The owners of this handsome, modernised Edwardian home had been renting in the area before they got the opportunity to buy number 76 on Harold’s Cross Road. Moving in straight away, the couple enlisted the help of an architect to update it for family life. The owner laughs, saying she felt like one of the homeowners featured on Grand Designs as she became pregnant during the renovation process – a common trope on the TV show – and her and her husband had to spend some nights in a hotel when they had no water.
The sacrifices they made to accommodate those initial works have paid dividends, resulting in a spacious period home in turnkey condition. As well as its convenient location on the south side of the city, the home comes with a big back garden with mature trees to the rear, providing a sense of bucolic peace while being walking distance from amenities. Extending to 190sq m (2,045sq ft) with four bedrooms and three bathrooms, 76 Harold’s Cross Road is on the market through Mullery O’Gara, seeking €950,000. It has a D1 Ber.
Past the front yard, bordered by low railings, the redbrick terraced property is accessed up two stone steps. Inside, the high ceilings are immediately impressive, as are the ornate archway and ceiling roses in the hallway. The spacious livingroom sits to the front of the ground floor, benefiting from the box-bay window space; it features the original marble fireplace and wooden floors. A second reception room sits behind that with a window to the rear of the property. It is set up as a TV room but could potentially be a study or playroom.
The kitchen/living/diningroom is down a short flight of stairs to the rear, in an extension that was added before the owners moved in. They had bespoke white handleless units installed in the kitchen, as well as an island. There is also underfloor heating beneath non-slip tiles. The bright dining area features a pitched roof with Velux windows, and a built-in bench for seating and storage. There is also a utility room and a WC off the kitchen.
The room opens up to the 33m-long (107ft) west-facing back garden through glazed sliding doors. A raised patio sits directly outside the doors and leads down to the substantial lawn, with mature trees providing privacy.
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Back inside, a double bedroom and a modern bathroom as well as a shower room are located on the first-floor return, to the rear of the property. The shower room is painted a clean grey with white wall tiles and grey Moroccan-style patterned tiles underfoot, while the bathroom has a full-size bath – handy for young children – and built-in storage and shelving.
Up another half-flight of stairs, the main bedroom suite sits to the front of the property; the owners connected a double room to a single room to create an adjoining dressingroom with floor-to-ceiling built-in wardrobes. There is another double bedroom to the rear and an attic room converted into a double bedroom.
The owners have decided to move to be closer to work, but say they will miss the community in the area. When they first lived there, around 2013, there was far less going on in the area, the owner says, but they now have summer and Christmas festivals in Harold’s Cross Park, which is just across the road. Parents from the local school often meet for coffee at the cafe in the park, the owners say, and assure me it’s nothing like the hilarious sitcom Motherland.
With young children, they are also able to walk to several activities in the area, including tennis, football and gym classes. There are also plenty of bus routes to the city centre, with journeys taking about 30 minutes.
