California dreaming in Terenure

A three- to four-bedroom cut-granite-fronted property has a hint of Big Sur about it


Number 33, Terenure Road North is a little slice of California dreaming in Dublin six west. The period house dates from 1890 and the current owners bought it 18 years ago and removed the pebble dash exterior to reveal its cut-granite facade.

They opened up most of the ground floor to create a large T-shaped space, knocking down the dividing wall between the original sittingroom and diningroom, retaining only the fireplace in the latter and using yellow brick to clad the open fire where they’ve installed a wood-burning stove. To the rear of this room is a stone space with a sloping glass roof, large picture windows set atop old railway sleepers and broad pitch-pine salvage boards knitting the three rooms together. With the organic chic of its wood, stone and brick detailing, this sunroom has more than a hint of Big Sur.

The ceiling height in the open-plan rooms is 2.5 metres and it is 2.4 metres in the kitchen, which is off the sittingroom. Here, yellow pine units are topped with granite counters and large sliding doors open out to a glass-covered patio and the beautifully secluded east-facing gardens with a water-feature stream babbling through. The ponds were filled with koi and other specimens but these have been sold in anticipation of the sale. There are exotic birds in bird boxes along the boundary wall.

There is another room downstairs that could be an office or a fourth bedroom. This room looks out to the front of the property and is quite dark.

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Upstairs there are three good-size bedrooms. The master is the depth of the house and has lots of wardrobe storage and a shower ensuite.

The house is charming but the paintwork throughout feels grubby and features colours that won't appeal to everyone. A new coat of paint would really freshen its look and feel. The property, which has a C2 Ber rating, is asking €795,000 through agents Lisney.

The 185sq m (2,000sq ft) house is set about 20 feet back from Terenure Road North and the traffic while audible at the front of the house isn’t overwhelming. There is off-street parking for up to three cars. Electronic gates, subject to planning permission, to the front would really amp up the privacy factor.