While one school of real estate says you should never compromise on the number of bedrooms you have, there is another that understands many of today’s buyers want a sense of space and walk-in condition.
This is where the value lies in the current market. By reconfiguring the layout of number 5 Manor Place in Stoneybatter, the owners have created a beautifully appointed home.
They bought it as a three-bedroom property in 2017 for €470,000, according to the Property Price Register.
It had two reception rooms and a small scullery kitchen with the property’s only bathroom to its rear. They made the decision to move the bathroom upstairs into the bedroom on the return, installing a smart shower room there and thus dealing successfully with an issue that house hunters will see all over Stoneybatter, Ringsend, Dublin 4, parts of Drumcondra and Dublin 3.
By doing this they doubled the size of the kitchen to make it an eat-in space, separate from the living rooms, where deep pine green units have contrasting white stone countertops and brass D-ring pulls. A tri-fold aluminium frame door concertinas back to open it up completely to the south-east facing courtyard. This extends to about 17 sq m and is tiled in the same large-format, concrete-look slabs that floor the kitchen.
The two reception rooms now interconnect with the small sitting room to the front. Its plantation shutters also function as a privacy screen; a boon when your home opens directly onto the street.
This leads through to a supremely serene dining room, painted a rich sage that complements the patinated original floorboards underfoot. Ceilings in these rooms are 2.8m high.
From here, French doors open out to the yard. The owners found these in a skip on Dublin 6’s chichiest street, Palmerston Road.
The stair risers have been painted white while the steps have been sanded and stained a colour similar to the flooring in the hall and reception rooms.
The bathroom has been partly tiled in a white metro format with a rich chocolate brown on the opposite wall. The large shower stall has a Crittal-look frame and brass hardware.
There are two double bedrooms on the first floor. The back room has white- painted boards while the floor in the main bedroom, which spans the width of the house and boasts a wall of wardrobes, has been given a lime wash finish.
Both are painted a soft and slumber-inducing blue.
Agents Sherry FitzGerald is seeking €490,000 for the property which has a Ber of E2 and extends to about 90 sq m (968 sq ft). There is active bidding on the house and at the time of going to press this currently stands at over €600,000.
