Style and substance in Blackrock

The increased supply of good quality family homes in the Dublin suburban market has to be due to the number of downsizers deciding that, as buyers are now back out looking, now is the time to sell.

Number 10 Sydney Avenue, is in that category. It’s a handsome late Georgian townhouse in a terrace of similar double-fronted houses on this popular Blackrock road. Surprisingly, it also has a 32m (106ft) south-facing back garden.

With four bedrooms and 219sq m (2,365sq ft) of space, it’s for sale by Lisney for €1.95 million.

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Extending these houses in a style that’s sympathetic to their period charm can be difficult, but these owners got it just right. It is this extension that is likely to be one of the house’s main selling points.

It’s a large light-filled room at the rear, with three rooflights, two sets of glazed double doors to the garden and windows to the side. It has room for a Siematic kitchen with a useful island unit as well as a comfortable seating area. There is also underfloor heating.

Reception rooms

The more formal reception rooms are in the original part of the house: two large rooms on either side of the hall at the front. To the right is a lovely drawingroom with a white marble fireplace and French windows out to the patio. To the left is another large livingroom that opens into a small bar-room and on into the dining area and out to the kitchen.

Upstairs the four bedrooms are good-sized doubles. The main one has a walk-in wardrobe and a full-size en suite with Villeroy & Boch fixtures and a roll-top bath. There’s also a recently renovated contemporary-styled family bathroom.

Landscaped garden

The landscaped rear garden, which has a pedestrian entrance from the lane at the side of the house, is divided into two sections: a large lawned area fringed with well-stocked beds and a flagstone patio directly outside the house with a custom-built barbecue area.

There’s a railinged front garden, although there is no off-street parking.

The owners are taking the business of downsizing seriously and are leaving all the appliances, mostly Fisher & Paykel, as well as the five TVs, the Bose sound system and the carpets and curtains.

The interior and exterior are done with such understated style and attention to detail and the extension so well-designed that apart from the bar-room the new owners will find little to change.