New owners of White Lodge may have a bit of work to do make their mark on this home. The interiors would benefit from an update; although you could wait for the avocado bathroom and the floral-patterned Formica kitchen to come back in vogue, you might be better off doing an inside job and putting your own stamp on this fine home in leafy South Dublin.
A new owner won’t have to lift a finger to change the magnificent private garden, however, the most wonderful feature of White Lodge. The detached house sits on .24 hectares (0.6 acres) of beautiful, manicured gardens filled with lovely shrubs, plants and mature trees. The Irish Times arrived up to see the property on the morning after the big snowfall earlier this month; the gardens looked Christmas-card perfect.
The house, though in need of modernisation, has nevertheless a solid footprint, extending to 205sq m (2,206sq ft). For those with deep pockets there is scope to add a large extension to the back and side of the house while hardly making a dent in your garden space. It has architectural features that can be brought out in any new design, such as the arched alcove that greets you as you enter the hall, or the double-height picture window that pours southerly light on to the staircase.
The house has ample picture windows to bring in the light, but most of them need to be upgraded to double-glazed, and could do with new window frames. A new owner would probably look to remove the carpets and lay fresh flooring as well as beefing up the insulation as the home has an E2 Ber. They might want to keep the raised Richard le Droff fireplace in the livingroom, though – it’s pretty funky.
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You could also replace the kitchen with a big kitchen/dining/living area by extending out the back or the side, which is taken up by a detached double garage and a row of brick-built storage sheds. There’s ample space in the front drive to park several cars, and building an extension to this side would maximise the southerly sunshine coming in to the front of the house.
Next to the kitchen, joined by a small hatch, is a diningroom. Beyond that is a fine-sized drawingroom with a limestone fireplace and hearth, and huge sliding doors leading out to a lovely patio area in the front, positioned to take full advantage of the southerly sunshine. There are no worries about privacy – the front garden is bordered by tall, mature shrubbery, hiding everything from the road, and there are no other houses overlooking the front. The livingroom facing the front, with the le Droff fireplace, has a fine bay window, and there’s also a cloakroom and downstairs toilet.
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Upstairs are four good-sized bedrooms, the largest with an en suite, and a family bathroom. All bedrooms have ample wardrobe space and wonderful views over the gardens.
Walking down the winding pathway in the back garden, flanked by large, landscaped hedging and lovely specimen plants, it felt like walking in a winter wonderland, and in summer it will surely feel like a lovely, sun-dappled country garden. For anyone willing to dig in and put a little work into the house, the lifestyle rewards will come in spades.
The house is nicely located between Foxrock and Cabinteely villages, and between the M50 and N11, and the Carrickmines Luas stop is just a short stroll away. Carrickmines tennis club is closer still, and you’re not far from Dunnes Stores in Cornelscourt and Carrickmines Park retail centre, with Smyths Toys, Woodies and Harvey Norman among the tenants.
White Lodge on Brennanstown Road, Carrickmines, Dublin 18 is on the market through Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty, seeking €1.4 million.
