Squaring up to demand in Ranelagh

House prices on Dartmouth Square are squaring up to demand. Number 35 is a fine three-bedroom period house that was built in the 1890s. It is south-facing to the front and the sun streams into its formal reception rooms.

The house measures 280sq m (3,013sq ft) and is asking €1.4 million through agents Owen Reilly. Its neighbour, number 62, is currently for sale though agents DNG, also asking €1.4 million for a three-bedroom property with a south facing back and garage to the rear.

According to the property price register, number 22 sold in June for €1.375 million through agents Sherry FitzGerald. The house had an asking price of €1.2 million. In December 2012, number 61 sold for €1 million.

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Original plasterwork
How does number 35 compare? Granite steps lead up to a tiled porch and a front door with original stained-glass panelling. The hall has smart original plasterwork and a ceiling rose. The reception rooms have matching marble fireplaces, with contrasting tiled insets. Fold-back doors lead from the sittingroom, which is to the front and has double windows, to the formal diningroom to the rear. The rooms have ceiling heights of 3.35m (11ft).

Off the diningroom is the original butler’s pantry – a snug room with windows on two sides. On the return, a study overlooks the back. It could become a fourth bedroom as there is a guest wc next door.

At garden level, the house has ceiling heights of 2.74m (9ft), opening up this floor. The hall is dark but the front room, currently the property’s third bedroom, is sunny and bright.

The kitchen has a gorgeous country-style design, befitting a house of this age. It has a navy Aga, a Belfast sink and a scullery overlooking the garden. Situated in the middle of the house, this room benefits greatly from overhead lighting in the form of a lantern roof light.

Conservatory
Two stained-glass panels, one in the scullery and another in the small room off the kitchen, frame the garden room, a timber conservatory that spans the width of the house. This has lovely features such as the bare granite wall of the garden incorporated into the room.

There are two bedrooms on the first floor. The master bedroom has a large if old-fashioned en suite that used to be a single bedroom. The guest room to the rear has a shower en suite, hidden behind wardrobe doors.

Dartmouth Square is jointly owned by the residents and Dublin City Council, who bought the property back from businessman Noel O’Gara in December 2012 for €142,000.