As smart Dublin townhouses go, 20 Upper Leeson Street ticks a lot of boxes. In Dublin 4, it is within an easy and pleasant walk of the canal, St Stephen’s Green and Grafton Street as well as Donnybrook and Ranelagh. It is a classic early Victorian – two-storey-over-basement with fanlight-topped front door and sash windows – making it an attractive-looking property. Previous owners have done the heavy lifting: they renovated the house; got permission for a gravelled driveway – not something likely to be permitted now in a protected property and a big plus on this busy stretch of the road; landscaped the pretty, winding back garden, and generally made the handsome three-bedroom terraced house a comfortable modern home.
With no extension and at 180sq m (1,938sq ft), inside it follows an expected layout. Off the wide hall there are interconnecting reception rooms, the front set out as a formal dining room, the back as a living room. One of the home’s two shower rooms is in the hall floor return.
Downstairs there are also two interconnecting principal rooms – the kitchen to the front opening into a family room to the rear with double doors to the garden. There’s also a utility room, storage and a small lobby, and there is access to this level under the stairs to the front.
Perhaps an indication of the quality – and spend – on the renovation is the choice of kitchen. It is made by Chalon and features painted timber, stone-topped units mixed with cherrywood cupboards with integrated appliances. A cream-coloured double Aga completes the country look. The space is dominated by a large island that also works as a breakfast bar – too large arguably, as there is no room for a family dining table, something new owners may rework.
Upstairs are two bedrooms to the front – a single and a double – with the main one to the rear. Here, in the corner, in a fairly eccentric arrangement, is a huge egg-shaped, unusually deep, stone-effect free-standing bath on a slightly raised travertine tile platform. Apparently it was bought before bathroom measurements were taken, and when it arrived wouldn’t fit into the family bathroom, which is a modest-sized shower room on the first-floor return. The solution was to put it in the bedroom – new owners might think differently. Looking out from this bedroom window reveals another quirk of the house – it looks down on the neighbour’s garden because, while to the front this terrace follows a uniform line, to the rear, some of the gardens meander at an angle. No 20’s west-facing garden is charming and atmospheric, with a paved patio area, a sunken hot tub and a winding path leading down to a tiny secret garden - all bordered by original granite walls.
The owners, who now have a young family, are moving on, selling No 20 Upper Leeson Street through Turley Property Advisors, seeking €1.55 million.
