Mount Merrion: €1.95mA solid 1930s semi with a long back garden has been given a radical new look by its owners. Eoin Lyonsreports
A five-bedroom house with a long back garden facing south at 22 Trees Road in Mount Merrion, Co Dublin has a disclosed reserve of €1.95 million prior to auction through North's on May 15th.
Trees Road runs off the Stillorgan dual carriageway, next to one of the neighbourhood's other popular roads, The Rise. It is lined with the kind of solid semi-detached houses that are typical of suburban developments in the 1930s.
The same family has owned number 22 for the past 22 years. Three years ago they completely refurbished and extended the house. It now has five bedrooms and a floor area of 254sq m (2,734sq ft).
The entrance hall, floored with walnut, gets wider as it reaches the centre of the house, making it more than just a place to pass through: a welcoming fireplace adds to the atmosphere. At the front, to the left of the hall, is a home office, and to the right, the livingroom. This is decorated in rich colours as is much of the house. It is next to a diningroom that in turn opens straight to a family room. This makes for a wonderful free-flowing entertaining space.
The family room is part of an extension with a high pitched roof and plenty of skylights. It's a bright room, floored in solid walnut, and has French doors to the garden. The renovation includes wall recesses for a flat screen TV and other LCD technology.
An arch leads to the kitchen, also at the back of the house. The high spec creamy units were supplied by McNally Kitchens and are worked around an island and an enormous black Aga cooker. There's a utility room off the kitchen and a guest toilet with shower.
Upstairs, the main bedroom runs across the back of the house and has three windows overlooking the garden. The smart en suite has a Grohe shower. There are two other double rooms and a single at this level, as well as a family bathroom.
The attic has been converted: a staircase leads from the first floor landing to a large bedroom with Velux windows and a bathroom with bath and shower.
Outside, the south-facing back garden is one of the house's most attractive features. For a start it's 125ft long. Designed by landscape architect Hugh Ryan, it has hardwood decking, a water feature running across a white curving wall, a circular lawn and a second lawn hidden behind a bank of trees.
At the end of the garden is a 28.89sq m (3,110sq ft) pavilion garden room. Its wood exterior is stained black, so it looks cool, and inside there's a large room and a toilet.
