Two large Victorian era houses with one of Donnybrook's most desirable addresses have just come on the market Bernice Harrison and Eivlín Roden report

39 Eglinton Road: €3.6m

The houses on Eglinton Road in Donnybrook range from vast two-storey over basement redbrick piles to relatively more modest pre-war houses. There are also some smaller - but still substantial - Victorian houses and one of them, number 39, is for auction through Gunne on June 28th with an AMV of €3.6 million.

At 242sq m (2,600sq ft), this is a spacious house with a mature back garden and, as it has five good-sized bedrooms, it's likely to appeal to families trading up. The Dublin 4 post code, off-street car-parking for up to five cars, plus the potential to extend add to the appeal.

The house is three-storey at the back and there are good-sized returns. This means that the owners, who have lived here for 20 years, have been able to have a family room on the first floor return to add to the formal reception rooms downstairs. These are lovely high ceilinged interconnecting rooms with a square bay to the front and, unusually, a small glazed bay in the back diningroom with steps to the back garden.

There are the expected period features in these rooms, including cornice work and original fireplaces. The hall is wide and bright.

Upstairs, there are four bedrooms, three doubles and one single. The main bedroom has an en suite and, at attic level, is a large room, not listed by the agent as a bedroom but used by the family as such. The family bathroom is in the second floor return beside a bedroom.

The kitchen is at the back of the house and fitted with pine units. It's likely that new owners will update this space because there is room to extend to the side and the back. There's a cellar area under the house used as a very useful junk room.

The house is well back from the road and the mature back garden is around 30 metres long and it's also wide.

There's a substantial side entrance - when the owners bought there was a garage there, so new owners are likely to be eyeing this area with a view to extending.

79 Eglinton Road: €4.5m

A comfortable Victorian redbrick - Eltham at 79 Eglinton Road - on one of Dublin 4's more desirable roads is for auction with Sherry FitzGerald on June 29th with an AMV of €4.5 million.

Elthan is towards the Miltown end, close to schools and shops. It has all the traditional solidity of its period with enough variation of layout to make a large six-bedroom semi-detached house both compact and liveable.

The entrance is through iron gates to a wide gravelled drive and sheltered garden. Attractive granite steps make a feature of the entrance with a granite landing big enough to put out chairs on and enjoy the garden.

Positioning the hall door to the side is what makes the difference from the classic Victorian layout of two reception rooms beside a long hall. Here the tiled entrance turns into a square hall off which the big bay-windowed drawingroom looks out to the front, while the diningroom is set along the back of the house with windows in the long wall facing the back garden.

A fair-sized kitchen with a door to the diningroom is the added bonus of this layout. This has a window at either end, as well as a half glazed door to another flight of granite steps to the side garden. A navy blue Aga enhances the marine-themed tiles and there is room for a table and chairs. All these rooms bring the garden into the house with windows in three directions ensuring plenty of light.

The first floor return has a bathroom and the first floor has four bedrooms. There is a very large one (with en suite shower room), two good doubles and a roomy single. Stairs lead up to an attic bedroom.

Downstairs, a door opposite the kitchen leads to a large garden level floor with livingroom, bedroom, study, utility/kitchenette and buckets of space in a very wide hall.

The gardens are a special feature of this house with the space evenly divided between front, side and back.

There are two patio areas on which to catch morning and evening sun and use has been made of the natural features of the house and site to clothe them in charm and privacy with flowering trees and plants.