Dublin 15: €950,000Those who have read interior magazines recently will have noticed that the 1970s look is fashionable again. Dunsinea Manor in Scribblestown, near Castleknock village, Dublin 15 is to be auctioned by Lisney's on September 28th with a guide of €950,000 and, from its Georgian exterior, might not look like the kind of place you would find mushroom lamps or shaggy white carpets.

However, the owner was the late Aidan Prior, a well-known interior designer during the 1970s. His daughter, Sharon Prior of Prior Communications, says the style was state-of-the-art for its time. She's right, but whether potential purchasers like the decoration or not, the appeal of the 261 sq m (2,808 sq ft) house lies is a number of other things.

First off, although it is four miles from the city centre, standing in the large south-facing garden, there is a feeling of being in the countryside thanks to a border of 200-year-old redwood trees. This atmosphere is unlikely to change as the green areas around the lane that leads to the house have been designated a green belt (the Tolka also runs nearby).

Built in 1780 and lived in by the candle-making Rathborne family, to the left of the original house is a later addition that holds the kitchen, with some bedrooms above it. The house can be entered from the conservatory (built off the kitchen) or through the traditional front door in the main part of the house. Entering at this point brings you to a hall with a staircase leading to a drawingroom on one side and diningroom on the other. Both rooms are handsome: spacious but not uncomfortably large, with a sunny aspect. There is a cloakroom at the end of the hall. Upstairs are two large bedrooms, one with an en suite. Linked by the diningroom in the newer part of the house is the kitchen, storerooms. Up a second stairs are two more bedrooms.

Dunsinea Manor does need some work, but it is a pretty place with good features throughout: fireplaces, window shutters, cornicing and so on. Although not apparent, it is actually semi-detached, built against another house at the back - a totally separate property. This is unlikely to deter those who will see its potential as a happy family home as close to the countryside as it's possible to get in the city.