An Edwardian in D4 overlooking Herbert Park could sell for a record price, says Orna Mulcahy, Property Editor

Milverton, an Edwardian five-bedroom house on a third of an acre at 34 Herbert Park in Ballsbridge, is likely to be one of the top selling houses of the season if Lisney reaches its target at auction on April 20th.

Director Tom Day is guiding €7.5 million-plus for the five-bedroom house but this is very much on the low side given that the neighbouring house fetched the equivalent of €6.7 million in 2000, and the market has moved on considerably since then.

Demand continues to be very strong for large family homes in the Ballsbridge area and given the rarity value of this particular house - overlooking Herbert Park, and with a superb enclosed back garden - it will be no surprise if it makes a million or more over the guide. The house will also be of interest to foreign governments looking for an embassy residence.

Milverton was built as a showhouse by the top builders of the day, Cramptons, to coincide with the 1907 Dublin International Trades Exhibition in Herbert Park.

Thousands of visitors flocked to the exhibition to view all sorts of wonders, including, bizarrely, a complete Somali village, but there would have been tremendous interest too in the latest home decor styles at a time when the city was undergoing something of a building boom.

Milverton would have been the last word in style with its beautifully proportioned rooms, ornate plasterwork, oak parquet flooring, carved timber panelling, stained glass windows and Adams-style fireplaces, all of which are still intact.

The current owners have lived here for over 30 years and have maintained the house beautifully in that time, regularly redecorating in a style that's in keeping with its era. Items that were specially made for the reception rooms, including two marvellous Donegal carpets and a pair of crystal chandeliers, are to be included in the sale along with a grand piano that was in situ when the owners moved in.

The daughter of the house is keeping just one item of furniture, a smart hexagonal card table, complete with pull-out ashtrays, that was a gift to her father from Sean Lemass, who played cards in the house on a regular basis.

Milverton is a sizeable house at 328 sq m (3,540 sq ft), but there is also plenty of room to extend, given the generous site area. The owners did add a large dining-cum-living space leading off the kitchen and overlooking the garden, as well as a utility room to the side.

Elsewhere, the accommodation has been used very much as it was originally designed, with the superb double drawingroom on one side of the marble floored hallway, and a formal diningroom on the other side connecting to the kitchen via a useful butler's pantry.

The drawingrooms are particularly good with their matching Adams-style fireplaces and tall sash windows in a bay at either end. Together these rooms are almost 50ft long, making them ideal for big parties, but tall dividing doors turn them neatly into separate rooms for smaller gatherings.

The garden room leading off the kitchen with its pavilion-style windows and French doors is a wonderfully bright and spacious room while the utility room off the kitchen has lots of useful storage, a separate entrance leading to a carport, and a yard with a series of sheds.

Upstairs, the first landing with its striking stained glass window etched with Greek and Latin mottos, leads to a cosy study with an open fireplace, and to the first of the bedrooms, a large tranquil room overlooking the back garden.

The first floor has three further double bedrooms, including the main room with its large en suite bathroom. The family bathroom is a gorgeously ornate room with a mirror panelled wall and deep parliament bath. The fifth bedroom is at the top of the house, from which there is access to the attic, where there's plenty of space to convert.