An article written about 17 Orwell Park in The Irish Times Property supplement in September 2010, when it was last for sale, noted that while there were very few buyers out there with more than €2 million to spend, anyone in that position would do well to look at the ready-to-walk-into semi-detached Victorian in Rathgar.
The five-bed was for sale for €2 million. That’s when the present owners had a look, waiting until 2011 as the market slipped further to seal the deal; they bought the house for €1.58 million – almost €1 million less than the asking price. Now six years later they are moving on and DNG has priced 17 Orwell Park – again – at €2.5 million.
Earlier still, in 2002, the property sold for €1.8million. The buyers then embarking on a major renovation and extension of the period house. The comprehensive project included landscaping the rear garden with a fountain and pond and cleaning the redbrick at the front.
At the rear, an extension made space for a cosy Aga kitchen with timber painted units and a dining space. They kept and restored original details and used luxury finishes such as large stone tiles on the floors in the halls and kitchen area.
The present owners have also done some work: replacing the flooring in the reception rooms with attractive salvage boards; commissioning a replica fireplace for the living room; extending the family bathroom – by taking a slice off a rear bedroom – and decorating throughout. When they moved in a large room beside the kitchen was kitted out with a sauna – removing that they sought out Victorian bathroom fittings and created a large marble-floored downstairs bathroom.
There are three reception rooms leading off the entrance hall, and upstairs, three of the bedrooms are on the first floor including the main bedroom at the front of the house with its parquet floor, large French-style fireplace and marble-tiled bathroom. Two of the bedrooms share an en suite. There is a fourth bedroom on the lower return, and on the top floor one further room, as well as a walk-in wardrobe and a shower room.
The north-facing back garden is divided into two distinct areas, a patio behind the house and a further hidden garden. It’s all gravelled so families with small children will probably try to put some grass down. There is a garage to the side and off-street parking for a couple of cars.
When the owners bought they were, unusually for this tree-lined road, not overlooked at the front – they were facing a large site which had for decades been boarded up. It’s different now – property developer Fiona Hanby has since developed the acre of land building townhouses and apartments. Now number 17 Orwell Park looks out onto the tall apartment block.
