This fine four-bedroom terraced Victorian home sits on the north side of the prestigious Dartmouth Square in Ranelagh. Only a short hop from Leeson Street, the canal and a swift journey into the city centre, it’s one of those lovely pockets of tranquillity found in Dublin 6: close to everything, but exceedingly quiet.
The contentious history of the park at Dartmouth Square, originally built for residents of the Darley estate, has long since been resolved and the square is now back in the hands of Dublin City Council and is a lovely public amenity, after an attempt by previous owner Noel O’Gara to operate a tile showroom and car park there. One can almost catch the echoes of the well-heeled residents’ sighs of relief after such an outcome was averted.
The owners of 22 Dartmouth Square bought the 245sq m (2,637sq ft) Ber-exempt property in 2014 and spent a year on its renovation, bringing in Studio M architects to oversee the transformation. The result is a light-filled home with a striking extension at the back of the house, substantially improving its footprint and appeal.
A manicured front garden lies behind cast-iron railings and gates; planted with white hydrangea and white roses, a tall flight of granite steps leads to the front door, painted a soft blue. The entrance hall is floored in solid wood by Oscar Ono and has an impressive ceiling rose and ornate coving overhead.
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On the left are a pair of interconnecting reception rooms with rare red marble fireplaces. The drawingroom is lovely, facing south over the square with original sash windows flooding it with light on a sunny afternoon. Behind it is a livingroom with impressive built-in shelving stretching right to the ceiling, complete with a ladder on a brass rail. A further door opens up to a new stairwell descending to the ground floor, home to a vast new extension.
This double-height addition to the rear of the property houses the kitchen, a living and dining area, and a huge amount of built-in storage. The kitchen has units clad in century-old timber from an American barn and the island is topped with Carrara marble. There is also a utility room tucked beyond it.
It’s a fantastic space with dramatic placement of high windows providing structure and visual interest, and a wood-burning stove adds warmth. The floor is polished poured concrete, and sliding doors can be pulled back to access the garden, which is well-planted with pleached hornbeam trees at its end, a fern, and ample space on the patio for relaxing and entertaining.
There is also a bathroom on the ground floor, a livingroom with red marble fireplace that could also serve as a bedroom, extensive storage under high granite steps, and understairs storage on the original stairs that lead to the first floor.
The first of the three upstairs bedrooms lies on a return and has a pretty stained-glass window. To the front of the house is a sunny bedroom with a bank of built-in wardrobes and bunk beds, and the principal suite takes up the rest of the second floor, with a lovely south-facing bedroom with a pair of built-in wardrobes.
At the back of the house lies an impressive bathroom with a free-standing zinc-clad bath and a studded mirror over the wash-hand basin. Another handsome bathroom lies on the final return, clad in a dark-grey tile.
A short stroll from Ranelagh village, 22 Dartmouth Square is in immaculate condition and now on the market with Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €2.65 million.
