John Rocha’s Leeson Park home sells for just under €4m

The designer John Rocha and his wife, Odette, have sold their four-bedroom Victorian home at 43 Leeson Park in Ranelagh, Dublin 6, for just under the asking price of €3.95 million. The buyer is believed to be based in Ireland, and the sale closed on September 17th.

When the couple purchased the three-storey, 352sq m (3,789sq ft) house, about 20 years ago, it was in 11 bedsits, and Rocha, who had moved into architectural design, spent a year planning its conversion back to a family home.

When he put the house on the market, in May 2021, the designer told The Irish Times, "All my work is about pleasing the eye. The Georgians didn't have lots of light, but it is the most important aspect in design, so we opened it up so the light spreads in from both sides."

The house has a neutral palette of white against Canadian walnut and ivory limestone flooring. With the removal of internal walls, all the spaces at garden and hall level now run into each other, with enormous panes of glass at the back, and the ceiling a full three storeys above the dining table. The dining area opens on to a terrace and the rear garden.

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Period and contemporary details complement each other in the main reception rooms. The only internal doors are those on bathrooms and bedrooms, but the strategic placement of walls gives it an open feel while retaining pockets of privacy.

The main bedroom is a standout feature, with fine attention to detail. The new owner is likely to appreciate Rocha’s hanging garden, which opens up via concertina doors from the bathroom, off which the centrepiece is a bespoke limestone bath.

Rocha, who is originally from Hong Kong, arrived in Dublin in 1978, after studying design at Croydon School of Art, in England. He is now semi-retired at the age of 67; with his three children now living in London, he and Odette have made London their permanent base.

Having sold this house for Rocha, Hunters Estate Agents has just put the next-door house, 44 Leeson Park, on the market with an asking price of €2.65 million. The 294sq m (3,165sq ft) Ber-exempt property is divided into six bedsits above a two-bedroom basement flat. Agent Bobby Geraghty thinks it should not take too much work to restore it to a single family home. Potential buyers have a fine template next door from which to draw inspiration.