A smart piece of space creation in Blackrock

A cute Victorian terraced cottage with a really smart interior illustrates how clever design can make a small house seem reasonably spacious. The owners of 6 Newtown Villas, Blackrock, Co Dublin, extended and upgraded their home just over a year ago. Built in 1900, it has a large, high-ceilinged livingroom, a kitchen/breakfastroom, two en-suite bedrooms and a decent-sized patio garden.

Walls are painted in neutral shades, most of the house is floored with an attractive oak-coloured timber-effect laminate, there’s recessed lighting everywhere and underfloor heating in the extended kitchen and bedroom.

Number 6 Newtown Villas, a 70sq m (757sq ft) two-bed cottage off Newtown Avenue – the road that runs down to Blackrock Library – is for sale through Lansdowne Partnership for €495,000.

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On sale for €495,000: 6 Newtown Villas, in Blackrock, Co Dublin

The house is roughly midway along this cul-de-sac of brick-fronted cottages. The front door opens into a small lobby and through a modern stained-glass inner door into the livingroom. Two large Velux windows in the high ceiling make the long room very bright, and a wood-burning stove is set into a fireplace with a sandstone mantelpiece.

A door off the livingroom opens into a small lobby, fitted with a wardrobe, next to the main bedroom: the bedroom is small, but also has a wall of floor-to-ceiling fitted wardrobes and a small, fully tiled en-suite shower room off it.

A glazed door opens from the livingroom into the very bright extended part of the house. The kitchen/breakfastroom has a wall of smart fitted units on one side and a wall of floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors on the other side looking into the courtyard.

Wide sliding panelled double doors open from here into a room at the back of the house described as a bedroom/study – it has another smart en-suite shower room, with taupe-coloured tiles. This room also has wide floor-to-ceiling sliding doors opening into the courtyard.

The long narrow courtyard with large sandstone flags is bordered by raised flowerbeds. A door at the end opens into a narrow laneway running behind the houses to the main Newtown Avenue.

There is on-street parking, a tight squeeze on this small narrow street which is within walking distance of Blackrock village.