Rathmines: €1.86mThe new owners of number 75 Palmerston Road, Rathmines in Dublin 6 will have to do very little except put their own stamp on it.
Scheduled for auction on June 16th through Douglas Newman Good, and with a guide price of €1.85 million, this terraced three-bedroom house with 236 sq m (2,540 sq ft) of accommodation carries all the hallmarks of a standard Victorian with the advantage that it has been completely upgraded by the present owner.
It has been rewired, repointed and reroofed, and gas central heating and an alarm have been installed: the good news is that all this was achieved without compromising the original features such as the ceiling plasterwork, and the original sash windows, which work smoothly.
Granite steps, their railings clad in clematis, lead up to the front door that opens into a tall hall with lovely cornicing and an ornate central rose. A paler colour on the walls would reflect more of the light that comes into it from many angles, including a Velux on the top landing.
To the left of the hall are two very fine interconnecting reception rooms, with matching marble mantels, austere cornicing and polished floorboards. Evening sunlight pours through the front window, while the back of the house faces east. Also on this level, in the return, is a lounge that could have any number of uses - playroom, office or fourth bedroom.
Stairs lead down to the garden level, which has its own front entrance. At the front is a large, bright kitchen that has plenty of space for a dining table; it is fitted with oak units and a granite worktop, and a Rayburn that heats the house.
Behind this is a livingroom with French doors to the garden; opening up this whole area, as many others on the road have done, would give a really spacious kitchen/dining/family room.
The return houses a generous utility room, with built-in storage and a small bathroom. A long worktop is great for potting and pottering, and a wall of windows, as well as a glass door to the garden, keep it very bright.
The first floor return is taken up with a bathroom - probably originally a bedroom, as it is big enough for a freestanding bath as well as a separate shower.
Upstairs are the three bedrooms; a good-sized single and a reasonable double at the front, and a huge main bedroom, with an en suite shower room - originally the main bathroom - at the back.
Outside, the decent-sized back garden has been planted in a tumbling cottagey style, with a path made from the original kitchen quarry tiles, a gnarled apple tree and a shed tucked tidily into the corner, beside the rear entrance. The front garden is a mix of gravel and grass, with some planting and off-street parking for at least one car.
