D14: €1.15M:VALERIE BEAUSANG loves a project. Fresh from a refurbishment job on their Manchester home in Didsbury, she and her husband bought 46 Riverside Drive in Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.
With the help of her builder brother Ed Boles of Cill Dara Homes, she set about remodelling the semi-detached four-bed house. That was five years ago and the 241sq m (2,594sq ft) property now has a snazzy kitchen dining extension, a large attic conversion and dual-aspect box bay windows. The house is a very much a family home, especially as Valerie has four boys under seven. But now she has the five-year remodelling itch and is looking for a new home to sink her teeth into.
Number 46 is for sale through Douglas Newman Good and has an asking price of €1.15 million.
It’s a spacious house with rooms opening off both sides of a wide walnut-floored hall. There’s a reception room to the right with a sittingroom to the left. It has a gas fire and an interconnecting door that leads to the lounge. The lounge also leads off the roomy kitchen/diningroom which spans the width of the house.
The kitchen is fitted with Christoff units, has granite countertops and a large square-shaped island with solid walnut top. The honed marble floors have underfloor heating. Banks of skylights and a wall of glazing combine to make this a very bright space.
The lounge, while part of the open-plan room, is above the main eating/dining area and feels detached from the hub. It’s where the family watch TV and, in winter, cosy up to the open fire.
The eating area opens onto a sandstone patio. This being a mature estate, the secluded back garden is a fine size, 90ft long, with lots of room for games.
Off the kitchen is a large utility room and there is a toilet under the stairs. Halfway up the stairs, Valerie has installed a cerise pink velvet-cushioned window seat in the large box bay. It is the essence of femininity.
On the first floor there are four bedrooms, three doubles and a single. The main bedroom has an en suite. Most of the rooms have built-in wardrobes. The family bathroom is also on this level.
The attic has been converted into a large dormer room that is fitted on one side with solid oak office units. There’s also room for a double bed and a shower room. It could be a self-contained unit for college-going children or an au pair space. The front of the house has low maintenance gravel and electronic gates.
Valerie Beausang is looking for a new project. “This time, preferably a period house,” she says.
46 Riverside Drive in Rathfarnham, Dublin 14
Extended four-bed semi in walk-in condition
Agent:Douglas Newman Good
