No one else wanted to bid on this two-up, two-down terraced house, but the owner had a vision for how it might look. Her inspiration was New York loft living, but transposed to life in Inchicore, Dublin 8.
When the owner of 54 Emmet Road, an accountant, first viewed it in 2018, she got “a feeling” about the house.
The bidding process had worn her down.
“I couldn’t keep up with couples bidding. At the time, no one was bidding on it. I bought it by myself," she says.
Address: 54 Emmet Road, Kilmainham, Dublin 8, D08 C3V1
Asking price: €459,000
Agent: ReMax Partners
Set on an elevated corner site, where the road meets Luby Road, in the heart of Inchicore village, the property is well back from the road.
The front is set out in lawn with steps ascending to the gable-fronted terraced house.
She viewed it along with a couple who she said were slating it. Instead, she adopted a positive approach.
“All I could see was potential,” she recalls.
If she had been one of the two prisoners looking out of prison bars, she would have seen stars, not mud.
She purchased the two-bedroom, one bathroom property for €345,000 in 2018, according to the property price register.
“I had a vision of what I wanted to do to it.”
The 62 square metre house is the same size as it was eight years ago. But the interior has been completely contemporarised.
The original front room and kitchen are now one big open plan room. An exposed RSJ steel beam in oxblood red bisects the ceiling.
The corner fireplaces are gone. In their place is a chimney breast clad in brick slip.
It houses a wood-burning stove. “I love exposed brick and wanted a New York loft feel.”
The living area overlooks the front and is open to the staircase, which is now painted a Prussian blue and covered with a soft grey carpet to dim down noise.
Soft cashmere grey gloss kitchen units run from under the stairs to the window with a dining area partially screened from the living area by the chimney breast.
Double glass doors open out to a good-sized back garden, which has a southerly aspect and is also laid in lawn.
Upstairs, there are two double bedrooms and a bathroom. Both bedrooms have fitted wardrobes.
Painted the palest of dove greys, the primary bedroom has ample storage.
The second bedroom is painted a soft sage green and is currently used as a home office.
During her tenure, she’s seen Inchicore gentrify with boujie coffee and brunch spots such as Riggers, along with Hot Box sauna and Rascals Brewing Company, which also serve some of the best pizza pies in Dublin alongside their award-winning beers.
Agents ReMax Partners is seeking €459,000 for the house, which has gone from an E1 BER rating to a D.
