Old meets new off Stradbrook Road for €875,000 and €425,000

Good family homes are in great demand and house-hunters are eschewing the perfectly turned-out house in favour of the perfect location, says Rena O'Kelly, residential director at Knight Frank.

Stradbrook Lawns is one such location. It comprises a small development of about 25 A-frame detached houses built by PV Doyle in 1972 and secreted off Blackrock’s Stradbrook Road.

Number 16 is a double bay-fronted house of about 230sq m (2,190sq ft) that is laid out exactly as it was when it was first built. It may need an upgrade but could also be lived in as is – with a few superficial changes.

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13 Rockford Manor

The good-sized family home is set on a small green and surrounded by mature trees to its south-facing front.

It has a large formal drawing room cum dining room that runs the depth of the house and overlooks the garden to the rear. While some houses in the development have divided this space it works as it was intended to without feeling too big.

To the rear, there’s an original breakfast room with tall sliding glass doors opening to the east-facing private garden. The breakfast room connects through to the engine part of the kitchen. In both the oak kitchen units and tiled counter tops are very much of their era.

The presses could be spray-painted and granite or composite stone worktops would contemporarise the space. The copper hood over the hob is also vintage and a detail that is back in vogue. The next owner should keep it.

Integrated garage
The garage, which is integrated into the house, has a pitched roof and is an interesting space that could very easily be renovated to become a den or family room or even an au pair space. There is also a family room to the front.

Upstairs there are five bedrooms, all with original built-in wardrobes. Two of these are roomy singles. The master has an en suite bathroom that contains a bath.

Some works were done on the house in 2007. These include new PvC windows, soffit boards and fascia boards as well as roof trusses.

The house has a D1 BER rating.

Rockford Manor was built by Sorohan in 2001 and offers young families an entry point to a great school catchment area. The gated development of about 125 townhouses and apartments is situated off Blackrock's Stradbrook Road.

Number 13 is a three-bed, mid-terrace house that was extensively refurbished in 2007, upgrading the 96sq m (1,033sq ft) property which is now asking €425,000 through agents Owen Reilly.

The house is well presented with solid oak floors throughout the ground floor, drawing the eye beyond the living room with its stone fireplace through double doors into the walnut kitchen which has solid stone countertops.

Just off the kitchen is the family room, a sunny space with a pitched roof and roof lights.

There is a small south-facing garden to the rear accessed via French windows from the family room. The garden is stone-paved and private.

Upstairs there are three bedrooms, one is a roomy single. The master has a wet room en suite bathroom with floor to ceiling marble tiling, a look that is mirrored in the family bathroom.

The property has a C2 BER rating.

While there is one car parking space allocated to the property there is no designated parking in the development. Residents park on a first-come first-served basis.