42 Portland Road is a fine example of a grand Victorian townhouse. This property was tastefully and extensively renovated and modernised to produce one of Edgbaston’s finest houses. The spacious and well appointed accommodation set upon three floors together with its separate two-storey Coach House extend to around 5,000 sq ft.

The property was purchased in December 1999 when it had been neglected for many years and had spent the last 20 years as ‘student digs’.

The house was completely stripped down to its bare shell and the task began to rebuild it and bring it back to life as a grand Victorian home.

Most of the original features of the property had been ruined over the years, except the front façade and Coach House. This boasted ornate lime and Bath stone pillars and carvings which were carefully restored and cleaned. To add to this, the original front windows were renovated by replacing all the sash cords with spiral balances. All of the rear elevation windows and French doors were completely replaced with matching design. The roof was overhauled and two Dorma windows installed to the rear.

The second floor was re-worked to accommodate three large double bedrooms, an en-suite and separate family bathroom

On the first floor a large Master Suite was created with a bespoke dressing room leading to a master en-suite bathroom with steam shower. There were two further bedrooms and a large luxury family bathroom with Jacuzzi Air Bath.

The ground floor comprises three large reception rooms all with individually designed period fireplaces, large reception hallway with original Minton tile floor.

One of the main features of this property was the large luxury designed bespoke kitchen with contemporary living space. This incorporated an entertaining area for relaxing in and dining. This room had four large opening roof lights and four pairs of French doors which opened out onto a large millstone terrace area as well as an extensively restored mature garden.

During the refurbishment work many modern features were incorporated such as a complete under floor heating system with individual room thermostats, 5 Amp switchable sockets and split lighting circuits in all of the principal rooms. The property was insulated to the highest standard and all new and overhauled sash windows had flexible parting beads with a brush strip fitted to the inner beading to improve their efficiency.

This tired and abused old property is now an excellent example of classic Victorian architecture combined with modern contemporary living.

Notable features:

• The only original features remaining are the front facade, Minton hall floor and staircase. Everything else internally is either reclaimed or new.
• Understated railings with side slide electric gate
• New Bath stone carved pillar caps
• Chemically treated brickwork
• Arched sliding sash window to add detail
• Large cast iron roof windows
• Matching brick, new windows, detailed fascia boards, new Bath stone sills
• Fully landscaped gardens to front and rear
• Individually designed rooms