Look beyond the front door for a surprise in these two southside homes, writes EDEL MORGAN

NUMBER 1 Mulgrave Street, Dún Laoghaire is a two-bedroom 1920s double-fronted bungalow with an interior that’s both modern and brimming with character.

Sherry FitzGerald is asking €475,000 for the 86sq m (925sq ft) house which has a west- facing rear garden and an extended kitchen.

The bay window, high ceilings and cast-iron fireplace in the drawing room give the room an elegant, spacious feel.

Another room has a cool contemporary decor and is currently used both as an office and a living space and also has a bay window.

The kitchen could double as another family room because it’s big enough to incorporate a kitchen/diner and a chill-out area with a cast-iron fireplace. There’s also a utility room.

The bedrooms are both double rooms and overlook the rear garden. The bathroom has underfloor heating.

Outside, the secluded rear garden is bound by the original cut stone wall and is laid mainly in lawn.

1 Mulgrave Street, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin

Two-bed home with 86sq m (925sq ft) of space which has an elegant feel and bay windows

Agent: Sherry FitzGerald

ALTHOUGH it was built in 1890, 81 Patrick Street, a villa-style bungalow in the centre of Dún Laoghaire, is a very modern house inside.

It looks quaint and very dapper from the front, with crab apple trees and an old stone wall but inside it’s bright, airy and contemporary.

Douglas Newman Good is asking €595,000 for the three-bedroom house, which has been extended, renovated and rewired and is now 91sq m (980sq ft).

The double-fronted house also comes with a 15m (50ft) back garden with rear pedestrian access.

One of the most successful rooms in the house is a good-sized cream kitchen/dining room, a big open-plan room with honey coloured timber floors, a vaulted ceiling and floor-to-ceiling glass along one wall, including a door that opens out to the rear garden.

The large third bedroom to the front has an original cast-iron fireplace and could be used as an additional reception room. All of the bedrooms have built-in wardrobes

The back garden is a lovely space with a deck that curves around some lush planting and mature specimen trees.

81 Patrick Street

Traditional exterior in a thre-bed with a contemporary interior

Agent: DNG