At number 76 Park Avenue in Sandymount last week there were more workmen than you would find on a small building site. Outside they were in the 0.25-acre garden, cutting back and tidying up, while
Inside they were putting the finishing touches to the woodwork, retiling a bathroom and moving furniture while being careful of the new pale grey carpet. They were also “staging” some rooms so that buyers could get an idea of how the fine Victorian semidetached house can be lived in.
Accessories were being placed on shelves and pictures were being hung. In the past month a new kitchen has also been installed.
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Selling agent Sherry FitzGerald has pulled out all the stops for the house on Sandymount's priciest and most sought-after road to get it ready for sale for €3.15 million. Its next-door neighbour sold in 2006 – at the very top of the market – after auction for a reported €8 million and in that same year number 70 caused a stir when it sold for €9.5 million.
A more recent sale, in 2013, was when number 72, one of the road’s prized detached double-fronted houses in the same family for decades, sold for just over €3 million.
Contemporary style
The major work was done on number 76 nearly 20 years ago when the already substantial Victorian was extended to make way for a bright and modern double-height kitchen, diningroom, study and home cinema.
The striking-looking extension with its curved roof can be glimpsed from the front. It is an appealing contemporary addition that wraps around the back of the house and blends in perfectly with the period property. That brought the house size to 332sq m (3,573sq ft).
A further improvement at the time was the conversion of the attic – with an unusual lozenge-shaped roof light in the ceiling on the top landing – adding an extra 65sq m ( 700sq ft) of space to create a perfect teenage loft with open-plan bedroom, living area, shower-room and roof terrace.
The entrance hall with its matching round-topped original windows to the side is a bright, welcoming space. The principal rooms at hall level are the grand livingroom to the front with its deep bay window, richly decorative plasterwork and white marble fireplace.
This connects to another reception room at the rear, which has a fine rose marble fireplace. It opens out via modern glazed doors to the extensive deck and then out into the lovely old-fashioned walled back garden.
There are three large double bedrooms and several other rooms including a large space – currently unfurnished, probably a home-office or library – at mezzanine level looking down into the kitchen. There are a separate laundry room upstairs and a utility room off the kitchen.
To the front of this handsome-looking house there is off-street parking for several cars.
