Many owners of three-storey over-basement period properties end up living in the garden-level rooms, rendering their gorgeous good rooms redundant or for occasion use only.
Number 7 Pembroke Road is an elegant five- to six-bedroom Regency house in residential use on a part of Dublin 4 where these houses are more often used as offices.
It is a fine example of how well these houses were designed for their original use as homes. Secreted behind a mature green space almost at the intersection of Baggot Street Upper and Waterloo Road, number seven has period features galore and proportions that are roomy without feeling too big to be homely. Asking €1.9 million through agents SherryFitzGerald it is also a house that has been lived in, loved in and partied in.
0 of 4
The property while huge – it measures 349sq m (3,756sq ft) – doesn’t feel that way. There is room for a clatter of children and all their friends. The current owners’ children and their circle loved the fact that the property was situated between Searson’s pub and the now defunct Annabel’s nightclub.
There are period features everywhere. In the hall an ornate ceiling with cornicing greets you. The two interconnecting reception rooms on this level have matching black marble fireplaces and tiled insets, original broad boards that are pleasantly scuffed and shutters on the sash windows.
On the first floor return there is a double bedroom and a shower room adjacent.
Upstairs, on the first floor, there are two grand reception rooms, statement sized with 12ft-high ceilings and matching white marble fireplaces and ceiling roses. The light in these rooms is fantastic and while formal they’re not the kind of rooms where owners would fuss if a guest accidentally spilled a glass of red wine. This ease of living is a big part of the property’s charm.
On the second floor the master bedroom is to the front and has another lovely marble fireplace. A second double is to the rear and these rooms share a bathroom that has no shower.
The kitchen is hand-crafted by John Daly and located on the hall return. A door leads out to the west-facing garden, which is lawned and relatively private, considering the busy location. At weekends this area is blissfully quiet.
At garden level there are two to three more bedrooms, all doubles. Two of these have French doors leading outside to a sunken patio. There is a shower room. The back bedroom could also be used as an office. This part of the house has a separate front entrance, meaning the next owner could turn it into a self-contained flat and a revenue source.
Compared to the rest of the house this floor feels dark and in need of a decor update.
The house owns the green space that is in front of it. Shaded by sycamore trees there is off-street parking for two to three cars.
