The sitting room at 29 Leeson Park Avenue is so peaceful I can hear the turf fire gently flickering. It’s an elegant room too, with high ceilings and all its period features intact. Connecting doors are opened to give front-to-back light, and you can either use the entire space as one or close it off for a separate den or dining room.
The owner, who has lived here for 47 years remembers when she first came. It was the large arched window on the return that had really sold her and her husband on the house, although she now says she's grateful that "all their money went on buying it" with none left over for renovation. "I was only young, and fashions were different. I could have ripped it out and made it all Mary Quant. I would have regretted it ever since."
‘Neighbours are great’
That’s not to say changes haven’t been made in this charming three-bed 152sq m (1,636sq ft) house. Upstairs, there are two large doubles, and what was once the third bedroom has been converted to a luxurious bathroom. A smart modern kitchen has been installed on the main floor. This has a door to a little raised deck for al fresco breakfasts, with stairs down to the cottage-style garden. Another raised space at the end catches the last rays of evening sun.
The third bedroom is at garden level, along with a family room, the original kitchen and a bathroom, which could do with a little upgrading, or you could just wait for the pink suite to come back into fashion. As there is access from the front, and also via French windows to the garden, you have all the makings of a self-contained flat which gives obvious flexibility.
Leeson Park Avenue is a wonderfully quiet cul-de-sac just off Appian Way, almost exactly between Ranelagh and Donnybrook, so you’re in a perfect position for schools, universities, shops and a short walk to town.
The house is for sale with Sherry FitzGerald at €1.25 million, and the owner says it’s the perfect family spot. “The neighbours are great, and there’s a good mix of people on the road,” she says. “It’s a very versatile house. It took us through all the needs of our family life.”
She points out where neighbours along the road have extended, so there’s scope for this lovely house to grow with you too.
