Number 21 Parnell Road is a modest-looking mid-terrace house with hidden depths. The ivy-clad Georgian property was built sometime between 1810 and 1820 and has been extended over the years. It now measures 129sq m (1,390sq ft) with 30sq m (324sq ft) of attic space.

To the front is a small formal room where there is an electric fire inset and double-glazed PVC windows that help dull the hum of the heavy traffic up and down the canal.

An eat-in kitchen has wooden units, laminate countertops and sliding doors that open to reveal a lovely sunroom with white oak parquet flooring, bare brick details on the chimney breast and wall opposite, and a pitched pine-clad vaulted ceiling with roof lights on several sides. The scheme may feel a bit woody to contemporists but a coat of paint would help to completely rework this space.

The back door opens onto a patio area that the owners say is a real suntrap. The stepped garden is much bigger than it looks at first glance, measuring more than 16m (55ft), and has a south-facing aspect and a sizeable shed, some 8m (27ft) in length.

Canal

Before any would-be developers start taking notice, it is worth noting that the lane to the back of the house, which leads off Greenmount Lane, narrows to just pedestrian width by the time it reaches number 21.

You can see the swans on the canal from the master bedroom. Off this room is a small walk-in wardrobe and a wc that more could be made of, given the fact that it has its own window. There is a second double to the rear and a good-size single at the back of the house.

The accommodation seems average until you climb the staircase to the converted attic comprising three rooms and a bathroom.

Two of the three rooms probably meet building regulation height requirements and would offer a family a really compelling accommodation option.

The house has been in the present owner’s family since 1958. It has a C3 Ber rating and has off-street parking for up to four cars.

Down the road, number 16 Parnell Road, a nine-bedroom, nine-bathroom house, currently laid out in flats, is asking €600,000 through agents Dowling Property. Number 7 Parnell Road sold in July 2011 for €205,000.