Dublin 2: €3.35m: This is one of few period homes that really deserves the moniker of 'townhouse', says Bernice Harrison
'Townhouse' is a much overused word these days but the period terraces that line Leeson Street, a short stroll from the city centre, are made up of highly desirable classic Dublin townhouses.
Number 50 Upper Leeson Street, which was built in the early part of the 19th century, is a smart looking protected three-storey version that has been in the same family since the 1950s.
One of the present owners grew up here and took over residence when she married in the early 1980s. The four bedroom, 297sq m (3,200sq ft) house is now for auction through Sherry FitzGerald on March 29th with an AMV of €3.35m.
The layout of the house - which has four storeys at the back - is traditional. Off the hall is a formal dining room to the front with an eat-in kitchen at the back. A small old-style serving hatch connects the two rooms. There's a country feel in the kitchen with its large brick fireplace, pine cupboards and original flagstones.
The returns in these houses are of a good size with space for a double room on each floor. Two of these rooms are bedrooms, one is the family bathroom and at ground floor level the return is used as a home office that opens into a relatively new sunroom with access to the back garden.
There's more than a hint of grandeur about the first floor rooms - two interconnecting reception rooms with ornate cornice work, high ceilings, tall sash windows (that look down on Leeson Street to the front and on the garden at the back) and ornate marble fireplaces in each room. Double doors divide these two rooms but when they're opened they make for a large gracious space, perfect for entertaining.
There are two bedrooms up on the next floor - the main bedroom to the front is very large with stylish built-in wardrobes along one wall and a black marble fireplace. The bedroom at the back is also a double but there is the peculiar addition of a modern walk-in shower cubicle in one corner.
The new owners will almost certainly want to update and maybe extend the kitchen and perhaps rework the ground floor return to make better use of the space - all subject to planning permission as this is a listed property.
The back garden, at around 13 metres long, is an excellent size for a town garden. This has been landscaped in a formal, low maintenance way. To the front there's off-street parking for three cars - or four at a squeeze - behind electric gates.
