That 135 Mount Merrion Avenue with 334sq m (3,600sq ft) of floor space is a four-bedroom house is an indication of just how spacious and grand the rooms are in this substantial semi dating from 1820.
The owners were downsizing when they bought in 2006. Having sold up in Dalkey, they were renting in Blackrock while they househunted. It didn’t take long for them to appreciate the amenities the well-serviced southside suburb had to offer so they ended up concentrating their search in the area.
Number 135 – Merrion Lodge – appealed instantly, says the owner who was keen on the home’s Georgian features and proportions. The size of the interconnecting reception rooms suited their needs for that time in their lives which included large family events such as pre-wedding receptions and christenings.
Their appreciation of the house’s many original features led them to make their most significant change about five years ago when they replaced the sash windows which, while they had been updated in the not too distant past, seemed, to the meticulous owners, to not have quite the right glazing bars to suit the period.
Following advice from the Georgian Society, new windows were made – mahogany, double glazed – to complement the obvious elegance of the imposing two storey over garden level stucco-finish house.
The previous owners who had been there for 25 years had, says the current owner, obviously “cared and minded the house” so little updating was required when they moved in. “The changes that have been made over the years have been positive, not invasive,” she says.
New buyers typically tend to alter a home’s decor after moving in, and while these owners did that in some rooms, they retained the style of the grand interconnecting reception rooms where they kept the striking red colour scheme with its red and gold wallpaper. The owner suspects that the vivid colour choice may go back many decades.
Unusual features which help date the house include the three tall round-head windows in the entrance hall which still have their original glass including beautiful yellow glass panels, all remarkably still intact, says the owner, despite the hall being a favoured play area for visiting grandchildren.
Upstairs there are four double bedrooms, the main to the front has a fitted-out dressing room. There is a further family bathroom and shower room.
Down at garden level, the area was reworked and a new kitchen installed by previous owners with a large open-plan kitchen-dining area opening into a family room. There is a pantry too and several storage rooms.
The house is not protected which gives a new owner scope to extend to the rear should they need even more space.
There is a good-sized rear garden and off-street parking to the front for several cars – the tarmac has been replaced in recent years with gravel. The owners are once again downsizing but staying in the area and number 135 Mount Merrion Avenue – which is at the Stillorgan Road end of the long tree-lined avenue that leads down to Blackrock village – is for sale through Knight Frank seeking €2.25 million.
