Remodelled Churchtown semi with south-facing garden for €575,000

Located off Barton Road East, about equidistant from Dundrum Town Centre and Nutgrove Shopping Centre, is an established estate of semis. Number 114 Meadow Mount is a dormer-style semi that was built in the late 1950s, originally as a two-bedroom property, and has been extensively remodelled by its current owners, who bought it in 2000.

They fell in love with its 30m/100ft-long south-facing back garden. Coming from a north-facing apartment, the pair, who breed canaries and finches and have an aviary at the end of the garden, viewed the property on a sunny day and were hooked.

The house originally measured about 83sq m/900sq ft, but in 2008 the pair doubled its size by adding a two-storey extension. A cherry-floored entrance hall where the garage once stood leads through to the rear, where they were able to build a 3.5m high, open-plan room that runs the width of the house.

The room has glazing on three walls, with roof lights and gable glazing drawing even more light in. The room is split-level, with a dining area surrounded by a glass balustrade that overlooks the living area. Accessed by a set of teak cantilevered steps, it is warmed by a wood-burning stove and radiators set into the skirting boards.

The kitchen is contained in the old part of the house and feels small when compared to the new extension, but for those who like to entertain it means the mess can be closed off from view when you shut its glass sliding doors. Off the kitchen is a breakfast room with sliding doors taking you through to the sittingroom at the front. This has a gas-fuelled fire and a tiled floor warmed by underfloor heating, which has been installed throughout the original part of the property. This has helped the house achieve a B3 Ber rating, impressive for a property of this vintage.

Upstairs there are three bedrooms, two doubles and a single. The master, which is dual-aspect, has a shower ensuite and French doors that open out on to a sun trap of a roof, which could, subject to planning permission, become a very smart roof terrace.

There is a small home office that the next owner could turn into a small fourth bedroom if they reconfigured the family bathroom slightly.

The back garden is still substantial. Measuring 24m/79ft, its original lawn has been landscaped, with a raised deck that meanders through fish ponds and sun traps. In one corner stands a piece of local history, a large lump of granite that was excavated by the Luas works. It is very much a grown-up’s garden with a gorgeous covered area where, weather permitting, the couple entertain alfresco.

A family with small kids might prefer to reimagine the rear as a large green space, but should you wish to keep the garden as it is, there is also a green within the estate, about a minute’s walk from the house.

The property, which measures 183sq m/1,969sq ft, is asking €575,000 through agents DNG.