The striking looking house on Orwell Road, visible though a sliding gate set into a pair of tall granite pillars carved with the words Stratford Lodge, is in fact an extension to a tiny and charming old gate lodge.

According to the present owner, some time in the 1990s the gate lodge was greatly extended when a two-storey house was built on to it, its front door facing on to Orwell Road, with the original lodge incorporated into the new build as a kitchen.

The Rathgar property was last sold in 2003 – at auction where it made €950,000 – and pictures from that time show a house in need of some work with the timber cladding on the distinctive mansard roof looking in poor condition and the interior looking tired and gloomy.

Now it’s a bright family home with four double bedrooms, three smartly updated bathrooms (two of them en suites) and recently redecorated throughout in a light contemporary style. This is a property in walk-in condition.

Changes to the exterior undertaken by the vendor include replacing that timber finish in the roof around the dormer window with zinc which looks smart, particularly against the granite stone in the front façade.

Inside to the left off the wide hall is a large living room – new features here include a stove inset into a new stone fireplace and a teak floor. To the right where there were several rooms there is now one large light-filled space – extended with a mostly glazed section so this open-plan living, dining, kitchen area is T-shaped.

The contemporary kitchen with its glossy white units and island is at one end of the living area in what was the old gate lodge. The entire area is floored – as is the hallway – with extra large white gloss tiles which contribute to the overall sense of airy brightness. A splash of colour in this room comes from the deep green in the tropical wallpaper from House of Hackney in the extension and from the views of the garden.

The original gate lodge door opens directly into the kitchen giving handy access out to the parking area – and one of the owner’s many improvements was the wall of glazed doors in the kitchen opening out to the southwest facing garden. This is the ultimate low-maintenance garden – the grass is AstroTurf while the box hedging is artificial. There is another smaller patio with access from the living area and from the gate at the front of the house. There is parking to the front for two cars.

The owner’s improvements – which include double and triple glazed windows – brought the 188sq m/2,024sq ft house up to a B2 energy rating, impressive for a 1990s build. Stratford Lodge is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald seeking €1.375 million.