In Ranelagh, one Victorian redbrick semi looks much like another until you come to 17 Mountainview Road. From a distance, this house matches its solid, bay-windowed neighbours but up close it has the smart, made-over look that can be achieved only by a team of builders, decorators and landscape gardeners working to a lavish budget.

The four-bedroom house carries a guide price of £700,000, far more than any house on this road has ever made. However, the hammer price could be even higher when it is auctioned by Sherry FitzGerald on February 15th because of its pristine interior.

The scarcity of builders available to renovate old houses and the spiralling costs of refurbishment work have added a premium to well-located houses in walk-in condition. Number 17 takes the semi-detached redbrick model just about as far as it will go with an inspirational kitchen extension to the rear and a sophisticated decor, based on Farrow & Ball heritage paints, that blends beautifully with the Victorian features.

Polished granite steps flanked by tubs of clipped box lead up to the open porch and black front door. Inside, there's a view clear to the back garden through floor to ceiling windows at the end of the kitchen. Interconnecting reception rooms on the left are sparsely furnished to highlight key details like the limed floorboards and the superb marble fireplaces that are given a modern twist with plain slate insets replacing ornate cast iron.

The cedar blinds screening the windows here and throughout the house are to be included in the sale. The kitchen, diningroom and livingroom is a stunning space floored in limestone, with painted tongue and groove units topped in polished slate.

Double doors lead out to a curvy deck and the landscaped garden with its boundary walls topped with willow hurdles.

There's a small circular wall surrounded by raised beds planted with lots of shrubs and climbers. A long gravelled patio at the side of the house leads to a covered passageway that does duty as a garden shed. Washing machine and dryer are hidden behind tongue and groove doors under the staircase alongside a series of useful cupboards.

A curved wall leading into the bedroom off the first landing adds a sense of privacy to this elegant room with its wall of custom built wardrobes and fully tiled en suite shower room. The family bathroom also leads off the landing.

There are three further bedrooms - two doubles and a single - on the first floor, leading off a spacious landing that has access to the floored attic.

The bedrooms are simply decorated in the same warm neutrals with similar built-in wardrobes and original fireplaces in the two larger rooms.