With three young children, the couple who bought 92 Castle Avenue in Clontarf just short of three years ago wanted a fully renovated home they could move into without doing a thing. Their new house came into its own during lockdown, they say. The large dining table in the extended open-plan kitchen provided ample space for home schooling, with the kitchen island the perfect place for close-by parental supervision and the adjacent family room an ideal within-sight play area for the toddler.
As well as building across the rear, the previous owners had extended to the side by converting the garage to the front – which, while originally envisaged as a guest bedroom, soon became an office for the couple who, like so many others, were working from home. And then they had their fourth child, whose arrival is prompting the move to a house that has more bedrooms and is closer to family.
Number 92, located opposite Clontarf Rugby Club, has 170sq m (1,830sq ft) of space with four bedrooms: two good-sized doubles – one ensuite – and two small singles. The only change they made was to repaint the front reception room to a warm and moody blue; the rest they left as they found it, as new owners will also likely do.
The renovation reworked the downstairs layout; what would have been the back reception room and small kitchen gave way to a light-filled open-plan family-oriented living, eating and dining space, with a playroom opening off it and a utility room to the rear.
Key elements of the contemporary design by architects Tyler Owens include vast sliding glazed doors that make up two walls of the new space, an enormous picture window in the playroom (which could also be a second livingroom), and heating under the tiled floors throughout the new area. Clever use of space includes locating a good-sized shower room to the side.
There’s an enclosed back garden and off-street parking to the front for three cars. The Ber is a C2. Number 92 Castle Avenue last sold for €1.1 million, which was above the asking price. The semi-detached redbrick is now on the market through Sherry FitzGerald, asking €1.25 million.
