Grand interiors in Portobello Victorian redbrick

One of the largest and most interesting Victorian houses in the South Circular Road area is in walk-in condition

WHEN RESTAURATEUR Claire Douglas and her husband bought 32 Bloomfield Avenue off the South Circular Road 25 years ago, the decision was based on the house’s location as much as anything else.

At the time they were living just around the corner on the canal above Locks, their restaurant, but with three young children they needed more space and, because they worked punishing hours, Douglas wanted to be able to nip home between shifts.

They ended up with one of the largest, most interesting Victorian houses in the South Circular Road area. It is one of a pair, built by a developer for himself after he had already completed several more modest and more typical terraced redbrick houses on the street.

With four bedrooms and 251sq m (2,700sq ft), the house now feels too large for Douglas, who sold Locks restaurant over two years ago and is now planning on downsizing. It is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald for €1.5 million.

While the house is solidly Victorian in terms of age, the builder clearly was influenced by grander Georgian buildings. The hallway has a sweeping staircase featuring decorative wrought iron topped with a curved mahogany handrail and the intricate ceiling plasterwork includes unusual figurative detailing.

Douglas added a black and white polished stone floor in keeping with the style. The livingroom to the front is very large – a baby grand piano seems small tucked away in the corner. It has its original shutters and marble fireplace and is divided by folding doors with the second living or formal diningroom at the back of house. Again it’s another large room and this opens out onto the garden.

The eat-in kitchen is in the back return and originally it probably was several small rooms but is now a good-sized room with contemporary gloss white kitchen units topped with black granite at one end and a dining and seating area at the other.

There’s a small utility room off it and a door leads first to a covered passage way, used as a potting area, and then to the back garden.

Upstairs the four bedrooms are doubles, all have high ceilings and tall windows and are bright, with good proportions. The family bathroom in the first floor return is small, and there is an en suite shower-room off the main bedroom and a guest toilet downstairs.

This is obviously the home of a passionate and creative gardener. The house is part-hidden from the road by tall trees and the front garden has been planted in quite a formal way with box hedging.

The long, wide back garden is divided into several sections, including a lushly planted green area boxed in with mature hedging, raised beds for vegetables and an area at the end which would make a great play space for small children.

32 Bloomfield Avenue, Portobello, Dublin 8

Four-bed Victorian redbrick with interconnecting living and diningrooms for €1.5m

Agent:Sherry FitzGerald