Family home with tennis court hits the spot

FOXROCK €5M: With its wisteria draped balcony and grass tennis court, this house has a dreamy quality, writes EIVLÍN RODEN.

VOEWOOD, A LARGE detached Edwardian house on a half an acre in Foxrock, will be going to auction on June 18th through Sherry FitzGerald. The AMV is EUR5 million

The five-bedroom house, which is near the Westminster Road end of Hainault Road, dates from 1903. It is the type of place you could imagine spending lazy summer afternoons because of the wisteria draped verandah and immaculate lawn tennis court, set among tree-lined gardens.

The house has been extended, in the same style as the original, to give a floor area of 380sq m (4,090sq ft) over two levels with ample room for oodles of children and entertaining.

A square hall with fireplace opens through double doors into a large diningroom, and there is a drawingroom and sittingroom on this floor too.

All three of these spacious rooms have a serene beauty with large Edwardian windows, attractive fireplaces (in particular a fine marble Adams one with classical plaque in the drawingroom), and the beckoning presence of the gardens.

A door from the sittingroom leads into a very large kitchen with walnut cupboards, quarry tiled floor, brick detailing, solid fuel-burning stove and a cosy seating area at one end.

There is plenty of room here for a dining table and a built-in counter as well as double sinks and cooker within a chimney breast.

There are large windows and a door into the back garden as well as a spiral staircase.

Off the kitchen a corridor leads to a laundry, bathroom, games rooms and sittingroom.

From the soft green papered hall, a staircase brings you to the first floor which is lit from an old glass skylight and a door to the wisteria covered balcony. Timber pillars and wide steps lead to the landing which has three of the bedrooms off it.

All these rooms have sloping ceilings, pretty wallpapers, lots of light and cast-iron fireplaces, while the main one has a spacious en suite. There are a further two bedrooms, a family bathroom and a landing connecting to the spiral staircase in the kitchen. The beautiful gardens contain a garage.