Built in the 1860s just inside the City and Parliamentary Boundary, as shown on early Ordnance Survey maps, and formerly defined by the river Swan, Leeson Park Avenue is a short, L-shaped cul-de-sac tucked away off Appian Way.
It’s the kind of road, say the current owners of number 30, that sees some people stay for their whole lives; the Property Price Register shows very few having changed hands. This family bought the house in 2006 and moved out for the duration of their renovation, which included a reroofing, rewiring, replumbing and upgrading the heating, as well as demolishing a two-storey workshop and building an imaginative extension.
Number 30 is the fifth house along on the left, the second-last of a terrace of two-storey-over-basement houses across from a row of lower, villa-style houses. This adds an airiness to the upstairs of the four-bed house, with views across those rooftops to the expansive green grounds of the Royal Hospital in Donnybrook.
At the front, there’s a broad paved path; to the right, the railed garden starts with a bike rack and is planted for privacy with a golden acer and a radiant robinia. Steps lead down from here, not to the usual door under the front steps but to double glass doors.
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At hall level, walnut floors gleam and pretty plasterwork, restored by the Old Mould Company, edges the tall ceilings. The leafy centre roses are in high relief, and the detail on the front door frame is repeated over the flat-folding double doors that connect the two reception rooms on the right. These have matching marble mantelpieces; the fireplace in the rear room is blocked but that in the front room is open. This, and all the books and carefully chosen prints and ornaments, and the harmonious colours of the furnishings, lends a feeling of relaxed formality.
The main suite is also on this level, with a dressing area and a smart en suite along the way to a large square bedroom that has a dramatic window on the cantilevered corner, and one on the side.
Upstairs, the work included turning a small bedroom on the return into a bathroom, with panelling in the lobby concealing lots of storage. There are two windows, one of them a sunny circle, and a bath as well as a big shower.
There are three good-sized bedrooms on the first floor, of which the largest is at the back. The working shutters on the replacement sash windows by Kells Joinery remove the need for curtains, and the light really pours through this level. At the top of the second stairs is a tiny bathroom. Hot water comes from solar-powered tubes, mounted in the southwest-facing roof; the Ber is B3.
At the back of the main hall, the walnut flooring continues down a staircase with a glass balustrade and a long, light-filtering slot window. Here is the hub of the 240sq m (2,583sq m) home, with the most inviting cocoon of a family room opening to the front garden. There is a utility room in the space under the front steps and a guest toilet at the end of the wooden stairs.
The owners chose not to dig down for extra head height here, but instead created channels between the ceiling joists, fireproofed and painted white like most of the interior. Beyond the family room, the central area has a big glass desk – a Habitat dining table – and there are two steps down to the big wide kitchen-dining area. Glossy white units from Arena, with Miele appliances and a Corian worktop, have aged very well, and more books line the other wall.
The back wall is almost completely glass, with one huge fixed pane and three doors that fold back to unite inside and outside. The split-level garden, designed by Martin Brady, is full of interest, with two sets of granite steps, pockets of planting and plenty of seats, including a lovely breakfast spot under the jutting-out, timber-clad bedroom, and the rear of the house is painted a soft pale green.
There are olive trees, bays and a box, as well as jasmine and solarium climbing up the pergola. It’s hard to believe you’re so close to Ranelagh and Donnybrook villages, handy for town by bike, bus or Luas and almost within sight of top schools including Muckross for girls, Gonzaga for boys and Sandford Park for both.
The family are moving – but not far – for a bit more space and have put number 30 Leeson Park Avenue up for sale through Sherry FitzGerald with an asking price of €1.95 million.
