Upgraded Rathgar redbrick ticks boxes for upscale buyers, at €3.4m

Number 66 Orwell Park is a fine family home that had a discreet upgrade in 2019 to suit the needs of modern families.

In walk-in condition, and measuring 269sq m (2,894sq ft), it is sure to tick a lot of boxes for upscale buyers. It offers space, has a good-sized garden designed by Karl Barnes of Formality that is south-facing, and is within walking distance of the shops, eateries, the Dodder river walk and schools.

The detached residence has off-street parking for numerous cars and a side passage so you can bring bikes round the back.

Set well back from the road, its granite steps lead up to a wrought-iron detailed front door that sets the tone for the interior. It has leaded coloured-glass panes and in the hall your eye is immediately drawn to the decorative mahogany and wrought-iron balustraded staircase that winds up to the returns and the first floor.

Two large and gracious reception rooms bookend the hall, which is light-filled thanks to a glazed screen on the lower entrance level and a decorative leaded glass window on the stairwell.

The one on the right is a formal dining room and has a black marble fireplace. The drawing room on the left boasts decorative cornicing and a fine bay window. The architrave throughout is first-rate and includes six-panel interior doors and shutters, dispensing with the need for curtains. Ceiling heights here are almost 3.6m (12ft).

A set of steps takes you down a level to where the family will likely do most of their living. There’s a cosier-sized sitting room to the left where the ceiling soars to almost 4.5m (15ft) and whose enormous window frames the outside. The walls are painted different tonal colours but the standout shade is Hepburn by Irish paint company Fleetwood, a minky chocolate that is restful and on-trend. This room is warmed by a wood-burning stove.

Across the hall is the eat-in kitchen, which for a house of this size feels on the small side. That is until you realise that there is a further 32sq m (350sq ft) at semi-basement level that houses a guest toilet, utility room and storage cupboards as well as loads of floorspace for shopping, laundry and bottles and recycling. This keeps much of the typical kitchen clutter below stairs. But if you still want a larger kitchen, there is plenty of scope to extend out.

Sliding doors open out from the dining table to a golden granite-paved terrace where there is a large barbecue area. Extending to 21m (70ft) long, it’s a showstopper space. South-facing with relaxed planting by Formality, much of it laid out in lawn, it is bounded by redbrick walls.

Upstairs on the return is the first of five bedrooms. A bathroom overlooks the back and frames mountain views with an adjoining separate toilet. There are three doubles on the first floor. The main bedroom is to the front and has a large and windowed shower en suite.

The fifth bedroom is on the first floor return and has the same mountain views as the bathroom below. The property, which has a D1 Ber, is seeking €3.4 million through Sherry FitzGerald.