Number 8 Sydney Avenue is a mid-terrace, double-fronted house with 1,800 sq ft of floor space. It is located on one of Blackrock's prestigious 19th century roads, and its only disadvantage is the 21st century bugbear - on-street parking is scarce.
Number 8 has planning permission for a parking space in the tiny front garden, which would require, unfortunately, an interruption to the fine stretch of Victorian iron railings.
The three-bedroom house is being auctioned by McNally Handy on April 12th, and the agency is quoting a guide price of £700,000 (€889,000).
The house has been well maintained, and many of the period features - including working shutters and simple plaster cornices - are intact. Although it faces north-east, the house is pleasantly bright, as light flows in from three windows (each with a cosy window seat) in the upper and lower hallways.
The drawingroom and diningroom are on either side of the front hall, and are pleasing mirror images of each other. Both have natural timber mantels and similar glazed doors leading further into the house, allowing a free circulation at this level. The drawing room has narrow, polished ash floorboards and walls painted a restful grey-green. A warm conservatory with terracotta floor tiles is accessed from this room, as well as from the rear hall. The diningroom has sombre walls covered in beige hessian above the dado rail.
The adjoining terracotta-floored kitchen is a sizeable room, and represents a successful fusion of Victorian and modern styles. Ivory-painted, tongue-and-groove panelled units have clean-lined, brushed stainless steel handles. A traditional Belfast sink is set into a beechwood counter, which is bordered by a stainless steel splashback. A wall of translucent glass bricks partitions off a utility area and the shower room beyond.
Upstairs, on the half-landing, there is a good-sized bathroom with a huge, free-standing, claw-footed bath. Around a slightly awkward corner is a bedroom with an airy, arched ceiling, panelled in natural wood.
Up a few more stairs, on the first floor, there are two further bedrooms, both generous doubles with cast iron fireplaces. The main one has windows front and rear and has a pair of rather utilitarian fitted wardrobes.
The back garden has a paved and gravelled sunken patio and an immense stretch of grass, about 40 ft by 130 ft. There is access from the rear, and potential for a mews house.
