Redbrick shows what colour can do

Dublin 6/€2.6m:A large Victorian house on Leinster Road has retained its period charm having been rescued from a bedsit existence, writes Alanna Gallagher.

A large Victorian house with interiors true to its period at 70 Leinster Road is for auction on March 14th through Gunne Residential with an AMV of €2.6 million.

The semi-detached redbrick is full of original features, such as marble fireplaces and cornicing, which the present owners rescued when redeeming the property from its bedsit past. Victorian style is most evident in the decor of the hall-floor rooms where strong splashes of colour lend the property an old-fashioned charm.

The large drawingroom runs across the width of the house with front and back sash windows allowing light to pour in. Its original cornicing and marble fireplace set a strong style tone. It is painted a fruity apricot while the sittingroom, to the front of the house, is decorated in a teal blue that hasn't been in fashion since the middle of the last century. To the beige brigade this shade sin is tantamount to a Victorian lady showing her ankles but it showcases the range these rooms have in terms of creating different interior moods, a fact often forgotten in the rush to turn every space into a sea of safe neutrals.

A cosy study, formerly a piano room, forms the last of the three rooms on this floor.

Original pine floor boards peek from the corners of every room on this floor and are dressed with a collection of Persian rugs. There is a utility room on the hall return.

The first floor is home to four of the property's five bedrooms and features a wonderful landing.

The main bedroom includes an en suite and there are two good-sized double bedrooms, as well as a single room, where this back bedroom was divided to accommodate the main bedroom's en suite. At this level the house has views of the Dublin mountains. One of the property's two bathrooms is on the first floor return.

Originally built to house British Army officers, it is downstairs that the property falls short of drill sergeant expectations. The garden level rooms need updating. The spacious hall features original black and terracotta quarry tiles with room for oodles of storage or a home office under the stairs. The kitchen opens onto the garden and is fitted with dark oak units. It is a room that doesn't make the most of the space available in it and would most benefit from a revamp. Across the hall, a small but very sunny study is situated to the front with the house's fifth bedroom to the rear. The next owners might want to open up that side of the property to maximise on the sunlight that streams in from the front. Under the stairs is a coal cellar.

Outside, the charming garden is traditional in layout and features pieces of art at intervals along its pathways. A mature chestnut tree is situated near the rear kitchen doors. While the original length of the garden has been shortened, it is still sizable for a city home.