Drive-in appeal in Dublin 4

The family who bought 39 Upper Leeson Street nearly 30 years ago moved from Monkstown to be closer to town and this two over garden

level Victorian house in a terrace of seven fitted the bill.

It had been given a 1970s makeover by its former owner – the sky-blue bathroom suite remains as one of the giveaways – and while the then new owners had intentions and indeed architect’s plans to extend and update the four-bedroom house time passed and they never did.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 4

That planning permission – mostly involving extending the return – has now lapsed but whoever buys this time around will almost certainly commission their own plans to extend or at least rework the return in the fine period house, which is a protected structure, as they commence a top to bottom renovation.

The owner is now downsizing and the 215sq m (2315sq ft) house is for sale though Sherry FitzGerald for €1.675 million.

Parking situation

The first question estate agents are asked about any city townhouse is the parking situation. Leeson Street is a busy road into the city and there is a bus lane outside number 39 so even stopping for long can be tricky.

Unusually, though, not only does number 39 have a drive-in at the front with parking for one car – it was put in about 10 years ago after multiple planning applications finally worked – but it also has a covered car port at the rear with two garage doors and space for two cars. It is accessed from a cul-de-sac lane which runs at the back of these houses. While the lane, which borders Fitzwilliam tennis club, is not a mews lane – it’s too narrow – new owners will most likely look to build a garage or similar structure at the end of the good-sized garden.

Inside, the house follows the expected layout – two fine interconnecting reception rooms at hall level, three bedrooms upstairs – two to the front – and a bedroom and bathroom in the return.

There are several granite steps up to the front door which means the rooms at garden level – a family room to the front, a kitchen to the back – are bright with views of the gardens. An open-tread staircase leads directly into the eat-in kitchen and there is a utility room in the return.

Happily, the last makeover didn’t tamper with many of the house’s fine period details and several remain intact such as the particularly ornate plaster work in the hall and reception rooms, the marble fireplaces and the fan light over the front door.