Number 1 Oakfield Place stands as a shining example of Scandinavian-inspired contemporary design. The former villa-style Victorian at the end of a row of homes in Portobello, Dublin 8, has been transformed into a two-storey, three-bedroom home by its current owner, who had the property remodelled after purchasing it in 2017, keeping little more than its modest 1840s facade.
The home is steeped in family history as it has been in the owner’s family since the 1930s, and was where her mother was brought up. The owner, who evidently has an eye for design, lived in the house in its former iteration before buying it, and so had a plethora of ideas on how she wanted to bring it up to date. New Mark Architects of Dame Street in Dublin city centre helped her to turn her ideas into reality.
Now, with growing children and the desire for more outdoor space, the owner has put number 1 Oakfield Place – extending to 125sq m (1,345sq ft) with a Ber of B1 – on the market through DNG, seeking €975,000.
There was no expense spared in the redesign of this home, and all features are of the highest quality, from the glittering terrazzo floors to the polished concrete kitchen countertop. The terrazzo floors were used as an example of the flooring option at its best in an episode of RTÉ’s Room to Improve. In retrospect, the owner says, she should have perhaps been more frugal with such choices, but the attention to detail is likely to impress prospective buyers.
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Number 1 Oakfield Place, just off Lombard Street West, looks unassuming, though stepping back from the facade, its modern, boxy two-storey extension to the rear comes into view.
You enter the home through the mauve front door into the high-ceilinged hallway with light bouncing off the terrazzo floors. There is access to the livingroom just to the right, which is screened from the hall by a wall of floor-to-ceiling wooden slats. From this sunken room, the entire living space opens up, with the outdoor terrace and kitchen visible through an angled wall of glazing.
The kitchen, to the rear of the enclosed outdoor terrace, is incredibly sleek with bespoke wooden units, polished concrete worktops and a wall of floor-to-ceiling storage. The room is flooded with light from a long rooflight across the width of the kitchen workspace, and from the wall of glazing that opens on to the terrace. The terrazzo flooring continues in the terrace, making it feel like part of the living space. There is also a handy utility space off the kitchen.
On the opposite side of the ground floor, a single bedroom lies to the front with a built-in desk and shelving for no-fuss working from home. Beyond that is a gorgeous sittingroom painted a rich forest-green with herringbone wooden floors, which looks out to foliage in the side yard through its substantial sash window. A bespoke desk and shelving unit is built in to a cupboard beside the fireplace, camouflaged in forest-green.
The main shower room is also on the ground floor and features a spacious walk-in shower with diamond tiles in a shade of rich teal.
The second storey is accessed by a wooden staircase. The main bedroom sits to the front with an en suite shower room. Another double bedroom sits to the left of the landing, with a large window facing out from the front of the property.
It is with heavy heart that the owner has put this home on the market, she says, and the family hope to stay in the area and renovate another home. There is a lovely community of older couples and younger families on the road, she says, which they will greatly miss.
You would not need a car if you lived at this address with all amenities and a number of coffee shops a short walk away, while St Stephen’s Green on the southside of Dublin city is just a 15-minute walk away.
