From the outside this mid-terrace property, less than a minute’s walk from the heart of Sandymount village, looks very much as it did when it last came to market in 2015.
But peer a little closer and you’ll see that most of the works of its nuanced upgrade are hidden from sight. Less than 3½ years ago the property came to market as a two-bed house with a chilly F Ber rating and measuring 94sq m (1,011sq ft). It sold in October 2015 for €545,000, at its then asking price, according to the property price register.
The property has since been gutted and extended, turning the two-bed into a three-bed home of 122sq m that is in walk-in condition.
The owners engaged architects deBlacam & Meagher to design its iroko-clad extension and the house is imbued everywhere with that practice’s light touch. It feels astonishingly simple but the devil is in the detail, like underfloor heating throughout the ground floor; a substantial job in a mid-terrace property with no rear access when every wheelbarrow full of soil had to be taken out through the front door. Devoid of unsightly radiators it means the next owner can reconfigure the furniture in rooms as they wish.
The house, which has a small front garden, opens into a tiled hall retained to a style redolent of its Victorian heritage. The living room and dining rooms have been opened up to create one large space with the sofas set around a fireplace and a large sash window to the front, supplied by Westport-based O’Malley Joinery.
The renovations filled out the space to the side of the house, retaining some of the garden, including a mature silver birch tree, and setting it out in steps. It pushed out the ground floor to give a very smart kitchen to the rear, where much of the cabinetry is recessed and full-height sliding doors by Murphy Joinery open out to the paved garden.
Upstairs there are now three good-size doubles. The master spans the width of the house to the front and has a wall of wardrobes by Belfast-based Jamie Johnson Bespoke Joinery.
The new bedroom to the rear has a large picture window.
While there is only one bathroom in the property it is now sizeable with a separate bath and shower and feels private thanks the to (remote control operated) clerestory window.
The property’s excellent condition is reflected in its asking price, €875,000 through agent Sherry FitzGerald. For price comparisons it’s worth looking at nearby 5 Dromard Terrace, a similarly modernised house that’s a completely new build within a Victorian façade. Smaller in size, the 98 sq m (1,054 sq ft) two-bed came to market last April seeking €795,000. It sold for €737,500. Number 8 Dromard, a three-bed, two-bath, mid-terrace with an F Ber and in need of modernisation is currently seeking €750,000.
