One is new to the market, the other back after auction: Bernice Harrisonand Alanna Gallagheron two refurbished homes

 4 Sunbury Gardens: €3.25m

The slowdown in the auction rooms over the past couple of months means that buyers at the upper end of the market now have some rich pickings - at reduced prices.

Number 4 Sunbury Gardens, a stylish and completely refurbished six-bedroom house, had an AMV of €3.5 million when it went to auction this time last month. Now €250,000 has been knocked off the price tag by agent Sherry FitzGerald and the new price is €3,250,000.

Sunbury Gardens in Rathmines is made up of fine Victorian three-storey redbricks and there's a square in the middle owned by residents.

The house was completely renovated a couple of years ago, and has a newly extended kitchen with top-of-the-range appliances - and the original roof garden has been refurbished. The house has two reception rooms: a grand formal front room with a stained-glass box bay window, highly-decorative plasterwork and marble fireplace, and a back reception room which is a more informal affair, a family room with extensive glazing and access to the patio garden.

There are three storeys without a basement level, often a plus for buyers. Up at the top floor, there are three good bedrooms and a shower room. At middle level, the main bedroom to the front is very large with a dressingroom - used as a home office - and an en suite.

There's another double bedroom on this level and a smaller bedroom in the back return. The family bathroom, like the en suite and shower room, has top-of-the-range fittings, including Phillipe Starck sanitary ware and mosaic tiling. Access to the roof terrace on top of the return is from a window on the staircase.

With 307sq m (3,300sq ft) and six bedrooms, this is very much a stylish family home. However, extending into the already small back garden has meant that there is now only a relatively small patio.

The best has been made of what's there. It is attractively landscaped and includes a steel water feature. There is room to sit out. Unusually for these houses number four also has a garage.

Moyne Road: €1.7m

A typical Ranelagh terraced house at 21 Moyne Road has been remodelled by its architect owner to create an open-plan home that looks out on a quiet, well-stocked garden.

The three-bedroom house has an AMV of €1.7 million prior to auction on June 27th through Gunne.

With 151sq m (1.625sq ft) of living space, including a converted attic, the traditional layout has been opened up to create an open-plan double livingroom with steps leading down to a breakfastroom and kitchen overlooking the garden. Both livingrooms have cast-iron fireplaces and gas fires.

Solid oak flooring and shelving in the livingroom has been designed to leave the alcoves free for occasional chairs and this reorganisation of both rooms knits the two spaces together in a cosy yet cool fashion. The kitchen features solid beech countertops with a Belfast sink and open shelving

Throughout the house the central heating radiators have been disguised behind swish cabinets of vertical wood panels, topped with polished Carrera marble creating sleek shelving throughout.

The house has many strong but discreet design ideas. The double bedroom on the hall return has, for instance, a pitched roof and above and beside-the-bed alcoves. The family bathroom, also on the hall return, features matt sage and mint green mosaic tiles.

The main bedroom with its shower en suite and a second double bedroom are both on the first floor while the attic room can be used as a bedroom too.

The back garden is paved in Himalayan sandstone with steps leading up to a raised area that includes mature planting and fig and apple trees.

The owners also grow strawberries, tomatoes and other summer delights in the mock Victorian greenhouse, which was built using brick salvaged from their extension work. There are riverbed cobbles to its front and a mature mimosa. The garden has pedestrian rear access. Parking is on-street.