It could be third time lucky for wannabe buyers of No 28 Lower Albert Road, in Sandycove. The villa-style, double-fronted house has just been put on the market for the third time in three years. The owners bought No 28 for €1.325m in May 2015. Almost a year to the day later, they put it back on the market because they were planning to move to Spain.
Buyers were never going to hang around for a property like this, and the offers came in, reaching €1.45m. The couple dithered about their decision to move, however, and took the house off the market. Here we are, in January 2018 and they’ve decided Spain is where they will settle. No 28 is for sale again, through the same agent, Knight Frank, this time with an asking price of €1.395m.
Dusk may be the best time to view the house. I arrived there at 4.45pm one evening last week, just as the sun was setting over Sandycove. Battling the traffic along Queen’s Road, in Dun Laoghaire, and on towards Lower Albert Road isn’t too much of a chore — moments of standstill provide the opportunity to watch the Irish sea do its magic.
Lower Albert Road is a two-minute drive from the waterfront, and Guy Craigie, of Knight Frank, had the lights on in the house and the electric gate open as I pulled into the small gravel drive at the front of the house — there is enough space for two cars.
Albert Road is a busy street, typical of many in this part of Dublin, with a mixture of house styles. No 28 is a terraced period villa. It looks like a small, one-storey house to the front, but opens into a large, 178 sq m two-storey property to the rear.
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The warm wood flooring in the hall extends to the kitchen, where orange light shades provide a colourful backdrop. To the right of the hall is the sitting room, which is large enough to allow a couple of sofas and a coffee table to fit comfortably. The raised ceiling increases the feeling of space. There is a door to a small study area, which makes good use of the space between the living room and kitchen.
Down a couple of steps, the open-plan kitchen/living/dining space was designed by MacDonald Vagge architects for the previous owners in the early 2000s. The room gradually narrows at the end, probably because of site restrictions.
A high, part-glazed sloping roof lets the last of the daylight into the kitchen area, which is lined with fitted SieMatic units and has an island at its centre. There is a utility room to the side and space for a dining area beyond the island.
The ceiling in the farthest part of the room is lower, and a large double-fronted, working chimney breast separates the living space and the kitchen. This section of the room takes in light from the wraparound, floor-to-ceiling windows and doors, and looks out onto a decent-sized, raised west-facing back garden, which has access to a pedestrian lane at the rear and has been landscaped.
Back in the house, there is a bathroom and two double bedrooms at entrance level. The room at the front will need a lick of paint. The first floor features two more bedrooms, one is a small single, the other the main bedroom, which has an en suite shower room and a balcony.
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Separating the two rooms is a mezzanine area that has wall-to-wall fitted presses and a built-in bench with more storage underneath. It overlooks the kitchen area and makes the perfect spot for conversing with the occupants of the kitchen below or, if you have the dosh and the inclination, the perfect stage for musical entertainment on party nights.
Since emigrating to Spain, the owners of No 28 have placed the property on Airbnb, the accommodation website, where it is available to let for €400 a night, but it has been booked for the next three months to one family visiting from Australia. That should give the vendors enough time to find a buyer and get a headstart on the paperwork. Don’t be surprised if bidding nudges towards the €1.45m mark again.
The lowdown
What it is: A five-bedroom period villa, with a great deal more to it than meets the eye from looking at its single-storey facade.
Where it is: On Albert Road Lower, within walking distance of the waterfront and the Forty Foot, the Dart and the villages of Sandycove and Glasthule
Price: €1.395m
Agent: knightfrank.ie
They say: It has a C1 building energy rating.
We say: This is a modern take on an architectural classic that makes good use of space and light.