Dublin 14 €1.5 millionThe former home of late hotelier PV Doyle looks modest from the front but is a substantial – and intriguing – house

Glenbeg on Old Frankfort, on Dundrum Road, Dublin 14 was built in the 1940s for the late hotelier PV Doyle. He sold the detached house in the 1960s to a family who lived there for 30 years and extended it substantially and then sold it to the current owners in 1994 .

The current owners changed the name from St Martin’s to Glenbeg and then set about renovating it and reconfiguring some of the rooms.

Part of Glenbeg’s charm is that there’s nothing predictable about it. From the front it looks like a fairly modest bungalow with a two-storey extension to the side but from the back, you really get a sense of just how substantial the property is.

Just as the house is built over four levels with lots of rooms off rooms, so too the half-acre garden is all about levels and areas of intrigue. As well as an iroko deck off the main living rooms, it has several raised patios, gravelled areas and lawns that slope down to the River Slang, a stream that is a tributary of the Dodder.

Lisney is asking €1.5 million for the 325sq m (3,498sq ft) house.

The owners have renovated it to a high standard and even though some of the work was carried out more than a decade ago, the look is timeless.

One of the nicest rooms in the house is the long, light-filled diningroom/sittingroom with a Siematic kitchen off it.

The cream gloss kitchen was installed in 2002 but looks like new with pull out larders, hidden bins, Zimbabwean polished granite worktops, and a press with access to the underfloor heating controls. Off it there’s a huge utility room.

The long diningroom/family room has high ceilings, waxed timber floors and a wall of hardwood windows and doors that open out to the deck.

The family area has a very simple but attractive grey and black limestone and granite, fireplace which provides a focal point for the room.

There’s another separate drawingroom off this area with a similar limestone and granite fireplace and nice views of the garden.

Four of the five bedrooms are en suite and two of them are located either side of the reception hall. One is en suite with a John Daly fitted wardrobe and dressing table – his furniture is a feature of most of the bedrooms. The view from this room is out to the front garden and a cherry blossom tree and Japanese maples.

Steps near an office lead down to a huge den/family room with garden access to the garden.

On the first floor return there are two en suite bedrooms, including the main bedroom with a porthole window, a dressing room and a mosaic-tiled bathroom with a skylight.

At the top level there’s a good-sized double room with en suite. The gardens feel secluded, thanks to to the tall mature trees bordering the property.

On view noon-1pm

Glenbeg,Old Frankfort, Dundrum Road, Dublin 14

DescriptionBuilt on four levels with a half-acre of gardens sloping down to the River Slangre

AgentLisney