Buyers of the pretty 1920s redbricks on one side of Lower Churchtown Road have, for a long time now, typically taken on significant renovations so that these days when one comes on the market it’s impossible to predict exactly what is beyond the hall door.
Number 41 Lower Churchtown Road, a mid-terrace three bedroom property, has clearly been extended to the front with a single storey redbrick pitched roof build that blends in with the original style of the house – a move made possible by the length of the front garden.
That work also gave the house a new entrance and covered porch where a hand sanitising unit is now discreetly affixed to the wall, a sign of the times. Inside it’s immediately clear that the interior has been stylishly updated – starting with the black wood-effect floor tiles and panelled walls in the hall – and that as well as being pushed out to the front, the house has also been greatly extended at the back. It now has 130sq m (1,399sq ft) of space.
The layout, both upstairs and down, greatly differs from the original. That extension to the front is the home’s third bedroom while to the rear, in the light-filled new part of the house is a spacious kitchen opening into a mostly glazed living room that in turn opens to the back garden. What was originally the rear reception room is now incorporated into the new kitchen area and has been fitted out as a dining nook with built-in seating.
The size of the kitchen – fitted with white painted timber units with black polished-stone worktops and complete with island unit – is a surprise in one of these houses. A large lantern rooflight throws natural light down into the kitchen.
Upstairs the original two bedrooms to the front have been knocked through to create a large main bedroom. To the rear is a smaller double and the family bathroom which new owners might update.
Building a room out to the front had the effect of turning what was originally the living room into an internal windowless room – now used as a playroom. Also downstairs is a shower room and a guest toilet.
All estate agents report that buyers are increasingly asking about the home office potential of a property and number 41 has the ideal solution – a standalone 19sq m garden room, with its own toilet and shower, at the end of the back garden. Now used as a bedroom it would make an ideal home-working space. Beyond this and hidden from view of the house is a large shed with sliding barn door. The garden, done out with artificial grass, backs on to the Luas line.
To the front, the house faces Milltown Golf Club grounds, and behind electric gates there is parking for two or three cars, a must on this road though a car mightn’t be such a necessity as it is just a few minutes walk to the Luas stop at Windy Arbour.
Now having improved the house as much as they can, the owners are moving further outside the city for more space and are selling 41 Lower Churchtown Road through Sherry FitzGerald for €795,000.
