Built between 1917 and 1922, McCaffrey’s Estate, later Ceannt Fort, was designed by architect Thomas Joseph Byrne, whose pioneering standards of accommodation saw thousands of families from Dublin’s tenements moved out to new homes in the city’s inner suburbs.
For families that may have been used to sleeping six to a bed, Byrne’s thinking brought real meaning to the term “trading up”: he insisted that these new homes include a parlour room, indoor bathroom and toilet, and sizeable gardens for growing vegetables.
On an elevated stretch that connects James Street to Kilmainham village, Ceannt Fort is today considered city centre living. Number 150 Owens Avenue, will suit those looking for a home in walk-in condition.
When the current owners bought it in July 2018 for €411,200, according to the property price register, they purchased an architect-owned and designed property. Minka McInerney had bought the house with a friend back in 2000 and then lived in it with her husband, which is when she did the refurbishment.
All the hard work has been done here and great consideration has been given to its layout. She also factored lots of storage in to make a real success of small-home living.
The brick-fronted, terraced abode has a small entrance hall that opens into a dual-aspect livingroom where a Jotul stove is the focal point. The ground floor is set out in a broken-plan fashion and is warmed by underfloor heating, a luxury that is rare in a compact home of 62sq m (673sq ft) but shows how having an architect design a space puts a strong emphasis on getting the fabric of the home right before spending on surface decoration.
It means you can move around the furniture any way you like without worrying about a sofa blocking a radiator. There’s space under the stairs to keep suitcases out of sight and even a pet kennel, although the current owner’s dog hasn’t taken to it.
A vertical half wall divides the living space from the kitchen, which runs the width of the house. Its soft white units have Corian worktops, integrated appliances, and double doors that lead out to the east-facing back garden. A small but self-contained utility shed of about 4sq m (43sq ft) is a laundry room, meaning you can keep drying clothes out of sight – a really valuable feature especially during the winter months.
At the end of the garden is a fully-insulated, detached home office with electricity and wifi, allowing you to keep a healthy distance between work and home life, another coronavirus world selling point.
Upstairs, there are two double bedrooms and a shower room. Back in Byrne’s day the bathroom in homes of this size and style was often situated downstairs.
There is off-street parking to the front and a number of beautiful green spaces all within a short walk. The grounds of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham are just up the street while the Irish National War Memorial Gardens at Islandbridge on the banks of the river Liffey make a lovely place for a morning run. Across the river is Phoenix Park, which boasts 708 hectares (1,750 acres) of recreational space inside its 11km perimeter wall.
The property is seeking €450,000 through agents DNG.
