Downsizers fancying a bit of period style, the flourish of high ceilings, the light from bay windows and living spaces in walk-in condition, could find what they’re looking for in Whitethorn, the first house on Dún Laoghaire’s lovely Victorian Royal Terrace West.
Whitethorn wasn’t in the terrace’s original 1850s architectural scheme of things. It was actually built in 1995, a smaller-scale, add-on replica of the original houses on the terrace with period features, a sweep of granite steps to the front door and similar layout. Adding a building to Royal Terrace West elongated what was, and is, the longest terrace in south Dublin.
The vendors, who bought it as a new build, have put appreciative work and an apposite decorative flair into Whitethorn. Agent DNG is seeking €850,000 for a contemporary house with the flair and feel of a period one, modernised, comfortable and light-filled. The decor could be described as controlled luxe: extravagantly swagged curtains and luxuriant wallpapers are in pale colours; paintwork everywhere is white.
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Side patio
The floor area covers 120sq m (1,292sq ft). Over three levels there are three bedrooms, a drawingroom, family and guest shower rooms; on the lower ground floor is a kitchen/breakfastroom and well-fitted utility. A front garden has been sacrificed to parking for several cars, an enclosed side patio has a shed and garden possibilities, and a sheltered rear courtyard opens to laneway access to Tivoli Road.
The compact, front-facing drawingroom has a wide rear bay window, front sash window and 11ft high ceilings. A period-style marble fireplace, darkly polished mahogany floor, cornicing and wallpaper are discreetly lavish. The dark wood flooring continues in the entrance hallway where period-effect stained glass enlivens the front door. A bedroom at the end of the hall has a rear-facing window.
Rooftop velux
The stairwell is deep with a rooftop velux. A family shower room on the first return is tiled in black-and-white with old-style sanitaryware. The main bedroom has a front bay window with views of the nearby square and, much further away, Killiney Hill.
The garden-level kitchen/family room has a fitted breakfast table in polished black granite. Well fitted and painted a primrose yellow, the kitchen has a French door to the rear courtyard.
