North Strand is a lovely part of a very centrally located Dublin 3 suburb. It is an equidistant 10-minute walk from either Connolly or Clontarf Dart stations and pretty red-brick houses line the roads radiating east and west from its same name thoroughfare.
Number 142 is a single storey cottage, one of a pair sandwiched in between what was once a fruit and veg shop, now shuttered, on one side and Cusacks, a proper old-school Dublin pub.
The property is interesting in that it has been bought and sold a few times in recent years and reflects the rise in price for this type of artisanal dwelling. The increases are partly to do with its proximity to the IFSC and the tech firms located at nearby East Wall.
In May 2013 it sold for €55,000, according to the property price register. Back then it was in need of complete salvage and had a tree growing out of it. It took over a year to reimagine the house, dropping the levels at the back to allow space for a bedroom upstairs. It was then fully refurbished, new foundations poured, a new roof added and its original chimney stack rebuilt using the original bricks. From the outside it looks as it always did.
But inside the property now has a B3 energy rating and has been extended to 106sq m/1,140sq ft with a fantastic vaulted kitchen/dining/living area to the rear. This room is dual aspect and has further natural light streaming in from the roof lights above and opens out to an east-facing terrace.
Fully renovated the property went back on the market in 2014 seeking €285,000 and made €336,102, when it was purchased by its current owners.
Five years later and the owners are trading up so it is back on the market seeking €425,000 through Gallagher Quigley.
The property opens into a hall where the ceiling height is more than 3.1m (10.2ft) . While the traffic is audible here it is greatly diminished in what was the original living room, a room to the left with acoustic laminated glass to help dial down the noise. The bamboo hedging to the front also helps and shields the bins to the front from view from the street.
This room is used as the property’s third bedroom. The second bedroom is down a set of four steps and in a darker space – its original large sash window having been replaced with a smaller one set to one side to bring natural light in and to allow for the extension works to the back which include the family bathroom next door and the large kitchen-living to the rear.
The main bedroom is upstairs and has a windowed, shower en suite. The real highlight here is that large kitchen extension, where most of the living will happen.
Extending beyond 30sq m, it is a generous space and opens out on to a decent-size terrace with a mature sycamore tree.
