Compact two-bedroom houses ideal buy for garden-loving homemakers

Two-bedroom houses are an ideal compromise for house hunters who like the idea of modern apartment living but also want to have…

Two-bedroom houses are an ideal compromise for house hunters who like the idea of modern apartment living but also want to have a garden and their own front door.

Hamilton Osborne King's Blackrock office has a pair of modern two-bedroom homes on its books. Number 2 Parkside, on Temple Park Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin, is a pretty, mid-terrace house built six years ago and in immaculate decorative order. Scheduled for auction on July 14th, it has a guide price of £250,000-plus.

In Dun Laoghaire, an end-of-terrace house in secluded St John's Close is for sale by private treaty at £210,000plus.

Temple Park Avenue is a quiet road off Seapoint Avenue with pretty 1920s houses on both sides and an open park at the top with one-way access from the busy Rock Road. Number 2 Parkside is one of three modern houses just steps away from the park, and within an easy walk of Seapoint DART station and the shops at Blackrock.

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Inside, it exudes comfort and elegance. Mostly decorated in shades of cream and white, with polished timber floors and wide windows, it is a bright and appealing house of about 1,200 sq ft.

The spacious sittingroom at the front of the house has a Victorian-style open fireplace that is rarely used, according to the owner, because the central heating does such a good job.

Steps lead down to a small dining area and this opens directly into a compact fitted kitchen with a glazed door leading to the garden. The garden is, in fact, a large patio with a raised bed running right around. There is also a bedroom and a shower room on the ground floor. The top floor is given over to the main bedroom - a big room with a raised area in the bay window that the owners use as a home office. There is a wall of Sliderobes and a surprisingly large en suite bathroom with both a corner bath and a stand-in shower.

Number 3 St John's Close is an end-of-terrace house in a small development off Lower Mounttown Road. It has good-sized gardens to the front and rear, with potential to extend, subject to the necessary planning permission.

The spacious hallway opens into a long livingroom-cum-diningroom with French doors leading to the back garden.

The kitchen is long and galley style with a good range of fitted units and integrated appliances which are to be included in the sale. Upstairs, the larger of the two bedrooms has floor-to-ceiling Sliderobes providing a good deal of storage. The second bedroom has a deep bay window with a window seat. Both rooms share a bathroom.

The back garden has a large area of lawn bounded by raised rockery beds planted with shrubs and climbers.

Orna Mulcahy

Orna Mulcahy

Orna Mulcahy, a former Irish Times journalist, was Home & Design, Magazine and property editor, among other roles