Teacher’s pet project in Blackrock is super-sized semi for €695k

71 St Fintan's Villas is a fine example of what can be achieved using the eye of a good architect. Purchased in 2013 for €265,000 by the current owners – teacher David Dooley and his family – the house was "your usual two-up, two-down in very basic condition".

The end result has tripled the size of the original property which now has five bedrooms and a generous 162sq m of space. The fact that the house lies on a corner site still allows for a large L shaped garden, despite the size of the extension.

Blackrock-based firm Habitat Architecture were engaged to transform and extend the property. One of the most striking features of the house is amount of natural light which floods into all of the rooms – two Velux were installed in the double bedrooms to the front of the house as the extension removed the rear windows, this was also the case in the family bathroom, and the roof light in the front hall brightens up what was previously a very dark space.

Glass box

The rear of the house is essentially a glass box with three sets of doors opening out onto the garden. A kitchen by Kitchen Craft with Neff appliance frames a Silestone island with further storage in a utility.

Reclaimed bricks, which have been cut to use as tiles frame one wall in dining area, and are further echoed in the hearth of the living area: “It’s piped for a stove but we never got around to installing one as the room is so warm – even in winter,” says Dooley.

A further living room to the front of the house has a stove for cosy winter evenings.

The property has four double bedrooms and a single. One is located on the ground floor and could also work as a playroom, television room or home office.

The Dooley's are moving back to Tipperary, and have placed their lovely home – completed last year, and in turnkey condition – on the market through Sherry FitzGerald with an asking price of €695,000.