Ard Mhuire is a long-established housing estate just down the road from Fitzpatrick’s Hotel in Dalkey in which quite a few houses have been renovated. Atrani, at number 17 on the quiet cul-de-sac, is a detached five-bedroom home and is now on the market with DNG, seeking €1.495 million.
The owners bought the 1950s-built house 25 years ago and renovated it extensively, adding a large extension to the rear of the house that now expands to 225sq m (2422sq ft).
The house is set well back from the quiet road, with a front garden that is in lawn with shrubs and ample car parking. The house faces south, so the entrance hall is bright and warm with a study on the right painted in Charleston Gray by Farrow & Ball. This room that leads in to the kitchen would work equally well as a den or playroom.
On the left, through part-glazed doors, is the sittingroom. It is a long room with oak flooring underfoot. There’s no fireplace, which contributes to the healthy Ber rating of C1, and double doors from here open into the kitchen, livingroom and diningroom. A rocking horse has, after a lifetime in rooms all over the house, come to rest in the sittingroom.
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The large, bright modern kitchen and living area were part of an extension built by the owners a couple of years after they moved in. It is lit from above by multiple Velux windows and has three entrances – from the study, the hall and the sittingroom – making it great for parties.
There’s an abundance of space for a living area clustered around a TV, a long oak dining table, and the kitchen, which begins with an island painted in Brassica by Farrow & Ball – a soft purple echoed in the tiling behind the hob. The quartz-topped island curves at its end, in the same finish as the countertops.
Although the kitchen is more than 20 years old, everything still looks very fresh. There’s a utility room off the kitchen and a small guest loo that new owners will probably want to update. Double doors under a triangular apex open on to a wide, raised patio with steps leading down to the garden.
The back of the garden is bordered by tall, mature trees, including a tall pine and an oak planted by the family when they first moved in; it’s private and not overlooked. There’s a basement under the raised patio that would be a handy storage space.
Back in the house, newly carpeted stairs split at their top, leading to the five bedrooms. Another Velux window has been installed on the landing, and a couch sits snugly in the space underneath it. An en-suite bedroom sits to the back of the house along with the main bathroom.
The main bedroom to the front of the house is lovely, with a pretty blue wallpaper and a dual aspect. Using the adjacent bedroom for a dressingroom and en suite – as there’s already a door between them – may make sense for new owners as there’s more than enough room in the other bedrooms to lose one for a bit of luxury.
With the owners now downsizing, the location of 17 Ard Mhuire Park should prove attractive to prospective owners, with Killiney Hill just up the road, Killiney beach and the Vico bathing spot within walking distance, along with Dalkey village and its bars, shops and restaurants.
