A Victorian house on one of Dublin’s most exclusive roads, bought at auction in 2006 for €9.05 million, has been renovated in a way that combines period style and modern comfort to an unusual degree. It’s now for sale for €4.75 million, a little over half that price, excluding the cost of the renovation.
Little expense was spared on the makeover, which includes an extension with a large, bright kitchen/ breakfastroom/family room looking on to the back garden, a main bedroom with separate en suites and dressingrooms for him and her, and a serious amount of storage space in every part of the house. There are five bedrooms.
The house also has a geothermal heating system, underfloor heating throughout and all windows are double glazed.
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The semi-detached property extends to nearly 46sqm (5,00sq ft) and stands on 0.27 of an acre. It's for sale by private treaty through Sherry FitzGerald.
Temple Gardens, a short street a few minutes’ walk from the Cowper Luas stop and from Palmerston Park, is a prized address: the 2006 sale of number 1 – then called Subiaco – was probably one of the last big auction sales of the boom.
Post-crash, prices have started climbing again: number 23 Temple Gardens sold for € 4.5 million in 2013, €1 million over the asking price. Number 7 is also for sale, for € 3.95 million.
The renovation and redecoration of number 1, supervised by architect Paul Brazil, has been done with meticulous attention to detail, with marble and limestone extensively used in the kitchen and bathrooms. Extras such as the nearly concealed pantry and walk-in larder off the kitchen, or the luxurious marble "lady's en suite bathroom", make it stand out.
Period details such as centre roses and cornicing have been restored or replaced in the marble-floored entrance hall and the interconnecting bay-windowed drawingroom and diningroom to the right of the front door: these both have pale limestone fireplaces, slate hearth and gas fires. A smart family room to the right of the front door has a tall bay window and a panelled oak wall with a fireplace and TV inset.
The painted hardwood kitchen, made by Seabury of Newbridge, has a marble-topped island unit, grey Silestone (quartz) countertop, large Aga, two dishwashers, two fridges and 1½ freezers as well as that larder and pantry.
There’s room for a table that seats eight, and a sitting area; a separate sittingroom or den with floor-to-ceiling doors/ windows opens on to the garden.
There are two bedrooms on the first return upstairs, one fitted out as a study, and two more bedrooms on the second return at the top of the house; all three bedrooms have good-sized en suites.
The main bedroom suite takes up all of the first floor, with its separate “lady’s and gentleman’s” en suites and dressingrooms.
The marble-tiled lady’s bathroom – with a double shower, freestanding bath, and separate vanity unit – is a showstopper and there’s generous storage in the mirrored dressingroom. The men’s en suite and dressingroom has walnut-panelled wardrobes, limestone floor and a rather smaller shower room.
The back garden has a large lawn with a pathway around it, patio area, garden house and is sheltered by mature trees. There’s room for a number of cars to park in the gravelled front garden.
