Living on the sunny side of the street

BLACKROCK €2M:This bright, revamped Victorian family home is on a peaceful side street, but with access to public transport and amenities,writes GEMMA TIPTON

THERE’S A LITTLE bit of Upstairs Downstairs going on at 16 Waltham Terrace – and no, it’s not that there’s a whole clatter of servants living in the attics. Instead, this is one of those charming Victorian houses where you come in upstairs, and then head down to sleep.

It’s a clever arrangement: how else would you get a master bedroom with French windows onto a pretty private patio?

And how else would it be so easy to pad through to the sunny kitchen in your slippers first thing in the morning, or even to fix yourself a late night cocoa?

The upper rooms are more formal. There is a dining room that seats 14 without a squash, and has two period fireplaces.

A beautiful corner sitting room has large picture windows and an open fire, and there’s a study that would give any home-office worker delusions of grandeur, or rather provide them a work station to suit their status.

The large John Daly-built kitchen is on the floor below, but a cleverly-installed dumb waiter makes entertaining a breeze, and the current owners have happily tested the set-up on everything from formal “significant” birthday occasions, to girls’ nights in, to confirmation parties for upwards of 30 kids.

In fact, 16 Waltham Terrace as it is now was a long time in the making. Built originally in 1836, it was previously inhabited by Gaiety actress Kathleen Delaney, and her husband, the Irish Times sketch artist John O’Dea.

When the current owners bought it, the house needed a complete overhaul, including rewiring and a partial rebuild. Nevertheless, they were sorry to see O’Dea’s sketches go (he practised on the plaster walls).

As the house had been utterly untouched, planning permission was a little while coming, but eventually they were allowed to build on a wraparound extension to the rear, giving an extra bedroom and scope for larger rooms.

They also opened up the basement, so there is now a home cinema/games room, plus bathroom and utility room, with the opportunity to create a separate flat should the need arise.

The whole house has been decorated in restrained good taste, using a Farrow and Ball palette, with help from Peter Johnson and Top Drawer of Mount Merrion.

The kitchen is particularly welcoming – cosy on a dull day with extra warmth from the Aga, and opening up to the large conservatory and on into the garden when the sun shines.

It’s a lovely family home, on the sunny side of a peaceful street, but handy for bus, Dart, schools and shops. No wonder they have decided to test the waters and put it up for auction.

It goes under the hammer on November 21st at 2.30pm, in the Lisney sales room on St Stephen’s Green.

With a reserve of €2 million, it will be interesting to see how it fares.

16 Waltham Terrace, Blackrock, Co Dublin

Description: Five-bedroom Victorian period home

Agent: Lisney