Westminster Road: €6.75m:A period property renovated in a contemporary style and a new house with a period look: Edel Morganand Bernice Harrisonview two south Dublin homes
Grasmere on Westminster Road, Foxrock, Co Dublin is back on the market again after undergoing a luxury makeover.
The mid-19th century four-bedroom century house has been completely renovated and is on the market through Sherry FitzGerald for €6.75 million.
Although large at 347sqm (3,745 sq ft), it still manages to have a cosy and accessible feel, thanks partly to its flowing design. It is accessed via security gates and a long gravelled driveway which sweeps around a double garage at the rear.
On entering Grasmere, you immediately see it's coup de théâtre to the left, a circular music room with a dramatic stained glass porthole window. It has double doors leading out to a terrace with steps to the garden. This room sets the tone for the rest of the house which is light-filled and full of muted vanilla tones offset by period detail.
To the right of the hall, a large drawingroom can also be accessed off the inner hall. It has two vast sash windows and ornate ceiling cornicing, which is a feature of much of the house.
Off the inner hall the diningroom overlooks the front lawn through a bay of sash windows. A lovely feature of this room are its glass-panelled folding doors. Past the diningroom, there's a study with a cast iron and tiled fireplace.
The kitchen is perhaps the most predictable room in the house with a cream country style, travertine floors, a centre island with a brown marbled granite top and a sizeable dining area. The kitchen has doors and steps down to a sittingroom area with a limestone fireplace and maple wooden floors. French doors open onto a patio area at the side of the house.
Off the rear hall there's a large utility room with plenty of cream units. A door opens to the back garden which has a small raised lawn fringed with plants . There are four bedrooms upstairs, two doubles on the first landing return, one of which has a wall of fitted wardrobes. There is also a dressingroom at this level with fitted wardrobes and closet space.
The main bedroom has a bay window overlooking the sheltered front lawn, which is bordered by mature greenery and trees. The en suite has a large walk-in shower and there's a dressing room with lots of storage space. There is another double dual aspect bedroom on this level and a main bathroom .
The house is owned by the Grasmere Partnership, controlled by David Arnold, which is developing two houses on an adjacent site, formerly part of the 1.4 acre grounds of Grasmere. The two five-bed houses of 642sq m (6,910sq ft) and 729sq m (7,847sq ft) respectively are expected to built by next summer.
In 2004 An Bord Pleanála ruled against a proposal to demolish Grasmere, which featured prominently in a 1997 court case involving the Irish Permanent Building Society and its former chief executive, Dr Edmund Farrell. There were plans to build 10 houses on its grounds. Former Dublin hotelier David Doyle is also a former owner of the house.
