NO MEWS lane, no matter how posh the part of town, is immune from the occasional “wetting”: during a recent Dublin marathon, a resident of a Baggot Street mews had to ask the race stewards to stop letting runners duck down his lane to relieve themselves.
Nevertheless, there is an air — unperfumed, it has to be said — of romance about mews dwellings.
Originally the coach houses of Georgian and Victorian townhouses, they are generally at the rear of these buildings, where the staff used to attend to the coaches and horses. Compared with those grand homes, however, they are usually small, squat buildings, but often a mews will retain the pretty brickwork and other features of the era, making it a cosier option than larger period homes.
During the boom there was a stampede for any mews building in the golden circle of Dublin 4 and 6. It reached its peak in 2008, which is when Sharon Corr put her three-bedroom mews on the market for €3.25m. Unfortunately, it did not sell, and it’s one of the mews houses we feature this week, with an asking price of €899,950.
Corr’s €3.25m valuation was not out of step with prices at that time. A three-bedroom home on Heytesbury Lane was sold for €3.6m at auction.
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Now, mews houses are back in vogue. Estate agent Colliers reports four mews sales in Dublin 4 this year, all bought by owner-occupiers. Pembroke Lane, in Ballsbridge, a 1,750 sq ft home, sold for €1.6m last year.
NO 3 THE MEWS,
AILESBURY ROAD,
DUBLIN 4; €899,950
It is nice to be able to say you live on Ailesbury Road, in Ballsbridge, without having had to fork out tens of millions of euros for the privilege. If the property is in a private location, so much the better.
No 3 The Mews is at the back of Ailesbury Road, down at the Sydney Parade end, providing easy access to the coast and the city centre.
The musical stamp put on this home by its owner, Corr, is clear from the huge grand piano in her living room. It also tells you something about the size of the house — at 1,700 sq ft, there is oodles of living space. This room could easily double as a living and dining area.
While the windows in a mews tend to be small — one of the big drawbacks — skylights brighten up the living room considerably.
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Decked out with pristine white walls and walnut timber floors, the house is stylish but homely. The kitchen has a red range oven and white fitted cabinets. The country feel is complemented by the square-cut windows and rustic-style dining suite.
An added bonus is the utility room, while the ground floor has an office space that could be used as a third bedroom — there is a shower room next to this. Upstairs, both the bedrooms have en suite bathrooms, while the one in the master bedroom has a bath.
There is parking for two cars to the front, behind security gates. To the rear, and leading from double doors in the living room, is a southwest-facing patio area. Its building energy rating (BER) is a lowly E1.
coldwellbanker.ie
NO 45 RAGLAN LANE,
DUBLIN 4; €1.25M
There’s nothing of the dirty old town down Raglan Lane: this is an exclusive part of the city — within strolling distance of Herbert Park and Ballsbridge — and demand for properties far exceeds supply.
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A price tag of more than a million for a three-bedroom mews property is not unusual, especially when it has been made over as stylishly as this house. Another three-bedroom house on the lane has gone “sale agreed” for €1.095m.
No 45 has undergone a contemporary refurbishment and it meets crucial energy-saving criteria. The house achieves a BER of B3 thanks to gas-fired central heating and underfloor heating in the en suite bathrooms.
The crisp, modern styling includes large picture windows at the front of the house, both upstairs and downstairs. Any austerity is offset with a timber front door and the Indian sandstone patio, which provides plenty of space for parking two cars.
The front door opens into the sitting room, which has large sliding doors to the front courtyard and a lush oak floor.
Space is maximised, and the house covers 1,808 sq ft. Thoughtful use of space includes understairs storage in the rear hallway, a cloakroom with guest lavatory and an attic room with built-in units.
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The kitchen is a gleaming mix of white cabinets, stainless-steel fittings and black granite worktops, and it’s serviced by a utility room. There’s a partial partition between the kitchen and dining area, which stretches the full width of the house and also leads out into a patio area at the back. Upstairs there are three bedrooms, as well as an attic. Two have en suite bathrooms and there is also a main bathroom.
lisney.com
NO 4 ELGIN MEWS,
CLYDE LANE,
DUBLIN 4; €1.8M
The largest of the mews properties on sale here, Elgin Mews is also the priciest. The three-storey house has 2,140 sq ft of living space and considerable space at the front — there is off-street parking.
The landscaped rear garden features drystone walls inset with mirrors and a patio laid with limestone paving.
The front hall has limestone flagstones while double glass doors lead to the living room, which has a limestone fireplace and polished oak floor. More double doors lead to the dining room, which is separated from the living room by a wall inset with a fish tank.
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The house’s sense of flow continues with double doors leading from the dining room to the patio area, while the flagstone flooring in the front hall continues on through to the kitchen.
A black granite worktop plus modern appliances such as a Smeg six-ring gas hob and American-style fridge makes this a smart space. Downstairs, there is a guest lavatory and laundry room.
On the first floor there are two double bedrooms, one of which has an en suite bathroom, plus a family bathroom with a whirlpool bath. The master bedroom takes up the entire top floor, with a lavish en suite shower room and a south-facing balcony. The BER is C1.
knightfrank.ie