Decorative Dartry home just right for a family

A seven-bedroom house at 3 Temple Gardens, Dartry, carries a guide price of £1.5 million (€1.9m) prior to auction through Elliot & Fitzgerald on April 11th.

This is an impressive house even if it does need modernising and it will make a superb family home. Now called Rosario, it was built in 1889 as the family home of a Mr Coghlan, who built six of the other houses on the road. He lived in the solid redbrick house for seven years before selling it for £1,400, an exceptionally strong price for its day.

The builder was obviously keen on decorative details as two of the three reception rooms feature delicate cornice work and intricate ceiling plasterwork. All three reception rooms are very spacious, with high ceilings and good proportions.

The bay window belongs to the highly decorative livingroom. There is a short flight of steps leading down from the back reception room to the back garden. Also at hall level is a large old-fashioned cloakroom with toilets.

The house is two storeys to the front and four at the back. Down a short flight of stairs from the hall is the large kitchen area. It comprises a linen room, utility room and a kitchen fitted in the early 1960s when the house last changed hands.

This must have been very modern at the time with its Formica finishes and linoleum tiles, but it now needs to be updated.

It is rare to find a proper boxroom in a house but there is one here - a narrow room on the top floor with no window, just space for trunks and suitcases.

The seven bedrooms are made up of five large doubles and two small singles. These two were once dressingrooms, but at some time they were made into separate rooms. However, new owners are most likely to convert at least one of these small singles into another family bathroom or an en suite dressingroom.

There is only one bathroom at the top of the house towards the back, and it is in need of modernisation.

Garages rarely merit a mention, but this redbrick one with its pitched roof is very cute-looking and greatly enhances the overall appearance of the house.

The gardens are likely to be strong selling points, particularly the back garden which is nearly 120 ft long and 65 ft wide.