According to the Central Statistics Office’s revamped Residential Property Price Index, Dublin 6 – which includes Ranelagh, Rathmines and Rathgar – is now the most expensive place to buy a home in Ireland, with an average price of €694,148 for a residential property.
With proximity to the Luas, restaurants, fee-paying schools and the city, Rathmines has moved from what was once student flatland to being a trendy city suburb. This is reflected in the Swan Centre – currently undergoing a facelift – which has a new cinema and will shortly include an outlet of the upmarket food hall Fallon and Byrne.
Summerville Park is a tiny cul-de-sac off Upper Rathmines Road, next to Kildare Place School. The family living at number 14, a three-bedroom terraced house with 124sq m (1,335sq ft) of space, have been there since 2007.
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“We thought it would be a stopgap for about five years,” the owners say, “ but we really love the area and the house, so it’s been nearly a decade.”
The owners are moving on to a larger property to accommodate their growing family. When the house was purchased in 2006, they gave it a complete overhaul. After it had been rewired, they installed a new bathroom, updated the kitchen and built a large vaulted skylight over the kitchen to take advantage of its southerly aspect. The interior designer Clodagh Barry was engaged to assist with the decor.
The connecting doors between the drawingroom and the diningroom were removed – the fine architrave still remains – and the change really works, as the north-facing front reception room now benefits from a flow of light from the garden. The rooms feature period fireplaces, high ceilings and original flooring which has been given a mahogany stain.
The galley kitchen, which was extended by previous owners, is bright and airy and leads to the small garden, which new owners will want to bring to life.
Upstairs, the family bathroom is the pièce de résistance, spacious with luxurious fittings.
Three bedrooms are on the first floor, and the converted attic with white panelled walls is the children’s den but would also make a fine home office.
The only change new owners might want to make would be to take up the bedroom carpets to reveal the pine flooring underneath.
Sherry FitzGerald is selling the property, with an asking price of €795,000.
