Shown a photograph of 28 Whitehall Road, you might guess that the striking-looking two-storey detached house was a converted outbuilding belonging to some grand period house. With its granite finish and redbrick detailing, it has all the appearance of an old building that has been lovingly restored. In fact, the house, behind a wall and tall gate in Churchtown, was built shortly after 1999 when the owner of the detached bungalow on the site applied for permission to knock it and build this mews-style property. With three bedrooms, it has 150sq m (1,609sq ft) spread over two floors.

The livingroom is upstairs, with a large arched window facing the front and roof lights in its tall pitched ceiling which features exposed beams. The arched interior doors lend a gothic look. Also upstairs is the main bedroom, again with rooflights, and its own bathroom and walk-in wardrobe.

Open-plan living area

Downstairs, the entrance to the house is to the side, opening directly into an open-plan living area with the kitchen to the front, a seating area with a solid fuel stove, and space for a large dining table. Two double bedrooms are to the rear, with a bathroom stylishly finished with an antique claw-foot bath and contemporary Villeroy & Boch sink. One of the downstairs bedrooms has doors opening out to a small patio.

The use of natural materials throughout, from the stone floor downstairs to the exposed timber roof beams, give the house a warm atmosphere and charming old-world character.

Large water feature

Outside, the south-facing patio to the front has a large water feature and space to sit out; there is also off-street parking. A small cobblelock passageway runs around the side, but in terms of outdoor space this is not a house for someone looking for a football-friendly family garden. Views to one side are of the Bottle Tower, one of south Dublin’s most unusual landmarks. Built in the early 1740s by Katherine Conolly, wife of “Speaker” Conolly of Castletown House, to give local people employment during a period of famine, the fantastical corkscrew-shaped building may also have been used as a grain store.