Dublin 14: € 550,000 Belfield Lodge, from the outside, looks every inch the gate-lodge it was when it served Belfield House and the Trimleston Estate some 200 years ago.
Off Goatstown Road in Goatstown, Dublin 14, it has been cleverly redesigned and extended to create some 65sq m (700sq ft) of bright and adaptable living space.
Peacefully hidden from busy Goatstown Road by high surrounding walls, it was small as gate-lodges go; today's bedroom and bathroom fill the entire area taken up by the original dwelling. The open-plan extension, added in 1989, gave the lodge a kitchen/living/study area with a galley-style utility room leading to a walled wraparound paved - and much planted - patio.
The house, being sold by private treaty by O'Mahony Auctioneers, is being priced at €550,000.
The Belfield Lodge style is restful. Walls everywhere are painted white, floors are either carpeted in aqua-green or tiled or polished timber.
Glass, notably in wood-framed patio doors and a wittily angled floor-to-ceiling picture window in the extension, makes for a great deal of light and pleasantly integrates the surrounding shrubs and raised beds of plants.
The bedroom and bathroom - and original lodge - are to one side of the L-shaped entrance hallway. The bedroom has deep window sills, evidence of thick stone walls, and a ceiling which is higher than that in the extension. The good-sized bathroom has a similar ceiling and is white-tiled with a window to the side. A couple of fitted cupboards in the hall give good storage and a Velux gives light.
There are three distinct areas in the open-plan extension. A carpeted livingroom space has a gas-fired fireplace and alongside, a Canadian maple-covered floor designates a study space.
Light from a Velux in the kitchen falls on white mosaic-tiled walls and floor. Well-equipped, it is separated from the main area by a counter top. the utility room has a Canadian maple floor and glass door leading to the patio/garden.
Playing fields to the side and rear of Belfield Lodge are likely to be developed in time but for now high old trees and its own walls give privacy. There is private parking to the gravelled front.
