Tucked away off Booterstown Avenue in south Dublin, St Helen’s Wood is a leafy suburban enclave, built by developer Seán Dunne’s property company, Berland, in 1990, on the grounds of the historical St Helen’s Estate, where the luxury Radisson Blu St Helen’s Hotel is also located. It is conveniently located for schools, transport and amenities.
Number 4 Hampton Crescent sits just inside the entrance to St Helen’s Wood, and when the current owners bought it in 2003, it was a smaller end-terrace house with an open side garden between it and number 5. They approached their neighbour and asked would they be open to using the gap for mutual side extensions . The result is two extended homes that seamlessly joined, each spanning three floors and incorporating an attic conversion.
You wouldn’t know it from the outside, but number 4 now measures a generous 183sq m (1,969sq ft) and has a B3 Ber rating. It is for sale through Janet Carroll Estate Agent, seeking €1.195 million.
Inside, the house is architecturally remodelled, with contemporary designs and numerous striking features and smart space-saving ideas. The entrance porch has tiled flooring and fitted storage and leads into an entrance hall with beech flooring and a large understairs storage area. This used to be a small guest WC and is still plumbed for that purpose, so it could easily be converted back if needed.
A frosted glass panel looks into the kitchen, and two curved full-height wood-veneer cabinets flank the entrance to the kitchen, like two grand columns leading you through. The kitchen faces the front and has bespoke wood-veneer cabinetry, granite worktops with polished stone splashbacks, a stainless steel sink and high-end integrated appliances, including Neff gas hob, Falcon catering grill and Bosch double oven and microwave. There’s a breakfast counter and a hatch for passing plates into the diningroom.
The open-plan dining and living area has beech flooring, elegant wood panelling and bespoke shelving, a feature Faber gas fire and full-height glass double doors leading out to the patio and back garden. The dining area has cosy banquette-style seating with built-in storage beneath.
From here you step in to the side extension, which is almost as wide as the original house to the front, while it becomes narrower to the rear. Here is a large family room, measuring 7m by 3.1m, with tiled floors and underfloor heating, and patio doors opening to the front. It’s a versatile space that has had numerous uses through the years, including a games room with full-size snooker table.
A feature space-saving staircase leads up to the first floor; this is currently closed off, but can easily be reopened for, say, teenagers to easily come and go without tramping through the main living area.
To the back of the family room is a utility room with washing machine, dryer, sink and additional storage. The gas boiler sits here, and there’s a door to the rear garden.
A floating staircase leads to the first floor, where there are three bedrooms, including the main bedroom to the front, a large, well-finished room with built-in wardrobes and overhead storage, beech flooring and a door opening to a lovely balcony, shared with bedroom two, where you can relax almost unnoticed by passersby.
The fully tiled family bathroom has a Jack and Jill entrance from the main bedroom and the landing, and features a concealed bath behind a tiled wall, with telephone shower and separate rain head shower.
Bedroom two, just above the family room, has beech flooring, fitted wardrobes and overhead shelving, plus a unique feature radiator. It also has a spacious balcony looking out to the front. To the back is a fully tiled en suite with walk-in shower and Jack and Jill entrance sharing access with bedroom three.
Bedroom three looks out to the back of the house, and has built-in wardrobes, fitted shelving and a rear balcony overlooking the back garden.
The fourth bedroom on the second floor is an attic conversion spanning the house and extension, and it’s a very impressive space, with high ceilings, large dormer window and a Velux, a fully fitted built-in kitchenette with granite worktops, Franke sink, Baumatic gas hob and fridge, a large built-in desk for studying or working from home, a lounge area with TV and a fully tiled en suite shower room.
This spacious top-floor suite has magnificent views out to Dublin Bay and the Poolbeg chimneys, and would be an ideal place for guests, or a college-aged young person in need of some independence. . There is also extensive under-eaves storage.
The small, walled back garden is landscaped with mature planting and reclaimed stone tiling, and has a paved patio plus a timber deck for outdoor dining.
