. . . and mix it with Victorian elegance for a completely fresh look. That's how an American theatre director gave a house on Heytesbury Street in D8 a dramatic new look. Kevin O'Connor reports

Number 17 Heytesbury Street captures perfectly a successful amalgam of contemporary and period elements to make this property one of the most stunning to come on the market this season. Superbly refurbished and restored with meticulous attention to detail, it is in a prime location with a host of amenities on the doorstep, within walking distance of St Stephen's Green and Grafton Street.

The 172 sq m (1,850 sq ft) house is single storey over garden level with two reception rooms, three bedrooms, kitchen, two bathrooms and guest toilet. Number 17 is for auction with Felicity Fox with a guide of €825,000.

Tree-lined Heytesbury Street, which runs parallel to Camden Street with its array of shopping and vibrant nightlife, exudes a quiet grandeur. Number 17 was bought some years ago by an American theatre director who has infused the property with some muted urbane Manhattan style amalgamated with other influences.

The house was laid out in flats when it was bought. Refurbishing it was a daunting prospect but, with New York theatrical flair and tenacity and with the help of some wonderful Irish craftsmanship, an exquisite living space was created, without losing any of the architectural integrity of the building.

The house was rewired and replumbed with cable TV and phone points throughout.Underfloor heating was installed with individual room temperature control and the property was wired for a Bang and Olufsen surround-sound system.

The attention to detail in the refurbishment is immediately evident as you ascend the granite steps to the hall door in the repointed brick work, the simple and elegantly planted garden on the lower level and the period-style six-over-six sash windows.

The hall has French oak wide plank flooring. The double reception rooms are typical of the period with two fine mantelpieces and a very special 1940s Venetian chandelier. All the cornicing and architraves have been refurbished. These rooms have many well chosen retro and classical pieces of furniture which work well with the overall look.

Most were shipped from America but many of the pieces dotted around the house were sourced and purchased in Dublin. "It was a great education for me to learn the streets and layout of the city and to make friends along the way," the owner explains.

Evening sunlight streams through the hall and shines through the plate glass balustrade of the staircase to the lower ground floor, like a prism sending shafts of colour.

Off the hall is the guest toilet with a wonderful font-like sink and excellent storage presses lined in oak with sensored lighting.

The kitchen, which looks out over the garden, is all custom-built to the owner's specifications, with white oak storage units and great use of space. Two very slim sliding presses for condiments and other essential cooking items, on each side of the cooker, is an ingenious touch.

All appliances are top-of-the-range, including a super Gaggenau fridge and that American essential, a waste disposal unit, incorporated in the double sink. All worktops are polished granite, lit by individual low voltage down lighting.

What gives the kitchen a certain wow factor is the sparkling polished quartz flooring. From the kitchen, through sliding glass doors, there is a surprise: the balcony which has steps down to the garden, has a glass floor which lets in light into the downstairs bedrooms.

The clean lines of the staircase to the lower ground floor are an integral part of the overall quality of design that prevails in this house, from the glass balustrade to the door handles, the effective lighting to the superb and spacious built-in wardrobes lined in oak in the bedrooms.

The main bedroom is spacious, all elements blending together to provide a sumptuous and elegant space with windows looking out to the front garden. Street life above does not intrude due to the effective planting of hardy perennial shrubs and some wonderful wild roses.

Through a frosted panelled door, the en suite bathroom has polished quartz tiles and a floor-to-ceiling mirrored wall, heated towel rail with Fantinni taps and shower head and a customised sink in dark veined marble.

The main bathroom has customised elements, namely the sink and stand, with frosted glass door and side window, power shower, Terrazzo flooring, iridescent glass mosaic tiling, mirrored wall and recessed lighting.

The other two bedrooms follow the same cohesive approach to the standards of design and furnishing that is the thrust of this property.

Both have access to the back garden through French doors and one of the bedrooms has a raised log-effect gas fire which would be very inviting on a drab cold winter's night.

The garden is a lesson in restrained elegance, with its lush Royal Bamboo giving shelter to the raised flowerbeds with their abundance of exotic shrubs and specimen grasses. Underneath a thriving olive tree rests the stone head of a seahorse which came from California.

A great asset to this garden is the benefit of a secure gravelled carport which is invaluable near central Dublin.