Two labours of love in family-friendly Fortfield

17 Fortfield Terrace, Rathmines

Description: Late 1920s house with four bedrooms and two reception rooms

Agent: Sherry FitzGerald

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4 Fortfield Gardens, Rathmines

The Fortfield area of Dublin 6 is full of history. It is clearly named on an 1837 map, running alongside The Bloody Fields, scene of a ferocious 1649 battle.

Number 17 Fortfield Terrace was built in 1929 and the owners, aware of the history of the area and their home’s pedigree have worked with the original features to create a family home of personality and comfort.

In 1907, The Irish Times advertised houses in the Fortfield area as being "on the outskirts of Dublin" and "an ideal place to settle down". A new owner will be privy to this and a wealth of other information, which has been gathered by one of the vendors, an art historian.

The vendors paid £186,000 when they bought number 17 from the family of the original owners in 1997.

“We bought for love,” she says, “and for the features: fireplaces, original kitchen floor, picture and dado rails, everything. We did things slowly and only recently added the kitchen breakfast room and an en suite to the main bedroom.”

The result is 152sq m (1636sq ft) of comfortable space with four bedrooms, two reception rooms and kitchen breakfast room. A large garage awaits conversion.

The private treaty sale is through Sherry FitzGerald, which is asking €995,000.

The vendors, who have "fallen for another house/garden project just two Luas stops away", took heed of the original kitchen when adding the bright, open family breakfastroom. With fittings of Coillte Avondale ash and countertops of Kilkenny marble, a part of the original kitchen serves as an adjoining laundry room, the rest (with original fireplace)as a useful storage area. Floors in the reception rooms and throughout are the original pine. Both reception rooms, with views through to the rear garden, have original oak-surround fireplaces.

Dado rails run along the stairs, hallway and landing. A small rear bedroom is an office, while the main is en suite and has another timber-surround fireplace. A delightful rear garden has an Indian sandstone patio, lawn, an array of old trees and shrubs, a treehouse and garden shed.

4 Fortfield Gardens, Rathmines

Description: Four-bedroom terrace with an open-plan extension and attic conversion

Agent: Sherry FitzGerald

The owners of Number 4 Fortfield Gardens haven’t lost their affection for the the Fortfield area and its family friendly appeal. “We’re just moving up the road,” they say, “to a bigger house for our bigger family.”

A little younger than neighbouring Fortfield Terrace (Fortfield Gardens was built in 1937), Number 4 cost “just under €700,000” when the vendors bought it in 2004. It returns to the market through Sherry FitzGerald, with an asking price of €795,000.

When the owners moved in, they kept the property’s original 1937 features intact but added a large open-plan kitchen/dining/family room. This brings the floor area to 151sq m (1,625sq ft), excluding the attic. No 4 also has two further reception and four bedrooms.

The cleverly landscaped, low-maintenance rear garden has raised decking, a sheltering wall of bamboo and rear access. It also provides the possibility of further extension.

The bright, open-plan layout gives a view from the front livingroom right through to the rear of the house – “allowing us see what the family are up to at all times”, the owner says.

The livingroom has a bay window, original timber-surround fireplace and double doors to the diningroom, which has a similar fireplace. Double glass doors lead to the kitchen/dining/family area, which has been extended to the side as well as the rear.

The kitchen has maple Shaker-style fittings and Velux windows. Steps lead down to the family area, with double glass doors leading to the garden.

A dado rail along the stairs continues on the landing. Three of the bedrooms have original tiled fireplaces and two have picture rails.

The attic has been converted and is used as a bedroom, with a pitched ceiling, shower en suite and Velux windows with tree top views.