DUBLIN 3:A tastefully decorated Victorian redbrick has an unusual kitchen extension and hemp-insulated walls

NUMBER 38 Foyle Road is an end-of-terrace redbrick tucked away in a little enclave of houses between Fairview and Griffith Avenue in Dublin 3.

The 120sq m (1,292sq ft) three-bedroom Victorian house has period features and is very tastefully decorated. The finish throughout is first rate but low-key.

Number 38 has been the subject of two interior magazine stories, gracing the cover of the 2008 edition of Renovate Your House and Home.

Agent Sherry FitzGerald is quoting an asking price of €490,000.

A kitchen extension, finished in 2007, totally opens up the rear of the house. The extension roof is copper-clad and wave-shaped with Velux windows helping to further illuminate the space.

Instead of the usual French back doors the owners opted for a concertina’d back door, a glazed wall that folds back to blur the edges between the kitchen and the outside.

The kitchen has granite countertops, an island and a Rangemaster that isn’t included in the sale. It’s a fantastically spacious room with a dining table that overlooks a small but beautifully finished east-facing garden. There are several apple trees.

Off the kitchen is a soundproofed home office that is also plumbed for a washing machine and drier.

There are two interconnecting reception rooms: the more formal sittingroom to the front has a box bay window; the lounge is just off the kitchen. Both have gas-fuelled fireplaces.

This kind of open plan works well in period homes. It allows you to open up the space when you want but also to close up the rooms in winter when you want to cosy up in front of a fire.

The whole property feels very solid as the walls are filled with hemp insulation, and both the walls and the floors are soundproofed.

Upstairs, there are two doubles and one single bedroom. The single is on the first floor return, as is the small but perfectly finished family bathroom. The two doubles have free-standing wardrobes which suit the style of the home but might not suit serious hoarders.

The house should suit Dublin 3 downsizers as well as growing families.

There is off-street parking at the front.