In 1979, the owners of number 97 Foster Avenue bought their five-bedroom house, one of three dark brown brick detached properties newly built in the grounds of Oldtown House by a small developer called Lynham and Gilmore.
The houses are situated at the Roebuck end of Foster Avenue. The owners made a few changes to the layout of the 183sq m (1,975sq ft) property, incorporating the small sittingroom that overlooked the garden and kitchen to create an open-plan kitchen/livingroom, a concept that was novel in the early 1980s when they carried out the work. The room has stood the test of time. It has a glass back wall with sliding doors that step down into the north-west facing garden.
As the family was grew, the house became a magnet for college friends who on Monday mornings could be found crowding around the back wall to scale it as a shortcut to lectures.
When they reconfigured the house, they made a space for a utility room that includes its own back door. There is a formal diningroom adjacent to the kitchen. The next owner might even consider knocking it into the kitchen to completely open up the space, safe in the knowledge that there remains a separate square-shaped sittingroom to the front with an Italianate white marble fireplace – a perfect place for adults to escape the kids.
The wide hall includes a guest wc and a cloakroom under the stairs. Upstairs there is a similarly sized landing off which are five bedrooms. The master bedroom has sliding wardrobes and an en-suite bathroom. It overlooks the front of the house and while the windows are double glazed, you can still hear the traffic on busy Foster Avenue. Two of the bedrooms are set up as singles but could accommodate small double beds and have room enough for study desks for kids. The fifth bedroom, the so-called box room, is a home office and overlooks the garden.
The house is asking €875,000 through agents Owen Reilly and has off-street parking out front for several cars. In February 2013, agents Beirne & Wise sold number 8 Foster Avenue, a sizeable three-bedroom 1930s house on 0.2 acres, for €900,000. In December 2012, the same agent sold number 78, a four-bedroom detached property for €690,000.
