A discreet brass plaque on the wall next to the garden-level entrance of 4 Cambridge Terrace in Ranelagh announces that this house is the consulate of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Honorary consul – and Leitrim man – Joe Geoghegan opens the door into his downstairs study, explaining that he was asked to become Jordan's consul in Ireland 16 years ago, after decades of working in business in the Arab world.
The book-lined study, with quarry-tiled floors and a wood-burning stove set into a chimney breast with multi-coloured tiles, is a comfortable room in the house, built in 1893 and previously owned by one family for close to 80 years.
The classic Victorian redbrick was pretty much in its original condition when Geoghegan bought it over 30 years ago and it still retains many of its original features – centre roses, elaborate cornicing, marble fireplaces – though it has been refurbished and modernised since.
Geoghegan and his wife Maggie Butler revamped it extensively 16 years ago, a revamp which included the addition of a modern Shaker-style kitchen and a bright dining space that opens into a lovely long rear garden, landscaped by garden designer Duncan Forsyth.
Maggie’s New England background is reflected in touches like half-panelled tongue-and-groove walls in the kitchen and modern bathrooms. The couple also added lots of storage space, with smart cupboards at all levels in the house.
Now 4 Cambridge Terrace, a 257sq m (2,766sq ft) five-bed is for sale through Lisney for €1.95 million.
Granite steps lead up to the red front door, opening into a bright front hall painted a deep wine shade below the dado rail and white above. The drawingroom at the front of the house and sittingroom at the back have polished wooden floors, original marble fireplaces with tiles inset and are connected by double doors in a wide arch.
Downstairs, the kitchen is towards the rear of the house, behind the study. It’s very smart, with a pinkish-beige marble-tiled floor, a high breakfast bar, cherrywood countertops, glazed cupboard doors and a six-ring Smeg gas hob set into an exposed brick wall.
Units are painted pale green, walls decorated with subtle floral wallpaper. The kitchen opens into the very bright dining area with a high arched glazed roof and glazed patio doors opening into the garden.
A bedroom-cum-study at the end of the garden-level hall has an en-suite and upstairs, there’s another small double on the hall return. There are three more bedrooms – a large single and two doubles – off a landing made bright by a large window over the stairs. The smart bathroom on the first-floor return has wooden floors, a bath and separate shower; it sits next to a separate shower room with mosaic-tiled fittings.
The 125ft-long rear garden is divided by a pergola a little over halfway down. There is a patio with a built-in barbecue and a pond just outside the back door of the house, a lawn bordered by flowerbeds with an apple tree and two pear trees, and beds of strawberries and blueberries beyond the pergola.
There is access on to a private lane at the rear of the house, just below the Luas line. Cambridge Terrace is between Northbrook Road and Dartmouth Road, and just a short walk from the Ranelagh and Charlemont Luas stops.
