As it nears Sutton Cross, Dublin Road is lined with substantial detached prewar bungalows set well back from the road on large sites. Most show signs of having been extensively renovated and extended in recent years.

Number 129 Dublin Road – the scenic and now amenity-rich coast road – was a typical double-fronted bow-windowed dormer bungalow built in the 1930s when its current owners moved in about 15 years ago. Its façade was protected, which removed any temptation to demolish it, but it took about 10 years to modernise and extend, essentially rebuilding the house behind that attractive façade, giving it 240sq m (2,583sq ft) of space and five bedrooms.

Probably the only room retaining its original proportions is one of the two front reception rooms – the one on the left. The other reception room, on the other side of the hall, is much larger, the house having been extended to the side and rear.

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This room opens to the rear of the house to a vast kitchen and dining area, designed as a welcoming space particularly for family events for the owners’ large extended family. The extensive custom-built grey-painted timber units include an extra-large island topped with solid wood, its door beneath painted a vibrant purple.

Sympathetic

Here the flooring is oak parquet, a very 1930s choice of materials, and throughout the renovation other sympathetic elements include wall-panelling in the hall, plain ceiling coving and cast-iron radiators in many rooms. Also on this level is a large, well-fitted utility room, and a small room with a WC. It was used by the owner as a treatment room and it could work as a bedroom for an au pair. There is another large room on this level – it opens out via patio doors to the back garden – and it was recently converted into a guest bedroom after years of use as a teenage den and TV room.

Upstairs off the bright landing are four bedrooms, the largest with ensuite, and a family bathroom. There are glimpses of the sea from the front windows. The house is set back from the road behind a tall hedge and the front garden is gravelled over with parking for several cars. The owners are downsizing – they hived off part of the long rear garden and have built a two-storey house there. Tycanna, as number 129 is named, is in walk-in condition and for sale through Sherry FitzGerald for €995,000.