The vendor admits to being “torn” about selling 2 Ardmore Avenue in Dublin 7. It’s been home for 18 years, and in that time it has seen her grow from a carefree singleton to a mother of two. She first purchased it with her brother as the millennium kicked off.
“It has had many living variations,” she recalls, “but our lives have changed. My brother’s in London now and we both have families and it’s time to dissolve the partnership.” Coincidentally, the 1911 census shows that this house was divided in two and shared by a brother and sister. “Just like us,” the vendor says.
Agent Lisney is seeking €495,000, a reflection of the property’s decently sized 110sq m (1,184sq ft) accommodation, plus a converted attic that adds another 16sq m (172sq ft). Nearby 11 Ardmore Avenue sold for €532,500 in March this year.
Number 2's 1910 beginnings are obvious in a practical layout, albeit much changed and added to. The reception rooms have been opened up with glass-panelled folding doors, wooden sash windows were added to the front of the house, original floorboards were sanded and polished (although covered for now in floating laminate for the comfort of crawling children), front and rear patio and garden were landscaped by Denis Murray, and, a big move this, foundations were lowered when adding a new kitchen and shower room so as to make for higher ceilings. Some doors are original and there are period-style fireplaces in most rooms.
Walls built from bricks scavenged to match the house make the landscaped rear/side patio of a piece with the kitchen/breakfastroom. Sandstone paving keeps the mood pastel and double glass doors ensure light.
Similar glass doors from the diningroom to the patio create continuity.
The family bathroom and a small bedroom are on the return; the main bedroom is front-facing with a working fireplace and the third, rear bedroom also has a fireplace. There is a great deal of eaves storage in the converted attic, as well as three large Velux windows giving city views to the Dublin mountains.
The vendor and her family are scouring the area for a new home: “We love it here and definitely want to stay around.”
