Five-bed Haddington Road property with artistic flair and restored original features

Address: 96 Haddington Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4

Price: €2,350,000

Agent: Savills

It is clear when you walk through the door of 96 Haddington Road that the owners come from an artistic background. The colours are calm and considered, allowing the period features of this 1860s property to remain centre stage.

At 257sq m (2,769sq ft), it is the largest of the four houses on the terrace. Its position at the end of the row brings the added benefit of side access from Cramner Lane and a larger site, which accommodates a studio to the side.

The rooms are more generously proportioned than those of neighbouring houses, with an extra flourish here and there in the plasterwork. Mature trees, including a large cherry blossom, help screen this corner property from the road, making it easy to forget how close it is to Dublin’s city centre.

Located directly opposite the former Beggars Bush military barracks, the house has a C energy rating and a guide price of €2.35 million through Savills.

One of the owners lived in the house as a teenager when his parents bought it in 1995. The house had previously been home to Argosy Libraries, and he remembers the rooms being lined with books. He also recalls the family’s move from a few doors up the road, when a Victorian bath in the garden proved too large to fit through the front door. His father arranged for it to be hoisted through the front bathroom window, where it remains today.

Now back in the house with his wife and children, they have recently upgraded and redecorated with the main focus on showcasing the original features. The wide-plank timber floors had been hidden beneath carpets for decades, helping to protect them, and have since been restored. The shutters have also been carefully tended to ensure they continue to work.

To the right of the entrance hall, the drawingroom has a marble fireplace and sash windows overlooking the railed front garden. Bespoke glazed double doors lead into the diningroom, painted in Farrow & Ball’s Drawingroom Blue.

The room’s moodier palette contrasts with the lighter, art-filled drawingroom. Bookshelves flank the marble fireplace in a nod to the property’s past, while a deep-set sash window looks out to the rear garden.

Steps from the hall lead down to the kitchen, where lower ceilings create a more informal feel. Units line both sides, with a breakfast bar in front of the original fireplace. A utility room sits to the left, while a playroom behind the kitchen opens on to the courtyard.

The playroom also leads into an extension that could serve as independent accommodation for an elderly relative or young adult. It contains two bedrooms, a bathroom and a livingroom, with access to the garden.

Upstairs, it feels as if two ornate pillars with a leaf motif and a stained-glass window above are announcing your arrival to the first-floor return, where there is an en suite bedroom and a guest WC. Two further bedrooms occupy the first floor, both with fitted wardrobes and feature fireplaces. The main bedroom overlooks the rear garden, while the bathroom has deep green panelling and the aforementioned roll-top bath.

Enclosed by the extension, kitchen and studio, the rear garden has a courtyard feel. The studio adds 61sq m (653sq ft) to the footprint of the house and can be accessed from both the garden and diningroom.

The location is something the owners will really miss when they leave. Their car can sit outside for months, with the city accessible on foot and public transport close by. Pubs, restaurants and speciality food shops are all just minutes away.