Major makeover for Rathgar Road six-bed

Rathgar/€2.6m: It took five years and major renovation to turn a D6 three-storey house from bedsit building to a fine family home, writes Bernice Harrison.

The owners of 58 Rathgar Road took on a major renovation project when they bought the three-storey over basement terraced house five years ago.

It was in 12 bedsits and they set about restoring the very large period house into a family home. It now has six double bedrooms over four storeys, two interconnecting reception rooms perfect for entertaining, as well as an eat-in kitchen that has been extended to include a family room.

It's all done in such a tasteful and stylish way and with such good quality materials and fittings that new owners should have nothing to change. There's also a self-contained one-bedroom apartment in the basement.

The 358sq m (3,850sq ft) house is for auction on February 22nd by Sherry FitzGerald with an advised minimum value (AMV) of €2.6 million.

While the accommodation would suggest that this is a perfect home for a large growing family, prospective viewers should know that there is almost no back garden - or certainly none to match the sheer scale of the house.

The extended kitchen area ate up most of the space to the rear and there is now only a decked patio that's just 11ft long.

The agents are calling it a London garden and it's true that in that city, the calibre of the house and the location would outweigh any lack of garden. It will be interesting to see if the market here is moving in that direction.

Everything in this house is on a large scale from the high ceilings to the size of the rooms. At hall level, off the limestone-floored hallway, there are two reception rooms with marble fireplaces and all the expected period details.

The contemporary eat-in kitchen has an extensive range of cream-painted timber units topped with granite and, as the owners are restaurateurs, it looks perfect for cooking and entertaining. They extended this space to include a bright family room that opens out onto the patio.

Upstairs on the first floor return is the family bathroom with a Jacuzzi and there are two very large bedrooms on the first floor.

The main bedroom has a smart en suite shower room. Up on the second floor are two more bedrooms, one with an en suite, and the attic level has been converted into two double bedrooms with a shower room.

The self-contained one-bedroom apartment in the basement can be accessed from both the front of the house and the back. To the front there is off-street parking - a must on this road - for up to four cars accessed via electric gates.

For a virtual tour of this property click on nicemove.ie