Set behind high privet hedges on busy Monkstown Road is a row of south-facing coach houses which used to belong to the big houses on Belgrave Square. But it is a long time since their interiors have seen either coach or horse: over the years they have all been converted into residences.
Number 44 is an airy and uncluttered two-storey, two-bedroom home. Hamilton Osborne King expect it to achieve in excess of £275,000 at auction on March 11th. The present owners bought the property, which dates from the 1860s, 10 years ago. They carried out various refurbishments including installing wooden-framed double glazed windows at the front and a new roof. The house is presented in what appears to be perfect condition.
The house is accessed by wooden double gates, and there is parking space for at least one car in the paved courtyard at the front. Inside, there is a sizable entrance hall with a room on either side stretching the full depth of the house. The livingroom, which measures nearly 18 by 15 feet, has a window at either end. The mantel has been stripped back to the natural pine and the fireplace houses a coal-effect gas fire.
Across the hall is a similarly spacious kitchen, painted a warm yellow and with varnished floorboards. The extensive range of kitchen units (including an island unit) is made of black-finished ash with oak work tops. There is plenty of room for a large dining table by the window.
Upstairs there are just two bedrooms, although some of the neighbouring houses have up to four. An open-plan study area at the front could be enclosed to make a third room.
Both of the bedrooms have charming sloping ceilings and a dormer window at the front and a porthole at the back. The bathroom, which is lit by a Velux-type window is a clean, cool room in white and turquoise. Italian glazed tiles cover the floor and go halfway up the walls. A huge Victorian bath has its original brass taps. A separate corner cubicle is fitted with a power shower.
Outside, the back of the house is quite lovely, with arched and porthole windows set in the classical facade. This mews was, after all, designed to look good from the rear windows of its parent house in Belgrave Square. A simple gravel and paved garden - with a corner patio - makes this an easily maintained space.
