When the owners of 23 Glengarriff Parade in Phibsborough bought in 2006 it was at a time when the narrow street off North Circular Road, opposite the new entrance to the Mater hospital, was starting to change. Houses that had been divided into flats or rented out entirely were being bought, often by young couples, and renovated back to single family use.
No 23 had at the time been rented out as a four-bedroom house with a bathroom extension tacked on to the back, beyond the kitchen. More than 10 years later it is unrecognisable – starting at the front door, with its custom-designed stained-glass panels. That door gives an indication of the attention to detail, bespoke design approach and interiors flair that is on show in every room in this two-storey terraced Victorian.
There are now three bedrooms – the fourth bedroom in the return has been converted into a large family bathroom with free-standing bath and corner shower stall. A carpenter designed cleverly concealed cupboards and other storage. The door to the bathroom – painted black – is covered in striking Fornasetti wallpaper.
Downstairs the two reception rooms interconnect, with the smaller rear room opening into the kitchen extension. Building across the rear in these style houses runs the risk of making that rear reception room dark and somewhat redundant, and here one of the two bespoke units on either side of the cast-iron fireplace is fitted with a fold-away desk for its home-working owner. The room is painted in dark colours to lend a cosy feel.
The renovation removed the extension and replaced it with another, fitted with floor-to-ceiling timber-framed glazing. There is a good-sized dining space, really well -planned storage, including a wall of pantries and a run of painted timber kitchen cupboards topped with a stainless steel worktop. There are several large rooflights in the ceiling. A guest toilet was installed under the stairs in a house where every part of its 103sq m is considered and utilised. There is a small patio garden to the rear, fringed with railway sleeper raised beds.
The couple, now with young children, are moving to the country and are selling 23 Glengarriff Parade, Dublin 7 through Sherry FitzGerald seeking €495,000.
