Thomas Stringer knew his market when, in the first decade of the 20th century, he was speculatively building the line of mostly semi-detached redbricks on Highfield Road – a long road developed many decades before, that links upper Rathmines with Rathgar village.
He was targeting Dublin’s emerging middle class at a time when servants to fill below-stairs basements were harder to find and the man of the house was likely to be motoring into his office job in town. So the houses are laid out over two floors, and originally would have had a warren of small rooms including kitchen, pantry and store out the back for the housekeeper. A garage at the end of the rear garden, redbrick and with a slate roof in the style of the house, was an optional extra.
He included his trademark features, specifically stained-glass panels in windows and doors and other expected details of the time such as fine timber chimneypieces in the main rooms with cast iron versions in all other rooms, oak parquet flooring in the partially panelled hall and a good porch.
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The owners of 72 Highfield Road are downsizing from their 358sq m (3,800sq ft, including attic) property – several houses have recently come on the market on this road for the same reason. In their time here the owners extended to the rear, getting rid of those small rooms to create a very large, family-friendly open-plan space that includes a sitting, dining and kitchen area with adjacent utility.
The pitched roof in the extension is dotted with Velux windows to increase the sense of space and light. Three sets of double doors open out from this room to the rear garden.
The owners appear to be serious cooks with a selection of top-of-the range appliances that includes a Viking six-ring hob with double ovens and matching extractor in the well-planned smart looking kitchen. This extension opens into the hall and also into the rear reception room used as a formal dining room. This in turn connects to the front reception, a fine drawing room with high ceilings and a box bay window. Also off the hall, to the front, is another smaller reception room.
Upstairs the five double bedrooms are off the roomy landing and on up again the attic is used by the owners as living space and has a shower room. The main bedroom is very large with a bay window; its updated en suite has the lovely feature of the original stained-glass window.
The old garage at the end of the long and wide mature rear garden was renovated and turned into a den when the children were teenagers – new owners, probably a family with growing children are likely to use it for the same purpose.
To the front, in the mature well-screened garden, is off street parking – a must on this road.
