City to Country: Transformed Dublin 9 Edwardian cottage or scenic lake views in €399k Clare home

Contrasting homes have great locations, writes Trish Dromey

88 Botanic Avenue

Botanic Avenue, Dublin 9
€495,000
Size	87 sq m (936 sq ft)
Bedrooms	2
Bathrooms	1
BER	C1

The transformation of 88 Botanic Avenue near Drumcondra from a dark one-bed Edwardian cottage into a bright two-bed modern home with a mezzanine has been cleverly and stylishly done.

Launched on the market this week with a guide of €495,000, it’s a modernised property with white walls, a contemporary kitchen and bathroom, multiple skylights and a custom-engineered steel and timber staircase leading up to a galleried glass balustraded mezzanine.

The newly extended 87 sq m property now has a kitchen/dining /living room with contemporary black kitchen units with Corian worktops and a long breakfast bar/island unit which serves as a kitchen table. In the d living area there’s a skylight and a built-in grey/green storage unit.

Part of a small terrace of cottages located across the road from Griffith Park, the property is within a short walk from shops and amenities Drumcondra and from the Botanic Gardens.

VERDICT: A new owner gets to benefit from the amount of thought and effort that went into the upgrade.

Ballydonnell, Co Limerick
€550,000
Size	287 sq m ( 3090 sq ft)
Bedrooms	5
Bathrooms	4
BER	B3

An opportunity not only to work from home but to operate a commercial business from home is offered by this a five- bed property at Balldonnell near Newcastle West which comes with a 335 sq metre industrial unit, office space and parking. 

A comprehensive offering for its €550,000 guide, it includes a spacious 287 sq metre house on a quarter of an acre site as well as an outbuilding used a gym and billiards rooms in addition to a sizable metal built workshop from which the owners used to operate a business. 

“It’s excellent value at this price” says Mary of O’Callaghan of SOC Property explaining that the 1980s built house has been upgraded in recent years and is stylish and modern with a B3 BER.

Accommodation in the gable fronted redbrick property includes a large kitchen/diner/ living room/sunroom with tiled flooring, granite topped cream gloss units, a grey breakfast counter and a redbrick fireplace with a stove. 

There’s also a living room, a study, a guest WC and a bathroom on both levels. Three of the property’s five bedrooms ( including an en suite one) are at ground level.

Located ten km from Newcastlewest and 49 km from Limerick city, the property could, according to Ms O’Callaghan, suit a variety of buyers. “It’s a spacious modern family home with a workshop with 3 Phase power which could possibly be used as a warehouse, a garage or for metal work.”   

VERDICT: A spacious modern home with a lot of work-from-home options.

Dromineer, Co Tipperary
€395,000
Size	140 sq m ( 1,506 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	B3

Although this three-bed detached house in Dromineer near Lough Derg is called Seanteach there’s very little in its interior that isn’t contemporary and new.

Originally built in the 1890s, it does have one section of exposed stone walls in the living room but almost everything else is modern including the tiled and timber flooring and the upgraded bathrooms . Renovated and extended in 2017, it has a stylish tiled kitchen with tall mauve coloured wall units and a quartz topped grey breakfast counter. During refurbishments the owners insulated, put in a heat pump and fitted double glazed Aluclad windows to bring the BER up to a B3.

Seanteach has mature private gardens and is located in a cul de sac just 500 metres from Dromineer Harbour and Lough Derg Yacht Club ,reveals William Talbot of Sherry FitzGerald Talbot who is seeking offers of €395,000.

With the addition of a flat roof extension the house has 140 sq m of living space including a kitchen/diner, a living room with a fireplace and stove, a utility room, a WC, a bathroom and a bedroom. Upstairs it has two bedrooms including one en suite.

In the garden where the owners keep their boat, there’s a tarmac area, as well as a raised sandstone patio with shrub beds, a log store and a large hot tub which can be purchased separately.

Renovated as a holiday home, Seanteach could suit a commuter from Limerick ( 47 km) or be bought by a relocating buyer looking for a lakeside lifestyle.

VERDICT: Exceedingly modern for a Seanteach.

Ogonelloe, Co Clare
€399,000
Size	200 sq m
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	4
BER	B3

Modified by a couple who have enjoyed home working from offices with scenic Lough Derg views, Caher House at near Ogonelloe in Clare may well attract relocating buyers who have the same idea.

A 1990s built four-bed house with 200 sq metres of living space and over an acre and a half of gardens, the property has recently been listed with a guide of €399,000. John Phelan of Harry Brann Auctioneers says the attraction for relocating buyers in addition to the elevated lake views, include flower filled gardens and a substantial polytunnel which the owners have used to produce a plentiful supply of veg.

Rooms which overlook the lake include a sunroom and an adjoining bedroom which have been both turned into home offices, reveals Mr Phelan explaining that the sunroom is now used as a photography studio.

Other accommodation includes a living room with lake views, a formal dining room, a kitchen diner, a utility room and a guest WC and a bathroom The upper level has a bathroom, an office and three bedrooms including one en suite. 

Mr Phelan says the owners who bought the property around six years ago, upgraded the heating and brought the BER up to a B 3 In the gardens there’s a glass house as well as a polytunnel, a pond, a paddock as well as flower beds and detached garage Located 11km from Killaloe, Caher House is 34 km from Limerick city and may attract commuters.

VERDICT: Offers views to admire, a polytunnel to grow veg and ample living space for a large family