Superbly located Donnybrook four-bed for €1.95m in need of full upgrade

The owners of 6 Greenfield Crescent have lived in this large, superbly located house for 47 years, and it comes to the market like a time capsule from the 1970s. Despite its dated decor, it is immediately clear when you enter this quiet enclave, across the Stillorgan Road from RTÉ's Montrose campus and Elm Park Golf Club, just what a great house this could be.

Its neighbours lead the way with stylish and bold renovations and, in some cases, complete rebuilds so even before you get past number six’s large and leafy front garden, the potential of this property is evident.

Both the size of the gardens and the scope for extending or even demolishing this house and replacing it with a contemporary detached residence will attract buyers. Number 6, which is on the market through DNG seeking €1.95 million, sits proudly on 0.4 acres and is not overlooked by any of its neighbours. The installation of good-sized gates at its entrance would give this home total privacy.

The garden is beautiful; there is a large patio that is a suntrap just outside the main hall and a low stone wall curves around the lawn. There is an impressive array of planting and shrubs while magnolia trees add colour and warmth even at this early stage in spring. A mature stand of trees, with a carpet of ivy underneath, meanwhile lends a woodland feel.

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The house, measuring 190sq m (2,045sq ft), backs on to UCD’s Belfield campus and there is a gate in Greenfield Park that residents use when going for a walk on university grounds – it’s great for students – and for walking to Centra for the morning paper.

One of the best features of the house is its double-height atrium in the hall with a suspended staircase; the flow of decades has made this a contemporary feature again and light cascades through the upper level. New owners could take the house back to its skeleton and an imaginative rejigging of the layout, especially downstairs, would likely work wonders.

On the left of the hall is the kitchen, with units that would now be considered retro, which leads into a utility with walls covered in beauty board, popular in the 1970s. To the right of the hall is a guest toilet and a room that could make a decent home office or den, overlooking the garden.

Jutting out into the garden is the best room of the house, a light-filled, sunny sittingroom, long and wide enough to host a good party, and with French doors leading to the patio. The heating is oil-fired and there is an open fire in the sittingroom. The Ber of the house is, unsurprisingly given the house’s age, a lowly E2.

Upstairs, the layout and proportions of the rooms are excellent. The principal bedroom is bright and sunny, with an en suite, a walk-in wardrobe and a working fireplace. Three further bedrooms have built-in wardrobes and are all good-sized doubles, but they are in need of a cosmetic update. The family bathroom will also need an overhaul, but is generous in size.

There are plenty of shops nearby with the Merrion Centre at the end of Nutley Road, while Stillorgan and Donnybrook are a five-minute drive away in either direction. It is also close to St Michael’s College on Ailesbury Road and Muckross Park College on Marlborough Road, with the Teresian School just around the corner on the Stillorgan Road.