40 Highfield Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6
Five bed family home with stunning garden
Sherry FitzGerald, €1.8 million
The southside of Rathgar’s Highfield Road was developed before the northside of the road and number40 is one of its earlier houses. Situated close to Rathgar village, the semi-detached five bedroom house was built in the 1840s even before the church which is directly opposite.
Now pebble-dashed and with a cheery pink front door the house would have originally looked quite different - a typical two-over basement, hall door and three sash window design with a coach house or stables to the side. Sometime in the past - the current owners have lived here for 25 years and it was before their time - the coach house was extended and converted into a living accommodation on three levels so 40 Highfield Road is now double-fronted and that has impacted on the internal layout and how the accommodation is used. In all it has 305 sq m (3,283 sq ft).
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The current owners retained the layout established by its previous owner, the famous Irish actor Siobhan McKenna. So the eat-in kitchen, fitted with smart cream units, is at hall door level, over what would have been the stables, with a small sunroom at the back. On the other side of the hall are two formal interconnecting reception rooms with lovely period fireplaces and plasterwork. The deep bay window in the front reception room isn’t original - next door doesn’t have one – but was added a long time ago.
Also on this level, down a couple of steps in the back return there is access to the back garden.
Upstairs there are three double bedrooms to the front, a small family bathroom and a large bedroom to the rear. Downstairs, at basement level, is the fifth bedroom with an adjacent bathroom, and a family room. There’s also a large utility room. There is access to this level from under the granite steps at the front and at the side where there is a surprising amount of space only partially taken up by some original outhouses. New owners could well eye up this area for an extension.
The garden at over a quarter of an acre is spectacular. One of the owners - their family are grown and they are trading down - is a very keen and clearly expert gardener and the long south-facing garden is beautifully laid out and planted for interest and colour.
The house is set well back from the road with off street parking for five or six cars.
