For decades, 29 Upper Grand Canal Street was an eyesore. While the surrounding area became Googletown and sprouted large glass-walled office buildings, the last house on the Victorian era terrace beside Kitty O’Shea’s pub remained dilapidated.
Not that the present owners were around then. They took on the house in 2011, when it had been just recently renovated from top to bottom by owners who spared no expense – from new walnut flooring to the highly decorative plasterwork and the custom built kitchen. It was in pristine, walk-in condition – not even the paint colours needed a refresh – and the rise in the market may reward them for buying at a time when few others were. They paid €900,000 for the (3,050 sq ft) four bedroom house, and just three years later they are now selling it through DNG for €1.5 million.
It’s thought this house was built in the 1840s, although its features suggest a builder more influenced by Georgian grandeur. Above the entrance is a large fanlight window – much larger than the modest-sized ones Victorians preferred, and as well as highly decorative plaster cornices and ceiling roses – the sort of quality you tend to see in far grander houses – there are neo-classical inspired friezes in the walls in the wide hall and pillars up on the first landing.
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There are two interconnecting reception rooms, nicely proportioned and with period features such as wide sash windows and marble fireplaces, but updated with walnut flooring and underfloor heating.
The two-storey return helps account for the larger than expected square footage. In it at ground level is the kitchen, while upstairs there is the first of four double bedrooms. The family bathroom was possibly a bedroom at one point – it’s very big and features a free-standing bath as well as a shower unit.
The layout upstairs was changed during the renovation, mainly to create a bedroom suite that runs from the front to the rear of the house – the bedroom to the front with two windows looking down on Grand Canal Street, a dressing area in the middle and full bathroom at the rear. The third double bedroom is also at the front.
A spiral staircase leads up to yet another unusual feature – what can best be described as a box in the roof. It’s certainly not the usual attic conversion – the owners have been told that it was built as a 1916 lookout and it would have afforded a great view of Boland’s Bakery and the bridge. It is now a double bedroom with a small rooftop terrace.
Some of the houses in the terrace have mews in their back gardens but number 29 still has the full garden, with electric gates opening onto parking for two cars. There is also a pedestrian side entrance.
