The redbrick exterior of this 1860s Victorian four-bed at the Donnybrook end of Marlborough Road gives no hint at what lies behind its front door. This house has had not one but two transformative restorations, resulting in a collection of rooms that are different yet tethered by a deep interest in detail.
The owner first renovated the home when he bought it in 2005 and has further upgraded it in the past number of years by adding a new roof, upgrading the bathrooms and rewiring the property, so the 230sq m (2475 sq ft) Ber-exempt home comes to the market in walk-in condition, seeking €2.5 million through DNG.
Many of the ideas for materials, shape and form were gathered from period properties seen in historical dramas, films and big houses, such as Blenheim Palace, the owner says.
The entrance hallway has textured wallpaper by Zoffany, marble radiator covers, a pair of ornate mirrors and an old carved mirror sourced from a church. The drawingroom has two tall sash windows, with triple glazing in the original frames that blocks out sound from Marlborough Road. All the floors on the ground floor are black American walnut, and there are sockets in the floor. Four mirrors bounce the light around, with afternoon sun pouring in the tall windows.
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Under the stairs is a guest WC, and two more doors in the hall open up into a sittingroom with a sandstone fireplace, used as a TV room, and a kitchen. The stained-glass doors into the sittingroom were influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and specially commissioned; three tall windows of fluted glass connect this room to the kitchen.
The kitchen is compact and uses its space well, with tall units stretching to the high ceiling, adorned with a light made from the cowling of an aircraft, adding a sturdy, masculine feel. A handcrafted ladder hangs on the wall, ready to be pressed into service to access high shelves. The worktops are a grey composite stone, and the appliances are Siemens.
Spanning the width of the house at its back is a conservatory with a wood-burning stove and feature wall of Verde marble, which may be extravagant as a finish but adds warmth to this indoor-outdoor space. Beyond it lies a delightfully private garden, planted with screens of bamboo, and a towering beech tree that is centuries old. At its end is a two-bedroom studio with kitchen, livingroom and bathroom, and there is access to a lane behind the house that leads to Morehampton Road.
The beauty of the walnut floors is echoed upstairs on the first floor with solid walnut doors to the four bedrooms, two of which have Murphy beds. There’s a charming room at the rear of the house with a red sandstone fireplace, and a stunning en suite painted in Farrow & Ball black blue. This room could be used as a dressingroom or a bedroom.
The main bedroom at the front of the house is marvellous, with one wall done out in asymmetric walnut panelling edged in brass, and the same effect is taken over to the opposite wall over the fireplace, where a panel of walnut frames an ornate mirror.
The remaining two bathrooms on the first floor, one of which is perched on the return, are luxurious, painted a deep forest-green. A spiral staircase leads up to an attic room, which would make a great home office.
