House of writer and artist offers perfect canvas for novel makeover

Dundrum: €850,000The home of the late writer Francis Stuart, at 2 Highfield Park, Dundrum, is for sale because his wife, artist Finola Graham, now spends an increasing amount of time in Clare.

Stuart, one of the icons of 20th century Irish literature, came upon the bungalow in the late 1960s when he swapped his remote cottage in Meath for the relative comforts of suburban living. He lived here for the rest of his life.

The three-bedroom semi-detached bungalow, measuring 114sq m (1,237sq ft), is at the entrance to a series of cul-de-sacs off the Dundrum Road. It is for sale by private treaty through Sherry FitzGerald for €850,000.

The most recent addition to the house was a single-storey studio built by Graham for her own work in the 1990s. It has a sleeping platfrom, a toilet and, for a rather bracing dip, a partially open-air barrel bath.

There is an option of buying only the main body of the house, while the artist will hold onto the studio for her own use.

To the front of the house are two good-sized rooms, one with a bay window. There are two more rooms at the back of the house, one opening into an old sunroom and then out into the garden.

The tiny kitchen and small bathroom have been little changed since the house was built.

New owners will almost certainly look to renovate the house and extend at the back or maybe the side to make a modern family kitchen.

The house is on a very lush site, bordered by mature trees and a small river.

There is off-street parking for two cars and a small garage to the side.