Bray: €1.75m A refurbished house in Bray offers minimal chic and maximum value. Property Editor Orna Mulcahyreports
Put this Victorian terraced house in Monkstown, Blackrock or Clontarf and the asking price would be €2 million to €3 million. Place it in Ballsbridge and you can double the money.
Bray, however, is a different matter. It has the architecture, it has the Dart, but house prices in Bray have always lagged behind the capital.
So number 7 Florence Terrace, a refurbished four-bedroom house, has a more reasonable sounding price tag - €1.75 million. It's for sale by private treaty through Sherry FitzGerald.
The property is one of four sold together in 2005 for redevelopment. It comes back on the market with over 279sq m (3,000sq ft) of immaculately restored living space and a fashionably minimalist back garden.
Though inland from the seafront, Florence Terrace is one of the most attractive streetscapes in Bray and its houses have long front gardens and off-street parking to the rear.
Number 7 is firmly aimed at young families trading up with a terrific open-plan livingroom and kitchen on the ground floor, and two light airy reception rooms at hall level, one of which is given over to a billiards table rather than a dining table.
The drawingroom at the front of the house is wonderfully bright with tall sash windows overlooking the front garden. Both rooms have working fireplaces and crisp cornicework offset by sand coloured walls.
Downstairs, the big open-plan kitchen has units by Snaidero and a wall of windows opening onto a terrace, with steps leading up to the lawn. There is also a utility room and a plant room at this level, along with a guest toilet.
The top floor has a large main bedroom that mirrors the drawingroom below, and three smaller rooms sharing a stylish bathroom at the top of the house. The main bedroom has a sleek en suite hidden behind sliding doors, fitted with top-of-the-range Italian sanitary ware. New owners will have little to do but move in their own minimalist furniture.
Kitchen appliances, fitted carpets and curtains are all included in the price.
