Number 26 Rathdown Avenue comes with its own little slice of family history. The seller’s grandfather bought the bungalow off plans in the early 1950s, and two generations of the family have grown up here. The seller recalls a happy childhood spent playing in Bushy Park, just across the road from the house, or in the spacious 75ft-long back garden. Her grandfather and then her father ran the local family butcher’s shop in Terenure, and were an integral part of the township’s community.
In the early 1990s her father added on a large first-floor dormer room, as did many owners along this avenue, which became the principal bedroom, with superb views over Bushy Park. The property, measuring 138sq m (1,485sq ft) with four bedrooms and a G Ber rating, is for sale through DNG seeking €1.05 million.
It won’t take too much work and imagination to transform this house into a superb, contemporary home. New owners will most likely aim to renovate the entire interior, and also extensively insulate the property to bring it up to a higher Ber rating. And with its large, mature back garden, there is scope to add a big kitchen/dining/livingroom extension, subject to planning permission, while still retaining ample garden space. One of the neighbouring houses already has an impressive extension to the back.
The front garden has space for off-street parking, and there is side access to the back garden. A tiled porch with an arch at the front leads to a long entrance hall; to the right is a livingroom with a feature marble fireplace and a large window to maximise the view across to Bushy Park. Double doors lead to a diningroom which has a sliding door leading out to the back garden. Next to the diningroom is the kitchen/breakfastroom, which has tiled flooring and solid wood worktops and units. This leads in to a study/bedroom to the front, with wooden floors.
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Two decent-sized bedrooms sit to the left of the hallway, one with fitted wardrobes, and the main bathroom is at the end of the hall. A small landing upstairs leads into the main bedroom, and there’s also a shower room and hot press along with generous eaves storage off the bedroom.
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The location of number 26, along with its potential for expansion, will likely prove a big attraction, and new owners will immediately benefit from its generous, private back garden and its position overlooking scenic Bushy Park, with its many recreational facilities. From here it’s a short distance to the villages of Terenure, Templeogue, Rathgar and Rathfarnham, and schools in the vicinity include Terenure College, The High School, Templeogue College and St Louis College.
