Located at the Mount Merrion Avenue end of Grove Avenue number two is a house that illustrates where property prices are now. The house, which measures about 232sq m/ 2,500sq ft, last came to market in 2011 asking €1.45 million. It had been sold at auction eight years before for reportedly close to €2 million, after which it was completely refurbished with a glass-walled extension, designed by NBK Architects, in 2008.
It was sold to its current owner in 2011 for €1.05 million, according to the Property Price Register. She made some small changes and it is now back on the market for €2 million through Sherry FitzGerald.
The fine Victorian villa-style property is in turnkey condition and has retained much of its original period charm, from the gorgeous fanlight and leaded glass panels of the front door, to its two formal reception rooms on either side of the entrance hall, which feature original polished floors, matching fireplaces and 10ft ceiling heights.
The rest of the living space is open- plan and expansive. The kitchen, which spans the width of the property, has double side doors which the current owner installed and which bring light into this room, which has two walls painted in a café au lait Weathered Brown by Fleetwood.
Deep-drawered and leggy kitchen units from Houseworks keep the space feeling contemporary and they have super tactile unhoned granite countertops. The kitchen area is tiled while the living area features the same warm wood flooring that is in the garden room – the property’s show-stopping space.
Built with entertaining in mind and accessed via a small walkway, this light-filled room has not compromised the integrity of the original part of the property. It has electronic blinds, underfloor heating and a bar in the corner with a concealed under- counter fridge and a large wine rack.
A large sliding door opens out to the gorgeous, rather old-fashioned garden, 80ft in length, designed around two fruit trees. Completely private, it is bound by granite walls and backs on to the Elms development on Mount Merrion Avenue.
A terrace of off-white slabs surrounds the room and refracts light back into this gorgeous space that is far bigger than it appears. A small putting green to the side is perhaps the reason that the sash windows in the kitchen, in the original part of the house, feature toughened glass.
Originally this 19th-century villa had five bedrooms. Two of its four double bedrooms are at garden level, accessed from the kitchen via a set of stairs. These share a washroom that has a separate shower and bath.
The current owner turned one of the bedrooms into a large walk-in wardrobe that services the master bedroom at the top of the house, which also has a lovely en-suite shower room. Adjacent is a roomy guest bedroom and a large and luxurious bathroom.
The house has been really well landscaped. A pair of bay trees flank the front granite steps and there is a car port to the side, hidden from view by a set of black gates.
