The owners of 8 Barnhill Road in Dalkey took a modest 1950s two-bed detached bungalow and in 2007 transformed it into a four-bedroom 232sq m/2497sq ft house on three levels.

It is for sale through Ed Dempsey REA for €1.25 million.

The renovation was essentially a rebuild. From the front the house, apart from the new large glazed timber porch, looks much the same. From the rear though, it’s very different. The stepped site and long back garden allowed the owners to build a downstairs level made up mostly of one large room that runs the width of the house. One side of that room has custom-built timber kitchen units topped with a solid oak work surface and with a gas-fired Aga, the other is a relaxed family area. Double doors open out to the garden. There’s also a walk-in larder and a utility room.

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Bedrooms

Up at hall level are three of the four double bedrooms as well as the livingroom which is to the right of the hall. One of the bedrooms, to the left, has a walk-in wardrobe and en suite. Another is, unusually, accessed through the livingroom and it is part of an area that makes up a suite, ideal perhaps for an au pair or visitors: the bedroom is to the front, there’s a small room to the back and a toilet in between. On the other side of the hall are two large bedrooms and a contemporary-styled family bathroom. Walnut flooring is used in several rooms and otherwise the flooring is a light colour stone which adds to the overall feeling of bright airiness.

Barnhill Road is a long busy road that leads out from Dalkey village and the surprise in this house is that there are sea views. The renovation added an attic level – with distant sea views – a double bedroom with a smart en suite and a walk-in wardrobe.

The extension didn’t eat up much of the large garden which is 33m long and there is off-street parking out front for three cars.