Two very different houses are for sale on Nutley Road in Donnybrook, writes ALANNA GALLAGHER

Nutley Lodge, Seaview Terrace, Donnybrook, Dublin 4

Decription: five-bed detached house on half an acre

Agent: Lisney

Number 15 Nutley Road is a Virginia creeper-clad three-bedroom detached property that while in need of complete modernisation has enormous room to improve potential.

It has an AMV of €900,000 through agents Lisney. If you have access to the additional funding there is huge potential to create a gorgeous family home.

The house already has some lovely original features; a terrazzo-floored covered porch that is a godsend in a climate like ours and diamond leaded windows throughout.

At present it measures 132sq m (1,420sq ft) but feels smaller than it looks from the outside. This is because a sizeable portion of the ground floor is an unused garage.

The house opens into a small hall and under-the-stairs cloakroom. To the right is a sizeable sitting room with dual aspect widows. A bay-window overlooks the large, lawned back garden. There is an open fireplace with an oak mantle and tiled surround. To the front of the house is a lounge, a smaller room. It has a charming round window that overlooks the porch.

There is a long galley-shaped gothic-style kitchen to the rear. Built in dark wood it has red tile worktops. A back door leads out to the large, private back garden. It stretches to 35m in length. Adjacent is the aforementioned garage that has sliding doors. As the house already comes with off-street parking for several cars this space would be far better utilised if it were incorporated in any extension plans a would-be buyer would undertake. There is also loads of room to extend out the back without detracting from the garden size.

The house has an arts and crafts style staircase. Upstairs, there are three good-size bedrooms. The layout of the first floor includes a landing and corridor which eat into the overall floor space.

The family bathroom has been preserved in aspic. It has a yellow suite that has seen better days but with reconfiguration is roomy enough to install a separate bath and shower. The other two bedrooms are off a corridor leading off the main landing. The far bedroom has dual aspect windows, one of which is completely covered by creeper at present. A double height extension could turn these two into lovely rooms.

Currently the back garden is bisected by a small grove of mature fruit trees. Transplanting them would make the space feel far bigger. The property also has a large lawned front garden.

The auction takes place on September 26th at 4pm.

Room with a view to improvement

15 Nutley Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4

Decription: 3-bed in need to complete modernisation

Agent: Lisney

NUTLEY LODGE an impressive detached house on half an acre on one of Dublin 4’s alpha roads. Situated on Seaview Terrace the house is hidden behind electronic gates.

The trophy home was built on the site on a nondescript bungalow about 15 years ago and now extends to 620sq m (6,673sq ft). It is for sale through agents Lisney and has an asking price of €3 million.

A charming veranda opens onto an impressive double-height hall with a gallery landing. The welcoming space has a gas-fuelled open fire and limestone floors. Adjacent is a dramatic sunken drawing room with painted marble-effect columns and wooden floors. It has an Adams-style fireplace with a Georgian grate. Doors lead from it to a superb Marvin constructed conservatory with electric roof vents. The room faces southwest and overlooks an L-shaped pond and one of the property’s two gardens, that were originally designed by Delgany-based landscaper Philip Brightling. The mature gardens have been exceedingly well maintained by the owner. They are gorgeous. The next owner will need to be green-fingered or employ someone to maintain this wonderful feature of the house.

This garden gets the sun in the afternoon and evening. Across the lawn is a bay-fronted summer house that has double garage doors and provides the house with a second, more secluded vehicular entrance.

Walking through the mature exterior takes you through to a second garden area, a green space that gets the morning sun.

Off the drawing room is a study that overlooks the conservatory. Walk through to a small bar area hidden from the main, square-shaped family room which has a bay window that overlooks the side garden.

The house has a sizeable hybrid kitchen that has a Clive Christiansen designed island, pantry unit and a gas-fired Aga over mantle. The rest of the kitchen is by Siematic and has polished black granite countertops. This room feels dark when compared to the rest of the house.

Off it is a lovely light-filled dining room that faces the front of the house. The floor in this room, once a dark mahogany, has been bleached to lighten it. An atrium leads through to several other rooms and storage facilities. A second stairs takes you directly to the home cinema suite. It has an adjoining bedroom and en suite bathroom that could be the perfect teenage lair. A side door at this end of the house means teens can come into the house, go upstairs and to watch TV and movies without interfering with the rest of the household.

The house has acres of storage including a second garage that is used to store golf clubs, and additional fridges and freezers. There is a large utility room adjacent to this. There are five roomy bedrooms off the first floor landing.

The smallest, a sizeable double, is presently a nursery. The current owners are downsizing. Their family has grown up and they have just welcomed their first grandchild into the world.

The family bathroom is by Clive Christiansen and is a marble confection of timber drawers and vanity units. It feels like the inside of a grand hotel. The master suite features a dressing room, a gas-fuelled open fire and an enormous bathroom that was created by annexing a second dressing room. It has his and hers sinks at some distance from each other – a good thing maybe if one partner is a morning grouch. The freestanding bath is set in the middle of the room. This house has gas-fired under-floor heating throughout and also a Calorex air source heat pump. The cobbled driveway has off-street parking for several cars.