Luxurious Georgian on Leeson Street with separate mews for €2.95m

Townhouse living is how well-heeled Georgians spent the season in Dublin eschewing the sprawling grounds of their country residences for homes within walking distance of their commercial and club interests.

It’s a selling tactic that still has resonance today and their three- and four-storey-over-basement-and-garden-level abodes line Ireland’s finest squares and many of the capital’s central streets.

Leeson Street Upper is home to fine terraces of this style of housing stock but upgrading these 250-year old properties to 21st-century standards is expensive, not to mention disruptive, and further complicated by their heritage status.

This is before you even begin to factor in Covid-era shortages and delivery delays.

In the current market the cost of such deep-dive refurbishments no longer makes sense – even to buyers in the upper echelons of the super-prime market.

So for those with the purchasing power to the tune of €2.95 million, number 24 offers a statement home in walk-in condition with everything a family needs to live and possibly work from home. All within walking distance of a multitude of schools.

The elegantly upgraded three-storey home offers three-four bedrooms of accommodation, as well as an ultra-private and southwest-facing garden where there is access to a one-bedroom mews that also has its own separate entrance from Sibthorpe Lane.

Thanks to the investment of the current owners, the home will tick a lot of high-end buyers’ requirements.

The current owners bought the property around 2009 and hired architect Daniel Coyle to reimagine the layout.

They also brought on board classic contemporary decor specialists Helen Roden and Joseph Ensko of Merrion Square Interiors to weave its period and new parts together.

As opposed to now when it is difficult to get any construction talent to return your calls, regardless of your budget, back then everyone in the sector had been affected by the crash and rates were more affordable than they are now. The owners hired high-spec builders Principal Construction to do the work and its high-level finish is visible throughout.

The Ber-exempt main house extends to 335sq m (3,605sq ft) and can be accessed via granite steps through its formal, fan-lit front door, a detail that you can also see from its contemporary garden level, or from under the steps, which takes you through to the most modern part of the property.

Here there’s room here for kids to drop schoolbags, sports kits and filthy games boots before padding through to a smart sitting room and on through to find snacks in a kitchen custom-made by Smallbone of London.

To its rear is a light-filled family room that opens out to the garden, where there’s space for half their class to share the sofa, their feet warmed by underfloor heating below the crema marfil tiled floor.

This is likely where the next family to occupy the house will spend most of their time. It functions for parents of small children but areas could also be closed off to dial down some of the device noise of teenagers. The next owner might want to make minor superficial upgrades like replacing the counters and doors on the kitchen, but the current layout works really well.

Upstairs at hall level, the reception rooms are gorgeous grown-up spaces that are especially suited to winter nights. The entire level is floored in a wide plank, dark-stained engineered oak boards by Trunk Flooring. The cornicing, ceiling roses and dado rails have all been repaired with subtle shades of difference between the colour on the ceiling and the subtly darker colour on the walls. Hanging from the ceiling roses are Louise Kennedy chandeliers for Tipperary Crystal. It all bears a soft whisper of luxury.

These interconnecting rooms have fold-back doors should you wish to open up the whole floor and give the space a dual aspect. The rooms have matching six-over-six timber sash windows, marble fireplaces and brass insets. To the rear is a glass Juliet balcony.

The garden, which has been professionally landscaped by Paul Doyle, is full of seasonal planting and feels very private. One wall is clad in Virginia creeper to bring in more colour and the stone-paved space has a small artificial lawn at the centre. While low maintenance, it is very green and extends to more than 70sq m, the size of a two-bedroom apartment.

The mews to its rear has been converted into a one-bedroom property that can be accessed from the garden via floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors. Extending to 48sq m (516sq ft), it can also be accessed from Sibthorpe Lane if you wanted to use it as an office with separate entrance. It has an open-plan kitchen/living room, while upstairs there is a large double bedroom and adjoining shower room.

Back in the main house, the set-up currently is that the main bedroom is at piano nobile level and spans the width of the property so it is more than 6m long. It opens through to a large dressing room to the rear. When the current owners bought it, this had been a substantial en-suite bathroom. It could also be a fourth double bedroom.

The bathroom for this room is down a flight of stairs on the return. It is a more private option, with lots of light and is accessed via a laundry room.

There are two more doubles on the second floor. These share a shower room on its return.

The property is seeking €2.95million through DNG, for which you get 383sq m (4,123sq ft) of upgraded space. Any changes you wish to make will be relatively superficial.