The gardens, front and rear, are a definite selling point for number 12 Deerpark Lawn. It’s a rare house indeed that has 90ft-plus long gardens back and front, rare too to find both nicely matured and bordered by trees and shrubs that give both privacy and aesthetic pleasure. They also give a sense of number 12’s location close to the Phoenix Park.
On a site measuring .23 acres, the house itself was built in the late 1970s. At the time, nearly 40 years ago, several builders were involved with the Deerpark development.
This made for a diversity of design that has become all the more interesting as the area matured. Number 12 is in a cul de sac, on three levels and double-fronted. It has a floor area of 326sq m (3,509sq ft), six bedrooms (the main an en-suite), two reception rooms and an open-plan kitchen/family/dining area taking up the entire rear width of the house.
The vendors paid €1.2 million when they bought three years ago. Agent Sherry FitzGerald is asking €1.4 million this time round.
South-facing sun room
Previous owners decided to take advantage of number 12’s orientation and a sun room to the south faces to the front of the house. A first-floor balcony above this, measuring six feet wide, the length of the house and accessed from the bedrooms, also helps make the most of any available sun. The sun room was added some 20 years ago and, together with the balcony, needs some updating.
An atrium-like entrance hallway is 22ft high and, so as to allow light flow unhindered, the ground floor doors are glass panelled. Walls and woodwork throughout are painted white. All of this gives a sense of light and space, an asset that could be much enhanced with a decorating job.
The formal sitting room has a front-facing wall-to-wall window and large, open fireplace with a wooden mantel. A playroom, off the hallway, leads directly to a shower room and could be used as a seventh bedroom.
Flourishing lavender
French doors lead from the kitchen/family/dining area to the completely private rear garden and stone-flagged patio. The garden has high, matured trees, a lawn with a pathway and flourishing lavender, hydrangea and other plants.
The main bedroom, one of four bedrooms on the first floor, has an en-suite bathroom and, in what was once a bedroom, a spacious dressing room.
The top floor is filled with light from an abundance of Velux windows, three of which are on the landing. The bedrooms, with three Velux in each, look out over tree tops and have an eyrie-like mood.