The recent makeover of 28 St Kevin’s Gardens, Dartry, is an example of how a standard 1950s semi-d can be reworked both inside and out to bring it bang up to date. The major work on the Dublin 6 house had already been done when the present owner bought seven years ago but he commissioned Nu House renovators to do some additional work. That mostly involved extending out the back - to the side – to add a utility room off the kitchen and a glazed office room looking out over the garden. It all adds to the 214sq m of space in this four-bed house that will have strong appeal for families trading up.
The previous work – done by its former owner, an architect – opened up the ground floor and included replacing all interior doors, laying new floors and updating both the downstairs shower-room, the family bathroom and ensuite. The eat-in kitchen – a large light-filled room across the rear of the house – had modern fitted units and these have been replaced with high-gloss grey units which work perfectly with the polished concrete countertops and island.
Originally there would have been two interconnecting reception rooms but that has been opened up into one room with glazed doors into the kitchen. The other, possibly larger reception room off the hall, to the left, has two picture windows and is currently used as a guest bedroom but would make a fine livingroom.
Upstairs the smallest of the bedrooms has been fitted out as a dressingroom and there are three other bedrooms.
The only improvement new owners might consider is to convert the attic – although the house now has a good balance of bedrooms and living areas.
Number 28 is at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac off St Kevin’s Park. It was built years after those houses and the final stage of development in the 1950s included a few semi-detached houses at the end of the cul-de-sac. Like number 28, which has smart new grey painted windows, several of them have clearly been renovated in recent years. Their rear gardens vary in size with number 28 having one of the longer and wider ones. It’s not overlooked, is fringed by mature planting and features a large timber deck outside the kitchen.
The front garden has been given over to off-street parking. Sherry FitzGerald are the agents, quoting €1.15 million.
