Rathdown – located between Templeogue and Terenure and comprising the Crescent, the Park and the Avenue – was developed from the 1920s to 1940 as solid two-storey family houses finished in brick, timber and dashed render.
The houses stood on large plots, making them particularly attractive down the years with families looking for well-proportioned properties on quiet roads with good gardens near schools and transport. Most houses in the area show signs of relatively recent and extensive modernisation, as does 16 Rathdown Crescent – now for sale though DNG seeking €1.35 million.
About 20 years ago the previous owner, a builder, undertook a complete renovation of the semi-detached double-fronted property, which included extending to the side and rear, converting the attic and adding a new porch to the front.
A particularly attractive addition is the extensively glazed rear extension – to make space for a dining room and larger kitchen – which has a pitched roof tiled in the same red tile as the house and with a distinctive rooflight. All that was in place when the current owners bought in 2012.
The layout is quite different from the original. What would have been a small study to the front was knocked through to make a large, open reception hall with a fireplace, and this leads into the converted garage. The door out from here to the side passageway could be a boon to buyers who decide to use it as a home office.
The reception rooms on the other side of the hall, which would have interconnected, are now separate, something new owners might wish to change. There is another seating area on the way into the kitchen that’s fitted with a wood-burning stove.
Spiral staircase
Upstairs, the main bedroom has a full-size ensuite bathroom, and two of the other four bedrooms also have ensuites. A spiral staircase leads to the attic conversion where there are two rooms. Everything was done to a high standard by the builder, with high-spec fixtures and fittings, from the contemporary fitted kitchen to the bathrooms and the new doors and timber and stone-flagged floors.
A basketball hoop, an Astroturf putting green and the sunken space for a trampoline are all signs of the likely market for this large 297sq m (3,200 sq ft) home. The rear garden – with some mature trees and full of colour – is 34m (110ft) long. A major local amenity is also just around the corner in Bushy Park, with its well-maintained tennis courts, football pitches and walkways.
