101 Church Road, East Wall, Dublin 3
All over certain parts of Dublin, you can spot the houses that have had “it” done to them: gentrification. And there’s no harm in that. Gravel makes a very useful front garden surface, astroturf is much easier to keep out back, plus electric gates are just so convenient, are they not?
101 Church Road, in the East Wall area of Dublin 3, has all these and more. Bought by the current owner in April 2015 for €135,000, it has since been knocked into shape, extended and generally done up, to turn around; and is now back on the market at €395,000 with Owen Reilly property consultants. So what does more than double the original price buy?
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The owner, John Doyle, bought the house as an investment and, having done this sort of thing before, knows what he’s doing. He invested in stripping back the accumulated decor of time and tenants, rewired, replumbed and insulated. This latter has been done so well, the house has gone from a G rating to B2. Not bad for an Edwardian house built back in 1906, and remaining original features include the fireplace in the sitting room, some plasterwork and woodwork.
He also extended to the rear to create an exceptionally stylish open-plan kitchen/living space with French windows to the back garden at one end, and a solid fuel stove cosying- up the other. In fact, the whole house is stylishly done in an urban professional kind of a way that makes it a possible investment for the next owner too.
But were you to buy to live, rather than let, you’d be living in a 105sq m (1,130sq ft) three- bedroomed house (all doubles, although the smallest would be a snug fit) with a very snazzy bathroom. The bedrooms all have built-in wardrobes / storage, and there’s attic space for more of your stuff above.
The area is close to the city centre, IFSC and East Point Business Park. There's a terrace of shops opposite, a Lidl and Aldi competing for your attention nearby, and the road is a mix of houses that have been owner-occupied for generations, and those that appear, like this, have been snapped up to be turned around. If investment is on your mind, compare it with the smaller number 48 with 61sq m (657sq ft), which has two bedrooms and less of the Edwardian-charm-meets-upwardly-mobile makeover, on sale with DNG at €265,000.
And if you’re not in the market to invest, I’d still suggest making an appointment to view, if only to come away with some home-decorating inspiration for your own home. There are some super design ideas going on, a lovely choice of paint colours – and the carpets, curtains and light fittings? They’re all included in the price.
72 St Patrick’s Crescent, Monkstown
Maybe they had more space, or perhaps there was greater enthusiasm back then, but they knew a thing or two about building council houses in the 1940s. Just down the road from Monkstown village and Dún Laoghaire too, St Patrick’s Crescent is a looped enclave of terraced houses, built approximately 70 years ago to accommodate Ireland’s growing population.
And what they got was a certain amount of space: approximately 70sq m (753sq ft), with large back gardens so that the occupants could grow their own veg. That said, the owners of number 72 “did a lot” to the house, when they bought it, for €135,000, in 2011.
“It was an utter wreck. One of those times when you start peeling back the wallpaper and discover all the work to do underneath . . .” The owners, a young couple with two small children, set to, and then, eventually, “we called the builders!”
The results are a charming family home, which has been dry lined, smartened up, has a new kitchen, and the space rejigged so that the bath that was once downstairs is gone, and a shower room has been installed upstairs.
The back garden is a lovely enclosed space, with “sun right round to the ‘glass of wine spot’ in the evening”. This latter is a patio space, just off the kitchen, but there is scope to expand the footprint of the house if you want more space inside.
There are two bedrooms, a single that currently houses bunk beds – the owners are moving to get more space for their family, but staying in the area that they have grown to love – and a spacious dual aspect double.
There are nice features too, from original fireplaces to the solid fuel stove in the living room and pretty floor tiles in the bathroom.
With all that extra work, number 72 is now for sale at €299,000 with DNG. Prices in the Crescent over the past six months are in that ballpark: €260,000 for number 117, €275,000 for number seven. It’s a lovely quiet area for young families, and worth a look.
