There’s a lot going on in this 1930s-built semi-detached gem, which is right beside the Dart station in Sandymount. Behind the neat wisteria-clad façade and bow (curved-bay) windows, is a home that has been stripped out and stitched back together with thought, care and precision.
With four children living here, every inch of space in this four-bed house was called into use by the owners, who acquired the property for €400,000 in an intra-familial transfer in 2011.
One half of the couple is French and this sensibility is in evidence everywhere, from the large armoires standing in hallways to the cabinets used for storage, to the finely-tuned balance of comfort and style to be found in every room.
Limestone flags with blue limestone edging set the tone outside the front door, which is surrounded by glazing. The flooring in the hall runs through to the kitchen, and comprises rubber panels, which were imported, like so many things in this house, from France.
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To the right of the entrance, the house’s bright, south-facing sittingroom features triple-glazed bow windows and the original 1930s tiled fireplace. This room has an oak parquet floor and opens through the original sliding doors to another room that variously serves as the home’s music room, teenage den and guest-sleeping quarters.
The owners built an extension to the rear of the house, without losing too much space in the garden, and added a further bedroom above.
A huge, seven-burner gas Smeg range-and-hood takes pride of place in the kitchen/dining/living area. There is well-chosen lighting from Hicken lighting while sliding glass doors open onto the garden where the limestone tiles replicate those found at the front of the property.
The garden has cedar-clad walls, a side passage providing access from the front of the house to the back, and a gate opening onto a private laneway. This space is completely private, and backs onto neighbouring gardens so there is a great sense of tranquillity. While the hum of the Dart passing nearby can be heard, the sound is not overly intrusive.
Back inside the house, the hall features a guest WC along with a spacious closet for coats. The family’s shoes are tucked away, and out of sight in pull-out understairs storage.
Some repositioning of rooms has gone on upstairs. With many of these 1930s houses built with WCs separate from the family bathroom, the owners decided to move the WC from its original position at the back of the house to sit between the principal and smallest bedrooms.
The principal bedroom meanwhile sits at the upper level of the property’s extension. Overlooking the back garden, it features a striking plum-painted wall, built-in wardrobes, a smart en suite equipped with a Raindance shower.
The small box room to the front of the house contains this home’s greatest surprise and arguably its neatest architectural trick: an engineered stairs barely a metre wide – but crucially fully fire compliant – leads up to an attic conversion which has been put to use as a bedroom and home-working space
The clever split space sums up everything about this house: every square inch of this168sq m (1,808 sq ft), C3 Ber-rated home has been put to use. There are clever design solutions everywhere and no detail has been overlooked.
Number 23 Wilfield Park comes to the market bursting with flair and style and is seeking €1.475 million through Sherry FitzGerald.
