For years, a site with a boarded-up bungalow stood vacant on Milltown Road as several ambitious planning proposals were applied for and then refused for the prime suburban plot. They included a multistorey apartment block and, later, a nursing home. In the end, the developer sold on the site and the new owner, a small builder, got permission for three substantial detached houses which he built slowly but with patient and impressive attention to detail.
The traditional-looking double-fronted two-storey houses were completed nearly three years ago and, while none came on the open market, two show signs of being lived in. Now the middle house, called Rosleague, is for sale through Lisney for €1.375 million.
For families trading up, the newly built house ticks a long list of boxes. It is big with four bedrooms and 264sq m (2,841sq ft) of space plus an attic with 49sq m (527sq ft) which will be used by new owners as either a fifth bedroom or a large den.
Hardwood kitchen
It’s slightly different from its neighbours with its part-pebble-dash, part-redbrick facade and everything about it – aside from its impressive A3 energy rating – feels solid, traditional and upmarket. There are two reception rooms – on either side of the spacious hall. Both have limestone fireplaces fitted with multifuel stoves, an indication the energy spec in the house is high. The bright, open-plan kitchen/dining room has plenty of space for a sofa or two. It runs across the rear and is fitted with a custom-built Shalford hardwood kitchen, with a large centre island topped with granite and comes complete with appliances. There’s a good-sized and fully fitted-out utility room to the side.
Upstairs the four bedrooms are doubles, and two have en-suites. All the bathrooms – including the family bathroom upstairs and one off the hall – are fitted with Hansgrohe and Duravit sanitaryware and finished with smart-looking contemporary tiling. The house has been carpeted throughout – or at least in the rooms that aren’t floored in marble tiling or new wide-plank floorboards. The walls are painted an off-white and the bedrooms have built-in wardrobes, so it feels ready to be lived in.
The location is a plus Milltown is close to schools and the city centre with good transport options. In an old established area, a newly built house that doesn’t need a thing done to it is an attractive proposition.
The back garden is about eight metres long and there is pedestrian access to it from either side of the house.
There is a compromise though. Rosleague is on a busy main road and, as the house takes up a significant part of the site, it does not feel proportionally set back. The builder has done much to mitigate this negative such as setting the house behind tall electric gates – there is off-street parking for a couple of cars – and installing triple-glazed windows.
