An Edwardian six-bedroom house at 166 Merrion Road in Dublin 4 is expected to fetch more than £1.25 million at a Sherry FitzGerald auction on May 25th.
Oakdene is a solid semi-detached family home facing the Merrion Centre and St Vincent's Hospital, a stone's throw from Sydney Parade DART station. It has good off-street parking, a double garage, and a large garden to the rear. The 3,300 sq. ft redbrick house is in walk-in condition, having been fully renovated by the current owners. They have maintained the dignified feel of the 1900s house, while adding a cheerful sequence of modern rooms at the back.
A quarry-tiled porch leads to a carpeted hall with period-style embossed white paper up to the dado rail and striking red walls. A long radiator is concealed behind elaborate carved panelling.
Two large interconnecting reception rooms are divided by folding doors which, when open, form one large room with carved mahogany fireplaces at either end. Both rooms are painted in a viridian green warmed by deep pink curtains, a combination that echoes the original stained glass border on the casement windows. This is picked up again in a porch window commissioned from Michael Judd, charting the local coastline with its landmark Pigeon House and Martello tower.
Similar attention to detail is evident throughout the house, where imaginative colour schemes shape the character of each room.
An inner hall leads to the remaining ground floor rooms - a family room, study and the kitchen/breakfast-room, which is lit by a sloping glass ceiling. This and the family room face north into the 80 ft long garden, which has a timber greenhouse and two patios. A utility room and old-fashioned pantry with folding doors tucked under the stairs complete this domestic area.
Upstairs, the bedrooms are arranged on three levels and several have original fireplaces. The best two bedrooms are to the front of the house, one opening into a dressing-room, its wardrobes panelled with the wallpaper used in the bedroom, which in turn matches the original tile surround on the fireplace.
Beyond the dressing-room is an en suite bathroom. The second bedroom mirrors the dining-room below.
