A double-fronted house off Bath Avenue has been reworked from the wiring up and is ready for its close-up now
Vavasour Square is often described as one of Dublin’s better-kept secrets.
Secret or not, it always provides a little bit of ‘psychogeographical’ drama when you drive or walk into it, its low-slung Victorian brick villa fronts and manicured green holding firm against the loom of the Aviva Stadium, the giant interloper from the 21st century.
If that seems overly dramatic, the enclave has a history of attracting drama. Sorcha Cusack of the Cusack acting dynasty lived here, as did the actor Ingrid Craigie.
No 23, is a double-fronted early Victorian dating from about 1850, and it’s for sale for a dramatic €1.495m.
Address: 23 Vavasour Square, Sandymount, Dublin 4, D04 Y9C1
Asking price: €1.495m
Agent: Allen & Jacobs
If you’ve been waiting for a house with a bit of stagecraft about it, this may be your cue.
The landscaped enclave of period homes tucked off Bath Avenue, has become one of the more coveted addresses in Dublin 4, and homes here rarely come up.
When it comes to setting the scene, the current owners have gone well beyond a lick of paint.
The house has been rewired and replumbed and fitted with new timber sash windows, doors, floors, a kitchen and bathrooms, while the Victorian details have been kept and polished up rather than stripped out.
The entrance hall leads into the main event, which is an open-plan kitchen, dining and living room, which is bigger than plenty of Dublin apartments.
It opens straight onto a landscaped central courtyard.
At the back is a separate lounge of almost 6m by 4.6m, a quieter room with double doors onto a second courtyard.
Both courtyards face west, are secluded and have bespoke lighting.
The bedrooms are where the owners have taken some creative licence.
The house is marketed as a three-bed, but there are currently two double bedrooms, each with an ensuite, and the main suite has a walk-in dressing room that used to be a third bedroom.
Anyone who’d rather have a bed than a wardrobe in there could reinstate it without much drama.
A utility room, a separate bathroom and plenty of storage complete the 184sq m of accommodation.
The internal spaces are architecturally deft, with long views, plenty of angles and curves, well-placed rooflights and blocks of primary colours.
Outside the front there’s a railed garden and beyond it the location shows what it has to offer.
There is Sandymount village, with cafés, restaurants, pubs and boutiques a short walk away, Grand Canal Dock is relatively reachable and both Lansdowne Road and Grand Canal Dock Dart stations are well usable.
Of course you can’t miss local landmark the Aviva Stadium and you’ll definitely hear the crowd on match days.
It has a C energy rating, helped along by the new windows, so unlike is the case on most film sets, you shouldn’t have much difficulty keeping warm.
Allen & Jacobs is selling No 23. for €1.495 million.
