Perfect party house in leafy Rathgar

If Ardkeen at 17 Rostrevor Road sells for the asking price of €2.45 million, it will be a record for the Rathgar cul-de-sac. The two-storey detached early 20th-century house is very different from others on the road – it’s at the end of the cul-de-sac on a large private site with gardens on three sides. The owners (who are downsizing) bought Ardkeen on 0.4 of an acre in the early 1980s, drawn by the size of the five-bedroom house which is perfect for a large family, and, as one of the owners is a keen gardener, by the potential of the grounds. It’s in walk-in condition, and new owners will find little to do.

The current owners upgraded throughout their time here, extending twice, decorating on an ongoing basis and keeping on top of the maintenance. The roof, for example, was replaced two years ago.

The first change they made was converting the small integrated garage to the side (one of the five bedrooms is over it) into the family kitchen. That freed up the original kitchen to become a home office. Later the kitchen was extended at the rear with the addition of an airy family room looking out onto the back garden.

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Something special

New Shaker-style painted units topped with granite as well as a large centre island brought the kitchen up to date and, with its Aga, it’s a warm, practical space. There’s also a utility room and a guest WC.

Another addition – and one that has really helped make this house something special – is the cleverly designed Norman Pratt conservatory at the rear. Both the dining room and the living room open into it so that when the doors are open the entire space flows so well that the owners were able to host their daughter’s wedding there. The accommodation extends to a roomy 296sq m (3,190sq ft).

Thoughtful details show the quality of the decoration. In the living-room, for example, the floor was replaced with reclaimed oak herringbone parquet, now aged to a lovely rich colour, and the original panelled door was replaced with double doors fitted with antique window panels with copper detailing.

Also at ground floor level to the front is a study, with three windows and triple aspect taking in views of the garden at various angles. This unusual and attractively shaped room is mirrored upstairs in the smallest of the five bedrooms.

The main bedroom has a large en suite and there is a good-sized, recently updated family bathroom.

The gardens show all the signs of being the lifetime project of a keen gardener. The rear garden, with its giant Atlas cedar, is bordered by the old boundary wall of what was once the Bewley family farm and estate, which in the late 1960s became the new location of the High School when it moved from Harcourt Street. Beyond a line of beech hedging, the grounds are terraced and planted as a vast vegetable garden. To the front there is off-street parking for several cars.

The sale of 17 Rostrevor Road is being handled by Sherry FitzGerald.