One part of Dublin 4 has particular attractions, being close to both the city and the sea. Rose Doyle looks at a house on prestigious St John's Road, and Property Editor Orna Mulcahy at a pretty Edwardian four-bed in a quiet cul-de-sac

St John's Rd: €2m

Built in 1849, when land in Sandymount was more available and large gardens de rigueur, number 4 St John's Road, Sandymount, Dublin 4 is part of a cared for Victorian terrace with a leafy peace about it.

Just a short stroll from the strand, number 4 has a sweep of well-tended garden to the front and back, railed granite steps to the entrance and, inside, a décor dominated by a rich creamy colour, original plasterwork and light. Agent Sherry FitzGerald is guiding €2 million before auction on October 5th.

The vendors have completely refurbished the house since they bought it in April 2000, a job which includes a light-filled extension with a glass covered mezzanine, kitchen-cum-breakfast/family room, utility room and bike/storage shed.

There are four bedrooms and two reception rooms in the 213sq m (2,300sq ft) house. The old and new parts of this house come together nicely in the entrance hallway, where coloured light falls from a leaded window over the landing and sharper rays filter through a glass brick feature in the extension.

This sense of merging styles works well, too, in the interconnecting drawing and diningrooms, both of which have period marble fireplaces and lead through double glass doors in the diningroom, onto the light-filled mezzanine.

Steps from here lead down to the open-plan garden level kitchen/breakfast/family room. The family bathroom is on the ground floor return.

Reversing the original layout, the owners now have the kitchen/breakfastroom at garden level at the back with the fourth bedroom (or study) to the front.

The kitchen has Shaker-style maple units, a gas-fired Aga, Belfast sink and polished granite worktops.

The pine floor in the living/dining area reflects the light from both the overhead mezzanine and sliding patio doors to the south-west facing back garden. The main en suite bedroom on the first floor stretches the width of the house and has all the elegance of the 19th century drawingroom it may once have been.

There is a second bedroom at the back on this floor and a third bedroom on the first floor return.

The front garden has off-street car-parking.

Holyrood Park: €1.45m

With the Dart just a minute away, the new owners of 11 Holyrood Park off Sandymount Avenue in Dublin 4 can leave the car at home. Not a problem, since the four-bedroom house is one of the few properties on this quiet cul-de-sac to have off-street parking as part of its surprisingly large front garden.

Unusually, too, it also comes with two garages to the rear, fronting onto Oaklands Park. These could be converted into a mews, according to Simon Ensor of Sherry FitzGerald who expects the house to make upwards of €1.45 million at auction on October 6th. Given its location and potential it could well make a good deal more on the day.

It's a pretty Edwardian house with living space of around 130sq m (1,400sq ft), and a neat town garden to the rear. The layout is traditional with a wide, bright hallway and two good interconnecting reception rooms, both with original fireplaces and polished timber floors. There's a large eat-in kitchen, utility room and shower on the ground floor. Upstairs, all four bedrooms share a family bathroom with a cast-iron bath.