Makeover for a Marlborough Road home

A refurbished four-bedroom two-storey over basement house at 84 Marlborough Road, Dublin 4, is likely to fetch £1 million (€1.27m) when it goes to auction on April 3rd. Peter Kenny of Gunne Residential expects busy viewings for the period house, which has been fully refurbished.

The semi-detached house at the Ranelagh end of the road - which is not available for viewing for another week - last changed hands six years ago. It was then in three flats, and since that time the present owners have transformed it into a comfortable family home.

The basement area has been completely redesigned. It is now above ground, and so is relatively bright and has been extended at the back to make room for a comfortable seating area.

The kitchen won an award for its designer, Clive Nunn, who designed its cherrywood units lining two walls. There are also glazed units at eye level, and over the last six years, the cherrywood has darkened to a rich red colour. The units are topped with black granite.

There is also a large plumbed island unit made of the same cherrywood/granite combination. A Stanley stove comes with the sale, as does an American fridge. The floor features terracotta tiles, while hand-made tiles line the splashback.

Double doors in the extended part of the room, which has space for two sofas, lead into the back garden. At the front of the basement area is a family room. Also at this level is a utility room, a good-sized hall and a guest toilet.

These are large houses running to over 3,000 sq ft, but the returns are fairly small: still, the return at hall level is a small home office, kitted out by Clive Nunn with solid wood units, while on the first floor level is a family bathroom.

At hall level, the interconnecting reception rooms have impressive matching marble fireplaces as well as the original cornices and ceiling roses. The floorboards have been stripped and polished and the front reception room has been papered with wallpaper featuring a broadstriped pattern, which suits a formal diningroom.

The four bedrooms are three large doubles and one small single. The main bedroom has fitted wardrobes and a good-sized en suite, fitted with hand-made mosaic tiles. Unusually, there is a window in the en suite. The smallest bedroom is in the back of the house in the top floor return.

This house is very much in walk-in condition, although the new owners will probably repaint two of the bedrooms and the family room, which have been used mostly by four young boys. Nothing else really remains to be done. The garden at the front has parking space for two cars while original granite walls border the back garden.