From its swishy curtains to gilt mirrors and a range cooker that takes centre stage, this Ranelagh redbrick is a Dublin 6 headline act.
Address: 18 Warwick Villas, Sallymount Avenue, Ranelagh, Dublin 6, D06 X5P2
Asking price: €1.695 million
Agent: Lisney Sotheby’s International
The Victorians loved a dramatic flourish.
The idea that the flash of a female’s ankle might drive men wild seems utterly barking today, but we should be thankful for some of the era’s restraint.
It has given us housing stock that is handsome yet hides much of its flair behind closed doors.
Number 18 Warwick Villas fits this bill. Situated at the Appian Way end of Sallymount Avenue, it has a west-facing back garden as well as valuable off-street parking.
But really, it’s the interior of this house that will draw a crowd with plenty of décor ideas to improvise at smaller homes.
This one, which is Ber-exempt, extends to 220 square metres.
Classically laid out and staged for sale by Breeda O’Sullivan of Upstaged Properties, it has two very fine reception rooms.
To the front is the drawing room, accessed off the main hall.
It has a bay window dressed in pleated curtains that have a ruched pelmet, all held back by curtain cords.
There are built-in bookcases with warm wood internals, decorative cornicing and ceiling roses, a marble chimneypiece with cast iron insert, and polished timber floorboards.
A short set of steps takes you down a level to where the entrance to the sitting room is.
This is a lovely square space, a restful room that overlooks the garden and leads through to a rectangular-shaped conservatory that opens directly into the back.
The kitchen is in the return and has a theatrical flourish courtesy of its scene-setting range cooker, set in the middle of the room, as if on stage.
The broken plan room is divided by a chimney breast that has been opened up so you can see through it to the breakfast room beyond. It also opens out to the garden.
The principal bedroom is luxuriously large and overlooks the front garden on the first floor. Bedroom number two is to its rear.
The return features a corner whirlpool-style bath, which the next owner may feel commands too much real estate, but the rest of the setup is smart and should be retained.
There are two separate w.cs on this level, meaning a busy household isn’t held up by one member hatching on the toilet and keeping others from using the bathroom.
Bedroom number three is on the floor above.
