Two houses on the Ardilea estate share original 1960s features like wrought-iron detail, stone cladding and alcoves, but offer two very different living spaces
15 Louvain, Ardilea, Clonskeagh
Ardilea, in Clonskeagh, Dublin 14, is an estate of mostly A-line-roofed houses built in the 1960s by a developer called O’Callaghan , who, story has it, was inspired by the houses he saw on a trip to the US. Although there are similarities among the houses in Ardilea – wrought-iron detail, stone cladding and alcoves – there is a variety of house styles.
Sherry FitzGerald has two houses on the estate, near UCD, on its books, where the roads are named after famous universities, including Louvain, Princeton, Heidelberg, Salamanca and Yale.
No 15 Louvain is more likely to appeal to someone trading down. Despite having a decent amount of living space downstairs, there are only two bedrooms off a small landing on the upper floor. The asking price is €795,000.
This 141sq m (1,517sq ft) house, described by the agent as a dormer bungalow, has been well looked after by the family who lived there for 20 years, and many of the original features are intact and look retro rather than dated. The original wrought-iron and timber staircase is a nice feature, as are the dark-wood parquet-style floors in the hall and sitting room. The owners have a long lantern hanging from the stairwell, and a velux window keeps this area bright.
In the atmospheric front livingroom – with open fireplace and wood-beam mantlepiece – there’s a sense of being on a height as you look through a series of long narrow windows out to the sloping front lawn.
There is also a snug, dual-aspect familyroom and an L-shaped kitchen/diningroom. The kitchen has is Shaker-style with shiny black granite worktops and plenty of surface space.
Another room on this level is currently being used as a study but the agent suggests it could be a small third bedroom. There’s also a shower room at this level.
Upstairs, off the main bedroom, is an enclosed balcony with wrought-iron detail. The second bedroom is also a good size and both have wooden slatted wardrobes. The bathroom is a gleaming white space with a bath and shower.
There’s also a garage and a utility/storage shed.
Although it backs onto other houses, the height of the rockery and garden fence give privacy and there’s a good-sized lawn with a water feature.
On view Saturday 11.30am-12.30pm
4 Princeton, Ardilea, Clonskeagh
Like 15 Louvain, 4 Princeton has stone-cladding on the front and some wrought-iron detail, and the alcove car port is another throw-back to the era in which the house was built. But at 232sq m (2,500sq ft), it is more family-sized, with four bedrooms and a granny flat. The asking price is a cool €995,000.
The front livingroom is bright thanks to two big windows overlooking the garden, and it has bouncy cream carpets - a feature of many of the rooms - and a sandstone and marble fireplace. This room is L-shaped and also comprises a dining area .
A separate kitchen has shiny porcelain tiled floors, oak-fitted units and light-blue and white tiled walls. There's also a good-sized utility with storage; and a study that overlooks the car port, one of the only rooms in the house that isn't particularly bright; and a well-presented downstairs toilet. A familyroom with a false pine fireplace (there's no chimney breast) completes the rooms downstairs, with sliding doors out to the back garden. The back garden is in lawn, bordered by laurel hedges and with a row of Silver Birch trees.
Upstairs there are four bedrooms including the master, which has a small walk-in wardrobe and an en suite. The main bathroom, with a bath and shower, is in good condition but a new owner might want to update the decor.
The separate studio flat is currently used for storage but has a bedroom space, small kitchen and small bathroom with a shower. The front garden has a small semi-circular lawn but functions mainly as a dual-access driveway .
On view Saturday 1-1.30pm
