Two new housing schemes on infill sites in Dublin 6W offer A-rated homes in well-established neighbourhoods with frequent bus connectivity.
The boutique developments are by Seabren, run by Johnny O’Loughlin, who partnered with Michael Moran of the Moran Hotel Group about three years ago.
O’Loughlin grew up in nearby Wainsfort and worked his way up from being a tiler to his first development in 2004. Their niche is smart, modernist-inspired houses for the middle market, and they currently have 30 units under construction, with planning for another 20 in sites mainly located in Dublin 6 and 6W.
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The firm made headlines last year when it bought an infill site off Annesley Park in Ranelagh village in Dublin for €8.7 million, a significant premium on the guide price of €4.9 million-plus. The firm has planning for 20 units on the 1.25-acre site, located at Dunville Close, but its current focus are these two bijou schemes off Kimmage Road Lower that O’Loughlin says he came across while walking around the area.
Hidden from view
Riversdale Mews is a trio of terraced two-storey houses, built on a former garage site, about 800sq m in size, hidden from view behind a terrace of redbrick single-storey cottages, midway between the KCR and Sundrive Road intersections.
The house styles are designed to suit the site. Accessed via electronic gates and designed by Ranelagh-based OC Architects, the terraced houses are two-storey with flat modernist-style roofs.
The showhouse opens into a roomy hall with a ceiling height of 2.65m. There’s a sittingroom to the front with vertical timber beams creating a privacy shield. This room also has a Dimplex electric fire as a focal point and LED strip lighting under the shelving in the alcoves to either side.
There’s a large eat-in kitchen by FitzGerald Kitchens to the rear with glass doors leading out to the garden, but instead of a single wall of glass there are glazing panels set at different angles to differentiate between the dining and seating zones within the room.
Upstairs there are three good-sized doubles. The main bedroom has an internal ensuite while the second bedroom has five doors of wardrobe space.
These houses measure 117sq m (1,259sq ft) and prices start from €610,000 through agent Sherry FitzGerald.
Warehouses
The second development, a terrace of nine houses on Aideen Place, was formerly a series of warehouses that the firm bought one by one.
These houses are three-storey and have carports and storage units to the front for bins and bikes. Painted a lovely shade called pebble grey, it works well with Irish grey skies. Privacy screens at first-floor level and the alu-clad windows have been picked out in a darker tone to add visual contrast to the terrace.
There is a more open-plan feel to these, with the ground floor laid out in a C-shape and comprising a living area to the front overlooking a small internal courtyard, with the kitchen set down the spine of the C and the dining area on the other side of the courtyard, giving it garden views. It helps to create zones within the space, and the glazing prevents any area feeling too enclosed.
There are two bedrooms on the first floor. Both are doubles. The so-called box room is actually a good size double with a wall of glazing.
Picture window
The main bedroom, on the second floor, has a lovely, huge picture window framing a view of the Dublin mountains . Rather than an ensuite, the bathroom at this level adjoins the room. These units measure 119sq m (1,280sq ft) and prices start from €580,000.
The showhouses in both have been fitted out by House & Garden.
Seabren is currently selling a scheme of 13 three-bedroom homes at Cromwellsfort Road, Dublin 12; one of a pair of high-end semis at Ontario Court, Ranelagh, asking €850,000, and it is working on two contemporary period-style three-storey homes of 4,500sq ft with elevators and other high-spec tech on Highfield Road.
