Interior designer's Monkstown house

Co Dublin/€1.5m:This four-bed, double-fronted Victorian villa has been renovated and reconfigured in a thoughtful way, reports Eoin Lyons.

Interior designer Gillian Sherrard is selling her home at 3 Monkstown Road. A Victorian double-fronted villa, it will have an AMV of €1.5 million when auctioned by Lisney on March 14th.

It is semi-detached and extends to 131sq m (1,420sq ft).

There are four bedrooms at garden level and the living areas are upstairs at entrance level. Located at the Blackrock end of Monkstown Road, the house has been featured in Image Interiors which gives some indication of its distinctive style.

Off-street parking in an attractively landscaped garden leads to granite steps and the front door.

Sherrard has renovated the house and reconfigured the reception rooms in a thoughtful way that maintains the character of the house but is compatible with how many families like to live.

That means a relatively open-plan layout with some areas that can be closed away. The ivory colour scheme will strike just the right note for those who like a subtle, low-key backdrop.

The livingroom is large with high ceilings and a period chimneypiece. Around it, Sherrard has built bookshelves and other storage.

Quirky narrow windows were added to allow soft westerly light fill the room in the evenings. The floorboards are French pine and the shutters are in working order. Double doors lead to a large, south-facing deck that wraps around the rear of the house.

The dining area is reached through sliding glass doors on the other side of the livingroom. This has a double-height vaulted ceiling and more built-in bookshelves and presses.

The kitchen is divided from this room by a high island. It is fitted with painted units and good appliances, including an Aga. Doors open to the deck.

The lower level is reached by a spiral staircase in the livingroom. There are three bedrooms here - the main one is en suite. The family bathroom is more a hang-out space than purely functional. A salvaged copper bath sits in an alcove and an arch leads to a wet room. There is also a utility room at this level and a large fourth bedroom.