Light, space and balance in Dublin 7

Doon Avenue is a small road of period redbrick houses, set on the street and situated off Ellesmere Avenue. It is just a short walk from the Phoenix Park and adjacent to DIT’s new Grangegorman campus which is due for completion in 2017.

Number one is very tastefully decorated and well proportioned, starting with a hall that feels far wider than you would expect it to be looking at the house from the outside. The sense of space continues in the reception rooms, both painted and papered in deep shades of mauve.

There’s a lovely balance to the layout of these rooms and they have complimentary painted mantles and tiled fire surrounds. On the return is a family room in which the owner has made a feature of the original chimney breast.

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By painting it white and half-bricking it up she created a raised platform for an ethanol gas fire. A door leads outside where there is side access to a locked lane.

To the rear is the kitchen, a bright room thanks to the roof lights; it is simply laid out with room for a dining table. Double doors open out to a small butwell planted outdoor space.

The family bathroom and one of the house’s three bedrooms is situated on the hall return. This single room is also bright, thanks to a roof light.

Storage

There are two more double bedrooms on the first floor. In each the owner has opted for free-standing wardrobes instead of the built-in kind which tend to crop the naturally fine proportions of such period rooms.

The downside to this is that you don’t have as much storage space. This may mean having to pare back on clothing and linen ownership to make this idea work. Alternatively, the new owner may have to give in and invest in some built-in storage.

The house, which has an F BER rating, measures 122sq m (1,313sq ft) and agent Sherry FitzGerald is asking €475,000.

Parking is on street.