Dublin 4/€2.25m: Attention to period detail is the hallmark of a revamp given to a house on Waterloo Road. Eoin Lyons reports.
No matter how earnest the restoration carried out by owners of houses built in the 18th or 19th century, it is inevitable that there will always be a shutter that doesn't quite fit into its recess or a rogue floorboard that continues to creak. It's just the way of old houses. Not many would spend the great amount of money it takes to replace every piece of joinery - windows, skirting boards, flooring, doorframes and so on - but this is what the owners of 47 Waterloo Road did only four years ago and it shows: there is no question of any of the woodwork being anything less than perfect.
The five-bed house, which is set for auction through joint agents Jackson-Stops and Harper O'Grady on September 22nd, is expected to make over €2.25 million.
However, unlike many restorations undertaken with gusto but not a lot of sensitivity, the house is even subtler than these photographs suggest and visitors might not immediately realise that so much has been replaced.
The result is an early Victorian house suited to those who like grandeur but not the draughts or shortage of bathrooms. It extends to 316 sq m (3,400 sq ft) and has also been rewired and re-plumbed.
In short, any alterations the potential purchasers would need to make are likely to be cosmetic changes to match their taste.
The house looks smart from the gravel off-street car-parking: windows and doors are painted black. Inside, the floor in the entrance hall is traditional French limestone and to the left are the well proportioned interconnecting dining and drawing rooms. The broad cat's paw oak floor is new and, as elsewhere, it has been sound insulated. Two white marble fireplaces are also new.
On the return before going downstairs to the basement, is a small office wired for ISDN. It has a door opening to a city garden, landscaped with style, with a sunken patio that is accessed from the family room below.
For all the fine furniture and contemporary Irish art the owners have collected, this is not an intimidating house and the family home atmosphere is best felt at basement level. The kitchen retains the stone hearth, with new gas Stanley range, and there is an open fire in the family room. Maple and oak fittings and flooring add to the cosy feel. Also in the basement is a utility room and guest toilet.
To the front of the house is a small patio, ideal for breakfasting as it catches the morning sun.
Up on the first return is a study area with an almost gothic shuttered window. To the front on the first floor is the main bedroom with two windows, white marble fireplace and a pretty view of the trees on Waterloo Road. Next to this is an en suite shower room. New owners could possibly connect these rooms directly. Another good-sized bedroom is also at this level.
On the second return is a bathroom with arched double doors echoing an arched window. High quality fittings have a classic look. On the second floor are three bedrooms, all with vaulted ceilings and all with custom-built wardrobes. A bathroom between them has a cast-iron bath and shower.
Off-street car-parking completes the package of a house where one can enjoy a city life away from the quiet suburbs but without feeling enclosed by the city.
