That this house, at 68 Park Avenue, Sandymount, has an all-weather tennis court in the back garden tells a great deal about the Dublin 4 property, not least that it is built on 0.4 acres.
With 318sq m (3,423sq ft) of space, the five-bedroom redbrick Victorian is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald for €3.35 million. The 1880s-built semi-detached house has been in the same family for decades, unlike its neighbour, number 70, which caused a stir when it sold in 2006 for €9.5 million, €5 million over the guide price, an indication of the popularity of this quiet, leafy, determinedly unshowy road. It sold again, with less fanfare, in 2012 for €2.75million.
Meanwhile, number 68 has been a comfortable, sprawling family home that was added to and improved by its present owners at various stages down the years. They added a sunroom and familyroom at the rear, and in the upstairs return, where there was probably a bathroom, there are now two bedrooms and a shower room.
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Another change was to convert the bedroom adjacent to the very large main bedroom at the front into an en suite for the bedroom and a small family bathroom with access from the landing. There are also two more double bedrooms.
Reception rooms
Down at hall level there is two interconnecting reception rooms that open out to the extension. They are to the right off the wide hall, while to the left is a cosy parlour room.
The ceilings are high, both upstairs and down, adding to the great sense of space, and the house has many period features, from fireplaces to decorative plasterwork.
It is easy to see why these houses are so sought-after by buyers in the upper price ranges who want the square footage without a basement level.
Buyers will probably embark, however, on a renovation programme, taking the house back to its original layout and starting from there. The kitchen is small relative to the size of the house, and not in the airy, eat-in style that families prefer, while the extension takes light from the back reception room. Also, the bathrooms, with their coloured suites, will probably go.
Whether the tennis court – at the end of the long garden and not visible from the house – will stay is harder to predict.
There is parking to the front for several cars.
