When number 81 last came to the market in 2015 it was set out in bedsits as a pre-1963 unit. It was asking €350,000, which, by today’s standards, seems like a paltry sum, but the market was in its early stages of recovery. While in need of complete modernisation, the house extended to a sizeable 172sq m/ 1,851sq ft and already had a really good flow to its layout.
Demand was evidently brisk, for it sold for €460,000 in August of that year. Its new owners, one Irish, the other French, set about gently upgrading it while maintaining its period features. Their credo was: “Anything that had already survived 100 years will probably see us all out.” This has delivered a charming home filled with character, but also modernised and beautifully decorated.
They added insulation to the exterior walls and invested in beautiful timber windows and a double front door, commissioned from Kells Traditional Timber Windows and Doors. These demonstrate the quality of the refurbishment from the minute you knock on the outer door. They also commissioned leaded glass panels for either side of the front door, which opens into a room hall.
Thrilled to find the original floorboards pretty much intact under mangy carpets, they had them sanded back to a pale shade removing dark staining that had framed earlier rugs.
Now a C3 Ber rating, the property is elegantly painted in soft blues, grey greens and pinks throughout.
The front door lead glass panels match those in the bay window of the front room, one of a pair of interconnecting reception rooms that can be opened up to entertain, something the owners did a lot pre-Covid. The interconnecting doors also fold back flush with the walls to really show off the rooms’ matching marble fireplaces.
There’s a guest wc and shower under the stairs and the kitchen is in the return, where units run along one wall and are topped with a polished granite worktop. In pride of place is a French manor house oak chimney piece that was rescued by the French owner’s father and dates back to the French revolution. Housed within it is a wood-burning stove. It’s a dramatic addition that can be included in the sale should the next owner like it. If not, it will transit with them to their next abode.
Behind the kitchen is a very roomy larder cum utility where there is space for an American-style fridge, shelving for ancillary bowls and serveware, cook books and appliances as well as white goods.
During the refurbishment they moved the water tank down here, so that it is easily accessible, adding a pump to improve water pressure. Both it and the new gas combi-boiler are hidden from view. There is also direct access to the garden from here, where they dry clothes on racks rather than a line.
Upstairs there are four good-size double bedrooms, one on the return, where the family shower room is also located, and three on the first floor.
The main, which is painted Stiffkey Blue by Farrow & Ball, is to the rear, while one of the two at the front overlooks the intersection with tree-lined Charleville Road.
Out back, at the end of the north-facing garden, is a trellised terrace that gets southern sun. Behind it is a vehicular-rear access garage, which extends to about 26.5sq m with room for off-street parking for one car, as well as tools, Christmas decorations and sports gear. Adjacent to it is a home office of almost 14sq m with its own wc – ideal for those working from home.
The owners say they rarely use their car, for the property is within a two-minute walk of shops where there is an award-winning butcher, fishmonger, organic grocer, bakery and corner shop. Phibsboro Luas stop is a similarly short distance as are stops for numerous cross-town buses.
