Booterstown/€895,000: A terraced home with a good south Dublin address has all it needs to be an elegant family home. Justin Comiskey reports.
Number 31 Booterstown Avenue, Booterstown, Co Dublin - new to the market this week with Sherry FitzGerald guiding €895,000 - is a period house with character and charm in need of some redecoration.
It is a four-bedroom terraced house on two levels stretching to some 1,181 sq m (1,950 sq ft).
Once inside the door, the bright hallway offers a view through the house and kitchen out to the walled back garden.
To the left are two interconnecting rooms; the drawingroom with its high ceiling, coving and slate fireplace is a dignified space lit by two large windows facing the street.
The wooden flooring here and throughout most of the ground floor doesn't do the house justice - neither do the aluminium windows - but with a little redecoration the room could be the elegant centre of a fine family home.
The adjoining diningroom has a large marble fireplace with tiled inset, coving and is lit by another large window (aluminium again) looking out to a patio area that could make a DIY enthusiast salivate at its possibilities.
The kitchen in the return has a pleasant work area with built-in wall and floor units, Belfast sink, recessed spotlights, a loudish terracotta tiled floor and double doors that open to the garden.
West-facing and mostly in lawn, the 45 ft back garden could do with a little brightening up but it's a peaceful spot, facing the right way and, with easy access to the kitchen, is perfect for a little al fresco dining.
Up the stairs are four bedrooms - three doubles and a single - along with a separate toilet and family bathroom that new owners may consider knocking into one.
All the double bedrooms have cast-iron fireplaces, high ceilings and two have ceiling coving.
The main bedroom, which faces onto the street, is lit by two large windows and is a really good size. The other two double bedrooms have views over the back garden.
Number 31 has gas-fired central heating, is alarmed and has numerous telephone and TV points.
However, there is only residential disc car-parking in the area which could be rather irritating on such a busy street.
A major plus, however, is the DART at Booterstown station - a four-minute walk away - or the QBC into town along the Stillorgan Road (around 10 minutes on foot).
Some of south Dublin's most well-known schools - like Blackrock College, St Andrew's College and Willow Park - are within easy reach, as are the retail centres of Blackrock and Stillorgan.
Booterstown, a sleepy suburb just outside the Dublin 4 and city boundaries, has a few shops, pubs, restaurants and churches.
Blackrock Park is convenient for walks, as is the beach.
