Live the big house life - on one floor

Ballsbridge: €765,000 An apartment on Pembroke Road in D4 has the same amount of space as a three-bed semi and is perfect for entertaining, writes Property Editor Orna Mulcahy

Buyers who love the idea of having big rooms to entertain in but who don't want the big house that goes with them should have a look at an apartment at 57 Pembroke Road, Ballsbridge, that has just come on the market through Colliers Jackson-Stops, asking €765,000 by private treaty.

The 111 sq m (1,200 sq ft) apartment takes up the entire first floor of the house, called Baruva House, a stately redbrick with brutish 1960s extensions to the side and rear. The location is hard to beat, with the shops of Baggot Street just minutes away, and the Dart within walking distance.

Previously the apartment, number 6, had been carved up as a two-bed but the current owner, an American IT specialist, restored the space more or less to its original layout so that it now has its two glorious interconnecting rooms intact, complete with original fireplaces, ornate plasterwork, wide plank floors and tall sash windows that have been draught-proofed.

At present the front room is used as the bedroom, with high double doors leading through to the livingroom which overlooks the back garden that's shared between the 10 residents of the building. With their fine period features offset by a rich palette - Hermes orange for the bedroom and a rich yellow in the livingroom - these are showstopper rooms.

Beyond that, the apartment has a lovely sunny kitchen to the rear, and a bathroom that has an large storage space overhead. French doors from an inner hall lead out on to a large decked balcony guarded by an impressive stone lion. Given its northerly orientation, this space doesn't catch much sun, but there is planning permission to enclose it completely and incorporate it into the apartment and the new owner will have plenty of scope to remodel accordingly.

There is a large area for off-street parking in front of the house with approximately 11 spaces between the 10 units.