I’ve seen some intricate ceiling cornicing and centre roses on period houses around Dublin in my time, but I haven’t seen anything as intricate and detailed as the cornicing and centre roses which grace the high ceilings of number 4 Rostrevor Terrace. The huge, elegant drawingroom of this Victorian house in Rathgar features three layers of elaborately patterned cornicing, and the finely detailed centre rose is surrounded by garlands, giving the room an added sense of grandeur.
With intricate plasterwork running through the hallway and diningroom, number 4 wears its age on its ruffled sleeve, and the owners have decorated the house with antique furniture and artworks, preserving it as a time capsule from another age. There’s even a vintage Bakelite telephone on the hall stand – good luck explaining to your teenager how that ancient piece of technology works.
Rostrevor Terrace is a quiet, tree-lined haven just off Orwell Road in Rathgar, and residents have the benefit of a small park to the front which separates the terrace from the main road, and offers privacy and tranquillity in this busy suburb. The house, built in the 1860s, has two storeys over garden level, with four bedrooms, and a mature, southwest-facing back garden that is 120ft long. It extends to a generous 436sq m (4,693sq ft), is Ber-exempt, and is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald seeking €3.35 million.
While the house proudly displays its period features, it has been adapted for modern family living while remaining consistent with its architectural heritage. The garden-level accommodation, for instance, is ideally suited to a busy family, with a large kitchen-breakfastroom equipped with a polished granite island and countertops, Stanley stove, Miele oven and dishwasher, ceramic double sink, integrated fridge, tiled splashback and an extensive range of bespoke wall- and floor-mounted kitchen units.
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The room has tiled floor and underfloor heating, and two sash windows with working shutters look out to the front, with a charming window box seat under one of the windows. Exposed granite walls blend nicely with the country cream colours, and an archway leads into the family room, which has travertine tiled floors, a gas fire and a bay with French doors leading out to the back garden.
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The owners built a garden room with balcony/terrace above to take advantage of the southwesterly aspect of the back garden – cast-iron spiral steps lead from the rear patio up to the terrace, a perfect spot for sunbathing in private. French doors lead from the terrace into the hall-level library with cornicing, centre rose and wall-to-wall reproduction bookshelves and cabinets, so you can choose your favourite Jane Austen novel to read on the sun lounger.
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While granite steps lead up to the main entrance hall, active families will more often use the double doors at garden level which open into an enclosed courtyard with glass roof. This leads through to the inner hall with travertine tiled floor and underfloor heating, which brings you into the family room and kitchen-breakfastroom. There’s a shower room with sauna and underfloor heating off the inner hall. Behind the courtyard is a large storeroom, and next to the kitchen-breakfastroom is a home office with exposed brick walls and double doors in to a small inner hall with sash windows and a wine cellar under the granite steps.
On the first floor there are three generous double bedrooms, with a fourth bedroom – a small double – on the return. The bedroom ceilings have more understated plasterwork, but are no less elegant for that. They also have sash windows and the three large bedrooms have working shutters. The main bathroom has a free-standing bathtub and double wash-hand basins set in a large antique cabinet. There’s also a linen cupboard with a sash window and floor-to-ceiling shelves, and new owners may be tempted to convert this to an en suite for bedroom three.
