Douglas Newman Good is seeking offers of €895,000 by private treaty for 10A St Fintan's Villas off Clonkeen Road in Deansgrange, Co Dublin. The detached 195sq m (2,100sq ft) house is on three levels and has two bedrooms with a further two rooms in the attic space currently used as bedrooms.

St Fintan's Villas has seen much change in recent years as new homes, such as 10A, have been built between the original 1930s semi-detached houses that line the U-shaped road.

These pairs of houses were once separated by gardens that ran to the side of each. Most of the owners have now sold off part of this side garden to allow others to build.

The styles of the new houses vary, but due to the nature of the sites, they tend to be long and narrow. This is the case with 10A, which looks smaller from the outside than it is.

Nevertheless, it is the kind of house that makes a strong case for choosing a home that is small but perfectly finished, rather than large and cumbersome.

Everything about the layout and design has been considered to make the most of its size. This starts with a hall that is partly double height, with a tall window above the front door that rises to meet a balcony on the first floor. The hall is wide - a confident gesture by the architect and one that gives a feeling of entering a much larger house.

At the front of the house is a livingroom and at the rear, the kitchen and family room. These are separated by a diningroom with sliding doors to both spaces. An internal window of frosted glass in the diningroom wall allows light into the hall.

The kitchen is a white and grey slate affair with a fireplace and sitting area with doors opening to a deck and good-sized garden. There is also a separate utility room and guest toilet.

A wide staircase leads to the first floor and two bedrooms. The main bedroom is at the back of the house and has a smart en suite shower room, walk-in wardrobe and decked terrace on the roof of the kitchen below. The second bedroom at the front is separated from this room by a long landing and a spacious family bathroom with shower, bath and large format porcelain tiles.

The converted attic is reached by a proper staircase and has been divided to create two rooms that share an en suite bathroom. Both have roof lights rather than Veluxes. The overall feeling in this house is of a home that is architecturally interesting but not difficult to live in, and compact but comfortable.