An 1860s redbrick with an AMV of €6.3m has been virtually rebuilt inside. Orna Mulcahy, Property Editor, reports.
Estate agents often boast about houses that have their original features intact, but in the case of 8 Palmerston Road in Rathmines, Dublin 6, the big attraction is that the 1860s five-bedroom house has been virtually rebuilt.
The three-storey house - which at 325sq m (3,500sq ft) is one of the larger homes on the road - has kept its rosy redbrick façade and its tall sash windows have been repaired or replaced, but inside, it was brought back to its bare walls and built up again, using the best of materials and the latest technology.
Solid, wide plank timber floors were installed throughout, new fireplaces fitted in the fine interconnecting reception rooms where the cornicing and ceiling roses were either repaired or replicated.
There is underfloor heating throughout, and a high level security system, and, for those who like to live clutter free, loads of fitted storage. The owners commissioned it all on the basis that they were staying for good, but they are now planning to move to a new neighbourhood, hence the sale.
The house is on the sunny side of the road and has a 115 ft walled back garden that has been immaculately lanscaped. It all adds up to an advised minimum value (AMV) of €6.3 million prior to auction through Gunne on May 24th. A nearby house, number 28, also refurbished, made around €7 million last month.
Number 8 stands back from the road, with plenty of off-street parking in the box-edged gravelled front garden that's protected by electronic gates.
Guests can take the granite steps to the front door, though the family clearly uses the lower door which leads to a hallway lined with floor-to-ceiling cupboards, leading to the kitchen and family room which take up the entire ground floor.
The Mark Wilkinson kitchen with its pale ash units topped in black granite is top of the range. Its baize-lined cutlery drawers glide glide to and fro effortlessly; its chopping boards slot away noiselessly and there are cubboards for everything. Detergents have their own lock-up basket under the sink, and the Fairy liquid and soap flow at the press of a button from hidden dispensers. The Lacanche range is for serious cooks with its big ovens and powerful gas burners.
A new staircase in the family room leads to hall level, with the first of the bedrooms off the first landing. The interconnecting reception rooms are predictably gorgeous, with pale floors and walls, and handsome white marble fireplaces in each room.
The next level up has a large bedroom and pretty en suite bathroom, while the first floor has the main bedroom with tall bespoke wardrobes and a marble-lined en suite bathroom. The last of the bedrooms is on the top floor, and like the rest, it has custom-made wardrobes with clever fittings such as drawers at foot level that pull out to reveal lots of shoe storage. Every little detail has been thought out in this exceptional house, down to the hot and cold taps in the back garden. The hot tap is there to supply warm water to the paddling pool - of course.
For a virtual tour of this property click on nicemove.ie
