Solid redbrick in need of a facelift for over €1.8m

Dublin 6: A large roomy redbrick at 4 Dartmouth Square in Dublin 6 is likely to attract a good deal of interest in the run up to auction on February 11th.

The three-storey semi-detached house, which is close to the junction with Dartmouth Square, is guided at a conservative-sounding €1.8 million through Jackson-Stops. Given the recent spate of high prices for similar properties in Dublin 6 and 4, it is likely to make well over €2 million.

On the plus side, number 4 is a solid spacious house with 325 sq m (3,500 sq ft) of living space, off- street parking, a garage to the side and a good-sized back garden. It's in an excellent location, around the corner from Leeson Street, and while the orientation is not perfect, it has a nice open aspect to the rear.

On the minus side, the property needs upgrading and new owners will almost certainly reorganise the accommodation; for instance, the kitchen is currently installed in the rear reception room at hall level, and returning it to the lower level will be a costly job.

It could also do with redecorating from top to bottom, though it has kept most of its original features including superb fireplaces, elaborate plaster work, and an unusual set of sliding shutters in the bay window at ground floor level.

The front door opens into a wide hallway with its original encaustic tiled floor, and crisp ceiling cornices. An inner hall has the staircase and access to the large elegant drawingroom with its bay window and impressive marble fireplace.

The original diningroom next door is now the kitchen and it's another fine-sized room with attractive Shaker-style units, tall sash windows and a striking fireplace. A third reception room is a comfortable study overlooking the back garden.

There's a guest toilet off the hallway, and a utility room at a lower level, with a door that opens onto steps down to the garden.

The lower level has two large rooms, one a games room to the front of the house, and the other a room that was the kitchen and which still has the high bricked archway that would have housed a range cooker. There is also a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchenette at this level, as well as a store room.

There are four fine bedrooms on the top floor, all with period fireplaces and tall windows. One of the bedrooms has a shower room en suite with the remaining three sharing a large family bathroom with Jacuzzi bath, located on the top return.