Minister's former D4 rental on the market for €2.35m

Just beside the RDS, Anglesea Road is an ideal spot; between Ballsbridge and Donnybrook, close to town and convenient for pretty much anything. It has a mixture of building styles and eras and, of these, the terrace of Victorian houses, which includes just two double-fronted to accommodate the curve of the road, must be some of the nicest.

Number 83 is a 301sq m (3,246sq ft) two-storey-over- basement home, and the current owners couldn’t have loved it more. “It was one of those houses you could either do nothing, or everything, to,” says the owner.

They opted for “everything”, which included re-roofing, new floors, kitchen and bathrooms, Bang & Olufsen wiring for sound throughout, adding dual boilers and zoned temperature controls.

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Working with conservation architect Elaine Mahoney, they sensitively reimagined the house as an elegant period home for a thoroughly modern family.

Renovation bug

The house has been in the newspapers before, it was formerly owned by Minister for Transport and Sport,

Shane Ross

, who had it rented, and caused a few raised eyebrows when he sent it off to auction in 2004 without a pre-auction guide price.

The strategy didn’t work out so well, as it proved to have carried a reserve of €2.2 million but was withdrawn at auction. It sold subsequently for a sum understood to be €2.1 million, and it’s apparent the owners have thoroughly enjoyed upgrading the house. They are now selling with a view to doing up another house, all over again.

The garden level has a beautiful and bright kitchen by Design House Dalkey, with a Carrara marble (the same marble as Michelangelo's David) counter around the sink. This is balanced by a darker marble island unit with a walnut breakfast bar.

This opens through to a relaxing contemporary living space (the more formal period rooms are on the first floor), which leads through to a very fine garden designed by Irish Times gardening writer Fionnuala Fallon.

A long space broken into distinct areas, it errs just on the right side of formal, with relaxing seating spots. At the back there’s a contemporary garden room, to facilitate barbecues, with everything you need to hand, and sufficiently far from the main house to remain out of earshot. Beyond this again is a large garage, with handy rear access.

A pair of reception rooms sit to the left of the hallway upstairs. There is a very nice pair of art deco-style fireplaces and, if you fall in love with the matching pair of French gilt mirrors, the owners are very happy to talk. To the right is a study and toilet, with an angular shape – remember, this is one of the double-fronted houses on the curve of the road.

Upstairs there are four bedrooms, three doubles, and the main one is en suite, plus the main bathroom. No 83 is a special and stylish house, and is for sale with Colliers at €2.35 million.