Downtrading: Upside down refurbishment

Renovated end of terrace period house in Dublin 6 for €495,000

A line of chimney pots and church steeples are the vistas from the kitchen in 1 Mount Pleasant Villas. This is because the kitchen is now in what was previously the attic. Purchased in 2010 for €246,000, the entire two-storey, end-of-terrace house was gutted, refurbished and remodelled by OC Architects in Ranelagh.

The decision to invert the house – where bedrooms are now at entrance level, living and dining on the first floor, and the kitchen in a mezzanine in the former attic, was to allow maximum light flood through the property.

This upside-down house is all about lighting. Vaulted ceilings in the living area soar up to roof level and four Velux windows flood the room with light. The dining space has a false ceiling with recessed mood lighting, as does the walnut stairwell, and the entire house features dimmer switches to create the perfect ambience.

The kitchen is fitted with modern units and polished black granite counter tops – providing an attractive contrast to the exposed brick walls, all of which have been re-pointed. The living area, warmed by a stove – the house has an energy rating of C1 – has engineered oak flooring and dual-aspect sash windows.

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The two bedrooms are at entrance level, with an en-suite wet room off the larger bedroom and a further guest shower-room sits snugly behind a curved wall just inside the front door. Accessed through a communal gate, Mount Pleasant Villas is a terrace of five houses just off Oxford Road in Ranelagh. Number 1 is at the end of the terrace and though not particularly spacious – it has a footprint of 70sq m – the clever design and use of light really maximise the space.

The house is for sale through Quillsen with an asking price of €495,000.