Dublin 4 €7m: Great reception rooms and a stunning kitchen are the key features of a modern home in D4, writes Orna Mulcahy, Property Editor.
Ailesbury Road in Ballsbridge is the hot address of the season with three houses already sold on the road since January - priced between €10 million and €14 million - and at least three more due to come on the market before the summer. The supply is unusual - generally no more than two or three of its houses would come up for sale in a full year. The high level of sales suggests that values may be peaking, both here and elsewhere in Ballsbridge, with most large period houses being sold by long time residents anxious to cash in their chips.
The latest property on the market is 84 Ailesbury Road, a three-storey house, with a stunning kitchen extension, that's part of a modern terrace built on the corner of Shrewsbury Road. Designed by de Blacam & Meagher, it's a handsome row of redbrick and granite fronted houses modelled on the mansion that previously stood on the site. Built in 1992, the houses initially proved difficult to shift due to a collapse in the market from the currency crisis. But today number 84 is likely to be snapped up by a wealthy family seeking a trophy address.
It's a fine four-bedroom house with an impeccably designed interior of 372sq m (4,000sq ft), hence the advised minimum value (AMV) of €7 million. It will be auctioned by joint agents Lisney and Turley & Associates on May 11th. With its beautifully proportioned rooms and 12ft high ceilings, it has the grandeur of a period home without the headache of refurbishment.
The granite paved entrance porch has steps leading to a black front door. Inside, there's a wide bright hallway with a Portuguese limestone floor that runs through to an inner hallway where a superb staircase rises to the top of the house. Double doors lead from the outer hall to the first of the reception rooms, a gorgeous drawingroom with a wide bay window and antique parquet flooring.
A further set of double doors open to a large family room with sofas around a limestone chimneypiece, and a wall of built-in cupboards. From here, two sets of double doors open into the kitchen with its vaulted ceiling and lantern-style rooflight. Designed by architect Ross Cahill-O'Brien, this beautiful curved room, which runs the full width of the house, is the "centre of operations", says the owner, with enough room to hold the family and friends. French doors lead to the garden which, despite the extension, has a good stretch of lawn.
Off to one side of the kitchen is a TV room or playroom. The utility room is upstairs. The four bedrooms are arranged on two floors, with the luxurious main bedroom suite and a guest bedroom on the first floor, and two lovely childrens' bedrooms on the second floor. Pale carpeted floors and walls that have been given an Italian plaster finish create an opulent feel that's is carried through every room of this exceptionally smart city home.
