Dublin 6: €1.75m. Houses change hands relatively rarely on Kenilworth Square, Rathgar, Dublin 6, so the sale of a handsome property at this prestigious address should attract interest.
Kenilworth Square is composed of large period houses overlooking a large railed park to which residents have access. Number 17 Kenilworth Square, a terraced Victorian redbrick - with its original brass bells for visitors and servants intact at the hall door - will be auctioned on May 25th with Douglas Newman Good guiding €1.75m.
Built in 1860, the house had already been reclaimed from bedsit land back into family splendour when the present owners moved in in 1993. Within the past year, they have upgraded again, transforming the ample space at garden level, refurbishing a first floor bathroom and redecorating to enhance the many period features.
This is an ideal house for entertaining. Original granite steps lead up to the hall door and into a large reception hall with period-style coal-effect gas fire where the eye is drawn up to double ceiling height illuminated by a large glass dome. The front-facing drawingroom has lavish cornicing, a bay window overlooking the square, and an original fireplace with bronze tiles, brass dome and marble mantelpiece. Double doors open to the diningroom where another fine marble mantelpiece frames an original fireplace with red side tiles and copper dome.
A rear-facing study is smartly modern, and leads to a sunroom which has a patio door and steps to the rear garden.
A door off the hall has carpeted stairs descending to garden level. Here, a large open-plan area is bathed in light, courtesy of rear patio doors which pour light down the hall, and a blonde colour scheme reflecting light from wall and floor surfaces.
Hall and kitchen are floored in Travertine marble. A working kitchen area is fitted with versatile Alno units in matt cream. The integrated equipment includes a five-ring hob, double oven, microwave, extension fan, dishwasher, fridge freezer and waste containers. The kitchen opens to a dining area beside patio doors. At this level there is also a large family room with timber floor and patio doors to the garden, a front-facing bedroom, a good-sized shower room tiled in tumbled marble, a small utility, wine cellar and storage. The garden level has its own front-facing hall door.
A fine period staircase climbs from ground floor to three first floor bedrooms and two bathrooms. The main bathroom is large, tiled in marble and furnished with Villeroy and Boch sanitary ware, including a free-standing slipper cast-iron bath. The main bedroom overlooks the grassy square fringed with mature trees and has a separate dressingroom with wardrobes, drawers and slatted shelving. Its refurbished en suite in polished porcelain and marble has a beige/cream colour scheme, Grohe power shower, and feature Villeroy and Boch glazed ewer-style basin with wall hung taps.
Outside, the front gravelled drive with its original railings has space for off-street car-parking. At the rear, original granite steps descend to a small west-facing rear garden. Not overlooked, the garden has two old garden walls, lawn, well-stocked flower beds bordered by period brickwork, and a terracotta tiled patio.
