Salerno was one of the earlier houses built on Military Road in Killiney. Originally called Rosetta it probably looked different in 1860 when it was first constructed and it's likely it didn't have the striking looking timber verandah at the front which it now has. That is not just decorative, it's practical, giving an outdoor seating area at hall level allowing for striking views over the treetops. That was in place when the current owners bought the fine 528sq m (5,683sq ft) house more than 60 years ago. It's now for sale though Savills for €2.9million
Salerno was built at a time when houses outside the city were designed much like country estates so the bay-windowed red-brick two storey over basement period house has a coach house with a small cobbled courtyard, a walled garden and a vast 1.23 acre garden planted with trees, shrubs and elaborate flowerbeds. The house is on a very private site surrounded by trees which are now mature and towering and is set back from Military Road behind tall walls and electric gates.
At present it has six bedrooms and seven reception rooms, most with their original decorative plaster cornices intact. Many of the rooms both upstairs and down are dual aspect and as the house is on a sloping elevated site, the views are lovely.
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This is one for owners with big plans and a big budget, as aside from the near €3 million asking price, it will be at its best when it is renovated from top to bottom. The basement level appears to be not far from original condition with its red flagstone flooring and warren of vast bare rooms. Part of it looks to have been used as a dance studio at some time in the past but otherwise it appears not to have been used for some years. They may decide to put their kitchen down here – the functional kitchen is currently at hall level.
Apart from interior work, there are projects aplenty outside. The coach house could be transformed into a fine mews. Other projects will include restoring the walled garden at the rear of the house which was once filled with fruit trees and vegetable plots. There’s also a charming old glasshouse to the side that could also be restored.
