn with the likes of allium, peony roses, hydrangea and acers adding welcome splashes of colour among the greenery. The garden is punctuated by several patios so you can catch the sun all day in this southwesterly facing idyll. A gravelled path leads to a striking sculpture towards the end of the garden, where there’s handy vehicular access from Cowper Road via a gated laneway.
Palmerston Road is centrally located, with the villages of Rathmines, Rathgar and Ranelagh all within easy reach, and St Stephen’s Green just a couple of miles down the road. The Cowper and Beechwood Luas stops are just a five-minute walk away, and good schools abound in the area, including Gonzaga College, Alexandra College and Muckross Park College.
