When art auctioneer Rory Guthrie wanted to extend the small terraced house in Monkstown, Co Dublin, that he bought in 2004, he wanted "space to hang my pictures – that's my business". So in 2006 he built a large rear extension with Velux windows and patio doors opening on to a small back lawn. There is potential for new owners to build a second storey on to this extension, subject to planning permission, says Guthrie – it was constructed to allow for this.
Guthrie, a director of deVeres Art Auctions, grew up in Royal Terrace West in Dún Laoghaire and was keen to stay in the area. He paid €317,000 in 2004 for 88 Oliver Plunkett Road, a terraced three-bed, and another €100,000 refurbishing and extending it in 2006.
Now he and his wife and young family are moving again. Lansdowne Partnership is seeking €450,000 for the 88sq m (951.52 sq ft) three-bed located about halfway along Oliver Plunkett Road between Monkstown Avenue and the Kill Avenue/Mounttown Road junction.
Many of the former Dublin Corporation houses in Monkstown Farm, including No 88, have been stylishly renovated in recent years. The house also has some of its original features, like a white cast-iron fireplace in the main bedroom and distinctive panelled doors.
The front door of the house opens in to a small hall, off which is a shower room. One door opens into a sitting room on the left, with a small open fireplace above a slate hearth, and a door opening into the extended living/dining room. The other door from the front hall leads into a smart kitchen, a little bigger than a galley kitchen. It has a white tiled floor, pale fitted units and room in an understairs closet for a washing machine.
Double-glazed doors open from the kitchen into the living/diningroom: there’s plenty of space for paintings to hang in this bright, timber-floored room.
Upstairs, the main bedroom runs from the front to the back of the house and has fitted wardrobes. A small but smart part-tiled en suite has been fitted into the bedroom. There are two other bedrooms.
Outside, there’s a deck beside the lawn and a garden shed. There is room to park two cars in the small railed front garden.
