It was the view from the main bedroom across the road to Sandford Parish Church and out to the Dublin Mountains that sealed the deal for the owners of the charming Victorian redbrick at 58 Sandford Road.
That and its superb location between the villages of Ranelagh and Donnybrook, not to mention its proximity to schools and sports and leisure facilities.
When the owners bought 58 Sandford Road, they didn’t need to extend it as a small two-storey extension had already been built on to the back of the house, creating space for a pantry, utility room and guest loo at garden level, and a handy self-contained suite on the first-floor return featuring bedroom, en suite and a home office/lounge/dressingroom space in between.
The owners did a lot of work to the house over the years to bring it up to a high standard of finish, inspired by traditional styles rather than contemporary trends. The Shaker-style kitchen is designed by Róisín Lafferty, and the open-plan layout of the kitchen has a striking feature wall, laid in reclaimed Dolphin’s Barn yellow brick. A large kitchen table with tiled top was also designed by Lafferty, and it shows all the signs – and character – of years of use.
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All is bathed in light from a large roof light and large cantilevered glass door out to the rear courtyard garden.
Wide steps lead up from the kitchen to the two original reception rooms, now incorporated into a bright, open-plan layout that runs seamlessly from the front to the rear of the house.
The gradual upgrading was done while bringing up a family, but for the owners the rewards were immediate. “We put a lot of work in to it, but this house gives it back to you.”
Number 58 Sandford Road measures 187sq m (2,012 sq ft), with a C3 Ber rating, is for sale through Mullery O’Gara, seeking €1.65 million.
The enclosed front garden is designed by Marion Keogh and is bordered by mature hedging to maintain privacy, stocked with a shrubs and box hedging. This is where the family spent much of their time during Covid lockdowns, enjoying the southwesterly sunshine and chatting to neighbours.
The entrance hall has original ceiling cornice and centre roses and stained timber floor, and there’s a spacious cloaks and storage area under the stairs. Reception room one, the livingroom, has a marble mantelpiece with cast-iron inset and a fireplace plumbed for gas, flanked by custom-built alcove cupboards and shelving.
Double doors lead to reception room two, the diningroom, which has a stained timber floor and a large wood-fired stove in front of an ornate cast-iron mantelpiece. Both reception rooms have ceiling cornice, centre rose and picture rail.
This leads down to the kitchen area, with extensive wall and floor units, a Belfast sink with brass taps and a superb overhead light fixture. White tiled splashbacks add to the classic look, and the floor is laid in a blend of tile and timber.
Bedroom two is on the first floor to the rear, and has ornate cast-iron mantelpiece and open fireplace, plus ceiling cornice, fitted wardrobes and a neat alcove unit. Bedroom three, the main bedroom, faces the front, and spans the width of the house, with two windows overlooking Sandford Road, both of them double-glazed and thus minimising traffic noise.
The main family bathroom is on the second-floor return and has a stand-alone rolltop cast-iron bath, plus a separate power shower with subway tiles.
Bedroom four is on the second floor, and has a timber floor and three Velux windows, plus a wall of built-in shelving. This might look a bit like an attic conversion, but the owners say the room was always there, traditionally used as accommodation for serving staff.
The rear courtyard garden is laid in Italian stone tiled paving, and its high boundary wall is cut sandstone. There’s parking here for one vehicle, and bi-folding double doors lead out to Marlborough Road, where there is additional parking.
