Walking through the doorway of number 5 Palmerston Villas casts the imagination back to when the first owners would have lived at this Victorian beauty. From the elegant entrance with chandelier to the very large cloakroom, you can picture guests arriving for a party in the 1860s. From the light-filled reception rooms with shuttered sash windows to the exceptionally high ceilings, this property is the epitome of period charm.
While the house retains all the features from the past, it has also been brought into the present by its owners who have lived here as a family of six for the past 22 years. As the family has grown up, so too has the house. It adapted to the toddler phase with children scooting up and down the wide hallways. It then made way for the teenage years with rooms given over for dens, and storage and cloakrooms created to hide away the schoolbooks and sports gear. As the children became adults, the terrace on the first floor became the perfect spot for “prinks” (pre-drinks before a night out), with the large rooms made for hosting big birthdays.
Now that the “children” have moved out, the owners feel the house – with a floor area of 410sq m (4,413sq ft) – has become too big for just the two of them and would love if it was filled by a family again.
Number 5 Palmerston Villas – on the market seeking €3.8 million through Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty – is located off Rathmines Road down a quiet and private cul-de-sac. The setting is unique in Dublin 6 as it faces on to Brookfield Tennis Club, with unobstructed views of the Dublin mountains from the windows at the front of the house. New owners will be investing in a home that is not likely to become overlooked, which is something of rarity in this neck of the woods.
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The main door to the house, which has a D1 Ber rating, is up a flight of granite steps, opening on to the entrance hall with inner arch, oak floor and French doors out to the terrace. On the right side are the formal rooms in the form of the diningroom leading into the drawingroom through double mahogany doors. These two rooms face out on to the tennis courts, with the large sash shuttered windows allowing the light to flood the space. Both rooms have marble open fireplaces and beautifully restored coving and centre roses.
On the other side of the hallway is a large office with solid-wood bespoke storage and shelving. There is also the aforementioned cloakroom and a guest loo.
There is a separate entrance at the garden level. Here, the floor has marble tiling and oak boards. There is an abundance of storage with cupboards, alcove shelving and a boot room with double doors to another cloakroom. There is also a utility room for the washing machine and dryer.
The less formal livingroom on this floor has sash windows and a solid fuel stove. The kitchen is fitted with hand-painted units and marble worktops. There is an Aga with gas hob and a separate pantry hidden behind double doors.
A room off the kitchen used to serve as a playroom but is now a cosy sittingroom with an ornate antique stove. There is also a double bedroom with en suite bathroom on this level, and a sixth bedroom that has been converted into a home gym.
The other four bedrooms (including the en suite principal) are on the top floor along with the main bathroom.
Outside is a gravel driveway providing parking and a wraparound garden with an oak tree and lawn at the front, and a landscaped space at the back with a large patio and border planting.
The location of Palmerston Villas is hard to beat, with schools such as Gonzaga and Alexandra College a short walk away. The tennis club and Dartry Fitness are on the cul-de-sac and Palmerston Park is across the road. A walk into Camden Street takes 20 minutes and the Luas stop is five minutes away on foot. The owners say they rarely get in the car as everything they need is right on the doorstep.
