Residents of Portobello will have walked the canal towpath on Portobello Road admiring the local wildlife – which includes swans and herons – as well as the odd curiosity occupying one of the south-facing benches that flank this part of the waterway.

Before number 4 was refurbished, it was a bit of landmark building to property watchers. Next to a restaurant, it first came to market in 2007 asking €440,000. In need of a complete rebuild, the property had various price drops, until the present owner bought it in 2013 for €175,000. The new owner set about remodelling the rear and upgrading the original front rooms – now the property’s two bedrooms which remain their original bijou size.

With limed oak flooring throughout and sash windows, the spaces are clean and modern but leave little room for a sizeable bed let alone wardrobe storage or bedside lockers. Best-selling declutterist author Marie Quando would love it. The bathroom is now a large wet room with a rainwater showerhead as well as a separate hand shower. Lit from above it is very smartly finished.

What the bedrooms lack in size though is more than made up for by the open-plan kitchen/living/dining-room to the rear, bright even on the miserable grey wet morning on which it was viewed.

A sage green L-shaped kitchen occupies the space to the left of the door while there is room on the right for two sofas or a big L-shaped one as well as dining table. The back walls have been replaced by glazing to create a really smart light-well that looks out to a stone-clad area populated with floating benches and recessed lighting. The pale stone patio helps to refract even more light into the rooms on a dark day.

The B3-rated property measures 56sq m (600sq ft) and is asking €425,000 through agent DNG, which estimates you could get a monthly rental income of up to €2,000 for the cottage.