Sherry FitzGerald is quoting a price of £800,000-plus for an elegant Victorian semi-detached house overlooking the sea at Tobernea Terrace in Blackrock, Co Dublin. The three-storey end-of-terrace house is scheduled for auction on June 30th.
Number 4 is owned by Ray Simmonds, a well-known specialist in antiques restoration who last year acquired Woodbrook House near Portarlington in Co Kildare. He intends to convert Woodbrook into a luxury hotel and is currently carrying out major refurbishment to the 12-bedroom mansion which stands on 100 acres.
His Blackrock home has been imaginatively restored and redecorated over the past five years and is currently laid out as a three-bedroom house with a smart one-bedroom apartment at ground floor level. Architect David Sheehan of Barry & Sheehan, who specialises in the restoration of large period houses, was commissioned to redesign the interior. The result is a home with flexible and unusual accommodation that will appeal both to families, or perhaps to a couple who want a home with good income potential.
The rear garden is close on 100 ft and opens directly on to Seapoint Avenue through double gates. This area is ideal for off-street parking, although there is plenty of room to park in front of the house.
The front door opens into an attractive hallway which leads into the first reception room - this is a pretty bay windowed room with a couple of steps leading down to a well-fitted kitchen. Beyond this is a utility area, bathroom and bedroom.
At the end of the hall, a second door leads into the main part of the house. Walk through this and you are in a wide airy inner hall that could easily double as a study, and has French doors leading to a deck with steps down to a gravelled patio. The staircase starts here and it rises to the first floor landing, off which is a formal dining room with a concealed door leading to a long galley style kitchen. At the end of the kitchen is a small dining area, just right for a table for two, with a door opening on to another timber deck overlooking the garden. The first floor has a superb 20 foot drawing room running across the front of the house, including the deep bay window with its extra wide window ledge, perfect for looking out to sea.
Also on this floor is a large well-appointed bathroom with mint green-painted wainscotting and smart Victorian style fittings. The next landing has the first of the bedrooms - a spacious double with a handsome carved timber chimney-piece.
The main bedroom is on the second floor, with its clever walk-in dressing room and corner en suite bathroom with gorgeous sea views on two sides. The third bedroom is at the top of the house.
The house is decorated in period style with a deep red dining room, rich yellow in the drawing room and expensive cream, highlighted with white, on the hall and landings. Ready to move into, it has several hidden extras such as stereo wiring in each room and a central heating system that ensures instant heat
