Walking into an Edwardian house in a cul-de-sac in The Burnaby is like stepping back in time: period details – handsome tiled fireplaces, deep coving, period light fittings, even service bells –are all there.
Only four people have owned Merlin since it was built in 1906, and the last owners lived there for almost 50 years.
It is in good condition but the new owners will need to do a lot of work to refurbish the house as a modern home. Now the detached 262sq m (2,820sq ft) five-bedroom house on just over half an acre is for sale by private treaty through Sherry FitzGerald for €1.35 million.
One of the property’s chief attractions is its large well-maintained garden, sheltered by tall trees; paths lead around it past colourful plants and shrubs. A railed veranda with a tiled floor off the family room looks over a large lawned area where there was once a tennis court.
Inside, the fireplaces are a striking feature: they are in nearly every room in the house, timber- framed with coloured tiles inset.
A small tiled porch opens into a hall off which there are three reception rooms. The drawingroom on one side and the diningroom on the other both have unusual porthole windows as well as casement windows looking over the front garden.
The family room/living room, smaller than these, has a box bay window overlooking the lawn and opens on to the veranda.
New owners are likely to revamp the rooms at the back of the ground floor, turning it into a large open-plan area.
Currently the kitchen, with an Aga, opens into a utility room and from there into the original pantry; a breakfastroom is separate. Lino covers the original black/ red/yellow tiled kitchen floor, which could be restored, the agent believes.
Upstairs, five bedrooms, most of them doubles and all with cast-iron fireplaces, open off a good-sized landing. One has been updated with cherrywood units; one overlooks the garden, another yields glimpses of the sea over Burnaby rooftops.
A garage and adjoining outbuildings could be torn down to make way for a granny flat. There is lots of room for parking in the driveway.
