Ten years ago when number 9 Victoria Road came on the market, the buyers were close at hand. Having rented the house next door for a number of years, and liking the family-friendly Rathgar road, when the sale sign went up they were prepared to take on the renovation of the 100-year-old property. As is the way with makeovers of these type of period terraced red brick, as well as extensive updating throughout, the work also involved building at the rear to create a large open-plan eat-in kitchen.
They commissioned Stefan Hockenreiner of Ambient Architecture to oversee the restoration and modernisation of the Edwardian property and he designed what became the home’s largest room – the light-filled extension which runs the width of the house.
Leicht kitchen units with plenty of storage are against one wall with a Fired Earth tiled splashback and integrated appliances, and the stainless steel and oak island unit is Bulthaup. The industrial style is carried through in the polished concrete floor (with underfloor heating), the folding aluminium doors that open to the garden and the folded steel steps that lead up to the rear reception room.
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There are two interconnecting reception rooms – the front has the bay – a study in the return and four double bedrooms, including one at attic level which is original in these houses but here with an en suite and a larger dormer for more light and space. The laundry room is on the second-floor return.
It’s the high spec contemporary finishes that make this 222sq m / 2,389sq ft house really stand out – and has earned it a place in interiors magazines. In the family bathroom, which is finished in Carrara marble, the owners sourced from Italy an early piece designed by Patricia Urquiola, currently the most sought-after European designer. Looking like an old-fashioned steel tub, inside the metal is painted white and the outside has a dark grey finish. There is also a walk-in Vola shower.
In the hall the walls have been partially panelled and the flooring is large format bush hammered granite; in the interconnecting reception rooms the spruce wide planks are extra long so as to run through both rooms without a join and they are finished with a white limewash oil finish.
To avoid radiators in these very gracious high ceilinged rooms, trench heaters were installed, concealed with bespoke timber slats. Upstairs where the attention to detail continues, in the landing and bedrooms the flooring is oak herringbone. The bedrooms also feature bespoke built-in wardrobes.
The owners intended staying in the house for good, hence the high quality of every fixture and fitting, but have taken on a renovation project nearby and are moving on.
Number 9 Victoria Road is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald for €1.395 million.
