Winding its way up from the Grand Canal, midway between Ranelagh and Rathmines, Mount Pleasant Avenue is one of those charming streets that has "sought after" written all over it. Kensington Villas is a Victorian redbrick terrace at the Belgrave Square end, and takes its name from its history – it was once owned by the British Army to house officers.
Since then, number two has been in the same family for more than 60 years, and while the house is in good condition, it needs a little work and some reorganisation.
For a start, its current 172sq m (1,855sq ft) of accommodation could be extended, brightening up the kitchen at the rear by opening it up to the lovely long garden. You could also sacrifice a bit of the lawn at the end to get some off-street parking, (a definite bonus in this neck of the woods), accessible from the laneway behind.
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At some point, part of the house had been rented out, and the four upstairs bedrooms bear all the hallmarks of a previous era. The patterned carpets, shower cubicles and corner kitchen spaces are a reminder of the area's former reputation as "bedsit land"; before bedsits were rechristened studio apartments, and the location dramatically came up in the world. The house is for sale with Young's for €875,000, and for that you get a drawing room and dining room downstairs, plus kitchen, scullery and storage space, while upstairs, the bedrooms are all of a generous size. Many of the original features are intact, including plasterwork and fireplaces, though some of these have been boarded up.
There’s a very charming range in an alcove in the kitchen. The windows are now a rather un-Victorian uPVC.
