Restored home has lots of period detail

Dublin 6: €1.7m Joyce Hickey visits a recently pretty home in a quiet cul-de-sac not for from the city centre

It sounds odd, but if you didn't know Vergemount Hall was there, you wouldn't know it was there. That's the degree of privacy enjoyed by residents of this short Victorian cul-de-sac off Clonskeagh Road, on which the only traffic is generated by the local health centre.

The first in the row of semi-detached houses, Number 1, is scheduled for auction on May 12th through Lisney, which is quoting a guide price of €1.7m.

This very attractive 246 sq m (2,650 sq ft) two-storey over basement house, built circa 1880, has a large square front garden and a wide gravelled driveway with space for at least three cars.

Granite steps lead up to the door which is crowned by a simple fanlight; this heralds the fact that all the original windows - and shutters - are intact. The current owners undertook a comprehensive restoration when they moved in three years ago, so the decorative plasterwork on the principal rooms is in good repair, original floorboards have been stripped and polished and the basement has been upgraded. New owners will not have to worry about plumbing or wiring and the heating, drainage and alarm systems are also new.

The pale lilac hall, of pleasing proportions, is filled with light and is L-shaped, so the main house is to the right, past a bathroom. The formal reception rooms are across the hall from each other: to the right, overlooking the front garden through two huge windows, is the brick-coloured drawingroom in which, appropriately, one of the owners paints.

The large marble fireplace, a close copy of the original, is a focal point. The diningroom, to the left, has a handsome black fireplace and a butler's pantry off the room is fitted with cupboards, a sink and an electric dumb waiter that connects to the kitchen below. Wide stairs, with pretty detailing along the edge, lead down to the bright basement which forms the cosy heart of the home. A large eat-in kitchen has wooden units and a covetable De Dietrich range cooker, which is included in the sale. Off this is a utility room and a glass door leads to the back garden, which is on two levels, mostly in lawn with some spring colour, a patio and a small shed.

Beyond the kitchen is a nicely fitted bathroom and opposite this, underneath the steps to the hall door, is a cool storage area - a wine-cellar-in-waiting. The most used room in the house, and the only one on this level in which the floor is wooden rather than tiled, is a spacious yet snug livingroom that fills up with evening sun.

The four bedrooms are on the top floor. The main en suite bedroom, at the front, has a sense of drama with aubergine walls and two large windows to carry it off.