Arkendale Road: €4.6m You get a lot more redbrick for your money if you're prepared to travel out of town to the suburb of Glenageary.

A large Victorian semi-detached house with a 136ft garden at 3 Arkendale Road looks as though it belongs on Ailesbury Road, but it costs a good deal less - less than half its Dublin 4 counterpart in fact.

The seven-bedroom house has an advised minimum value (AMV) of €4.6 million prior to auction through Lisney on May 17th.

Glenageary is increasingly desirable being near the Dart and the excellent shops at Glasthule.

The owners have upgraded the 371sq m (4,000sq ft) property considerably since buying it five years ago, with new bathrooms, herringbone parquet flooring at hall and garden level, new timber staircase from hall to garden level, as well as bookcases and storage units in nearly every room.

At the back, there is a New England-style sunroom through which light pours into the back of the house.

Three-storey houses often present a problem when deciding how best to use the space for contemporary living.

The owners of number 3 have successfully solved the dilemma by putting their kitchen at hall level in the smaller of the two front rooms with a large Aga, and Shaker-style units, including a moveable island unit with granite top.

And by opening up the connecting wall to the drawingroom with its huge bay window, they have created a wonderful living space, with high ceilings and a beautiful fireplace, which is flooded with light.

There are great views from its elevated position. A further large drawingroom at this level has two windows looking over the back garden.

Because the house does not have the return of many Victorian houses, the square proportions make a large house very liveable with five bedrooms and a large bathroom ranged around a landing and short corridor.

The main en suite bedroom is above the bay windowed livingroom and is a huge room with views over Dún Laoghaire and Sandycove to the sea. The fifth bedroom is the only single.

At garden level, a spacious two bedroom apartment with its own front door and a door to the back garden can be closed off from the main house by a door at the top of the stairs.

There is also a large sittingroom with period fireplace, well appointed kitchen and utility room.

Outside there is a big front garden with space for many cars, as well as a garage. The back garden stretches 136ft and combines a lawn and vegetable garden divided by a rockery that at the moment is a swathe of blue flowers.