A tall very slim redbrick sitting between two period houses on Sydney Avenue in Blackrock, Co Dublin, looks as if it was a recent infill development – but was built in 1901, says agent Ronan O’Hara, making it an Edwardian property. The house, sold at auction in 2001 for more than €393,000, when it was described as a two-bed mid-terrace house, has been completely revamped, modernised and extended since.
Now 19A Sydney Avenue extends to 156sq m (1,690sq ft) with three beds, and it is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald for €925,000.
The interior behind the redbrick is a complete surprise, incorporating modern design everywhere, from the streamlined fitted units in the living room to the cable-railed staircase to the bright red bath made of a material called Durat in the family bathroom. It also has underfloor heating.
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A narrow entrance hall is floored with tiles but the rest of the ground floor is entirely open plan. Doors on the right of the hall open into the long living/dining/kitchen space that runs from the front to the rear of the house, with another door at the end of the hall opening into the kitchen.
The living/dining side is floored with oak, while the kitchen has ceramic floor tiles. There are two fireplaces more or less at either end of a long, slightly raised slate hearth on one side of the living room; a box bay window in the livingroom looks on to the front garden – and all windows are double-glazed hardwood. On the other side of the living room are smart fitted timber bookshelves and white high-gloss cabinets.
Courtyard
A large rooflight over the dining area and floor-to-ceiling glazed windows at the end of the room make it a bright space. A door from here opens into a modest courtyard with high walls separating it from a neighbour’s garden behind. This space is part-decked and part-tiled with room for seating and outdoor storage units.
The long galley-style kitchen has dark Wenge-finish integrated units, with a concealed fridge/freezer, washing machine and pantry with pull-out larder.
Deep Velux windows over the staircase keep the hall and stairs bright. There’s a double bedroom on the return and the family bathroom with the show-stopping deep bright red freestanding oval bath.
Another few steps lead to the main bedroom to the front of the house: it has an en-suite shower room and, most surprisingly, a spiral staircase in the corner leading up to a mezzanine fitted as a dressingroom, with Velux roof windows and wardrobes.
More steep stairs lead to a third floor where there’s a double bedroom, a child’s room fitted with bunk beds and storage units.
There’s one parking space in front of a small lawn in the narrow front garden. The house comes with planning permission for an extended bay window at the front and for remodelling and extending the kitchen into the already small courtyard.