There are now three “for sale” signs on the railings of a stretch of Upper Garville Avenue in Rathgar, a redbrick terrace of two-storey over-garden level houses built in the 1860s.
Number 57 is now “sale agreed” for a figure believed to be a little more than its €950,000 asking price. Its new owners will probably extend and renovate. Then there’s number 39, probably the largest house on the terrace, with a recent price drop to €1.5 million. However, it is being targeted at a different market as it is divided into eight units.
Now number 45 has come on the market. It is a different proposition again as it is in walk-in condition. It has been home to the same family for the past 36 years and they have decorated and updated the house every few years, meaning new owners will have little to do.
When they bought the house, there were two rental units at garden level and the owner was using just the hall floor. The first choice they had was where to put the kitchen. It’s at garden level to the front, with the sink under the window so you can watch the world pass by. They also put a family room to the rear and a utility in the return.
Period features
If she were doing it again, the owner says she would probably put the kitchen in the back which is south-facing with access to the garden. New owners might do that if they are updating the kitchen units.
They also had to decide where the put the bathroom to replace the more makeshift one that was there. They opted for the first floor return, giving them a very large bathroom that was again updated in recent years.
With a three-storey return – and no modern extension – the house follows the expected layout. It has two fine, interconnecting reception rooms at hall level with matching white marble fireplaces complete with their original tiled insets and attractive decorative plasterwork and other period features. There’s a double bedroom in the return and three further bedrooms at the top of the house, two doubles and single.
At 255sq m (2,740sq ft), number 45 is a large version of this popular style of Victorian house. There is a garage at the back with parking for two cars, which is a boon, given that off-street parking to the front is a thing of the past planning-wise on these roads.
Number 45 Garville Avenue Upper is for sale through Quillsen for €1.4 million.
