Those who like to live in a buzzy area near shops and restaurants, will appreciate the fact that 19 Vernon Avenue is in the thick of Clontarf life.
On the stretch of houses between Nolan’s supermarket and Tibors Bistro, it’s on a busy road close to boutiques, a deli, cake shop and several restaurants and is within a few minutes walk of Clontarf Road and the sea.
It was built around the turn of the century and the current owners moved in more than 20 years ago and renovated it.
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The result is a quirky mix of modern and old. Although terraced, the house is spacious at 171 sq m (1,840sq ft) with a gracious entrance hall with fine period plasterwork and a dramatic tiled chessboard floor.
Sherry FitzGerald is seeking €795,000 for the three-bedroom house (the attic room is used as a fourth bedroom). It will be an interesting test of the market as prices in some areas are becoming increasingly bullish.
Downstairs there are two well-proportioned reception rooms with high ceilings.
The owners didn’t go for a traditional muted decor in the front drawing room but opted instead for an atmospheric chocolate and cream scheme with squishy sofas and a rich walnut floor. The colour-scheme works well with the original dark marble fireplace.
The interconnecting dining room is also a good size but hasn’t got a fireplace which you almost expect to see in the main reception rooms of period houses.
The owners installed the Strawbridge kitchen about 15 years ago and, in contrast to the dark loungey-feel of the drawing room, it’s a homely country kitchen-style room with a butcher’s block, plate racks and an old redbrick fireplace with a stove. The thick terracotta tiles and Belfast sink complete the look.
At the back of the kitchen there’s a utility area and stairs to what was once the maid’s room.
Some of the neighbours took these stairs out when they were extending to the rear.
The back garden is a reasonable size with a fairly extensive deck and some lawn.
What might be disappointing for some is that there aren’t more bedrooms. But the owners made a good call when they turned what was formerly a pokey single bedroom on the first-floor return into a sumptuous bathroom with dark walls, a white cast-iron fireplace, big old-style sink and a bath.
The owners’ quirky sense of fun is evident in the monochrome tartan carpet in the hall, on the stairs and landing, and the leopard-print chaise longue in the hall.
The maid’s room, also on the first-floor return, is used for storage.
Hopefully none of the maids who worked in the house in the early 20th century suffered from claustrophobia.
Off the main landing there are three double bedrooms. The attic room, which is a decent size, is also used as a bedroom and has a shower en suite.
Outside there is disc parking but there’s potential to create off-street parking to the front of the house subject to planning permission.
