Ballsbridge house has hidden depths

A €12.5 million house in Ballsbridge has everything - including a swimming pool underground, writes Rose Doyle.

THERE IS a lot that's elegant, bright and spacious about 31 Wellington Place, Dublin 2. A grand and notable home when it was built in 1798, it's weathered the centuries well and, with a nicely gauged rear addition and recent refurbishment, is even more grand today.

The vendors are amongst just a handful of owners since the house was built. The Slazenger family were long-time owners. Now it's set for auction through Bergins with an AMV of €12.5 million.

It's a rare detached house set between terraced homes on a leafy, quiet road, that merges with Leeson Street. A big back garden also sets it apart from the neighbours.

The urbane mood of 31 Wellington Place and stylistic value of the addition are best seen from the first floor landing. This is an open, bright space with a sash window to the front and, to the rear, an original arch framing a view of the original wall with a stained glass, porthole window and, below, a second arch leading to the Velux-lit landing of the new return.

Original features, such as plasterwork, doors and the wide plank flooring of other centuries, abound. Fireplaces which aren't original have been replaced with period-style mantels in marble, sandstone and wood.

Double-fronted, with two floors over a basement swimming pool, the space in the 557sq m (6,000sq ft) house is divided into four bedrooms, five reception rooms and a kitchen-cum-breakfast-room.

A much-used underground swimming pool is 27.3ft long and is part of a well-equipped fitness/leisure area with sauna and shower room. A spare room at this level could convert to a playroom/den. A gas-fired Aga and a large granite-topped island distinguish a kitchen given a whole other dimension by the garden room into which it leads. Part of the addition, this has a vaulted glass ceiling.

The front door of the house is the heavyweight original and has a lovely fanlight beaming shards of golden light onto the wide, honey-coloured planks of the hallway.

Off this, the main reception rooms have the traditional elegance of their period. Furnished as drawing and sitting-rooms, they have interconnecting concertina doors which fold neatly into the wall.

A French window to the rear opens to the patio and garden, an area enlivened by the use of a variety of stone in a variety of layouts, by giant terracotta pots, a gazebo and botanical collection which includes Japanese maple and Portuguese laurel.

A sloped ceiling, garden views and en suite give the bedroom on the return addition a self-contained, cottagey feel.

The other bedrooms are in the original building with the main bedroom, which has a sandstone fireplace, dressingroom and en suite, facing the front. A third, rear-facing en suite bedroom overlooks a spreading ash in the neighbouring garden. Landscaping to the front allows both shrubs and seven parking spaces to happily co-exist while passages to either side of the house allow for rear access.