Despite many streets in the vicinity using the Portobello address, it is a small enough area bordered to the west by Clanbrassil Street, the east by South Richmond Street and the north and south by the Grand Canal and the South Circular Road respectively. Any properties outside this frame are not in the district, but they do benefit from the what is known as the “Portobello effect”.
Lennox Street is probably the nicest street in Portobello itself, not just for its lovely tree-lined terraces, but for the distinction of having local services run by people who get to know their customers' names. The Bretzel Bakery has been baking bread here for more than 150 years and Brindle Coffee and Wine offers a fine range of artisan foods. The Lennox Street Grocer has just been opened by the Arnold family who have lived and worked here since 1999, when Paul Arnold established his architectural practice on the street.
The space now offers everything from disposable barbecues made from natural materials to locally supplied products and wine. It’s the sort of street where, to use the line from Cheers, “everybody knows your name”, the antithesis if you like of anonymous urban sprawl. It’s a place you can get your hair done, grab a coffee, have your pictures framed and buy dinner all within a few hundred metres.
Number 29A lies next to the Hang Tough framing shop and a few doors down from the 31 Lennox, formerly the Lennox Café.
Extending to 112sq m (1,206sq ft), the property underwent two major renovations: the first in 2010 when insulation and new windows were installed and again in 2017, when the kitchen and rear layout was rejigged to make the space more sociable and take advantage of its southerly aspect. “The reason I bought the house was because of its south-facing rear garden. When I started to look at houses to buy, there were so few that actually had south-facing gardens and kitchens. When we did the renovations in 2017, I also wanted to incorporate the kitchen into the dining area” says the owner.
It is now a lovely space with Crittall-style windows painted in a deep petrol blue that make the most of the natural light. It now also allows whoever is cooking to engage with guests in the diningroom, whether they’re being kept warm by the open fire in winter or out on the paved side patio in summer.
What is so impressive about the house, besides its super condition and décor, is the abundance of natural light that flows through it, even on the dullest of days.
The property has three double bedrooms and the converted attic has a large space which is currently used as a home office. The principal bedroom has wonderful views to the dome of Church Of Mary Immaculate Refuge of Sinners in Rathmines. Number 29A, in turnkey condition with a BER of D1, is on the market through Sherry FitzGerald seeking €875,000.
