A renovated five-bed and a carefully designed 1990s newbuild in D6 catch the attention of Bernice Harrisonand Rose Doyle

ASHFIELD ROAD: €1.25m

A FIVE-BEDROOM house at 55 Ashfield Road in Ranelagh, Dublin 6, that was stylishly renovated and extended just four years ago is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald for €1.25 million.

The home of interior designer Jean Feeney and her family, it has featured in several Irish interior magazines and it’s not difficult to see why – the extensive makeover made maximum and stylish use of every inch of the 2,500 sq ft house. As everything is so recently done, and with such taste, it is now in walk-in condition, and new owners won’t need to change a thing.

When Feeney bought it in 2006, the tall terraced redbrick was divided into six flats. Transforming it back into a family home took just 12 weeks – which says a great deal about her project management skills. It was for sale at the very top of the market when Ranelagh, in particular, reached stratospheric prices for quite modest period houses.

Then in poor condition, it sold for €1.9 million – well over the guide price. While that seems astonishing now, it wasn’t unusual for the area at the time. The current price is in line with the price drops in the area.

Part of a terrace of houses at the Ranelagh Road end of Ashfield, the tall house is unusual in that it is wider than its neighbours, having an original extra bit at the side. This makes a big difference to the overall square footage inside, allowing for extra space on all floors, providing an office and a large utility room on the ground floor, a very large en suite bathroom for the main bedroom upstairs and, on the top floor, an en suite for one of the bedrooms and good storage space.

There is a small original-sized livingroom to the front but it’s at the back of the house that the real change is immediately obvious.

The vast open-plan kitchen, dining and living space is contemporary in style, with stone-topped glossy Leicht kitchen units, oak flooring (with underfloor heating) and light coming in from the extensive roof lights and the wall of glazed doors opening onto the garden. There is high-end detailing in the marble-finished main bathroom and en suites.

Unusually for a Ranelagh house, there is a garage at the end of the garden providing off-street parking.

55 Ashfield Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6

Five-bed, recently renovated with garage at end of garden

Agent:Sherry FitzGerald

CHARLESTON AVE €850,000

AT FIRST SIGHT, 32 Charleston Avenue, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 is no different from any of the red-brick, Victorian houses in this tucked-away avenue near Charleston Road. A closer look, however, reveals it as a relatively new build (1992) but one carefully designed to blend in with the 19th century houses dominating the area. The architect and landscape designer was Angela Jupe.

With a gravelled front area for parking, the house has a floor area of 125.6sq m (1,350sq ft), three bedrooms (the main en suite), two reception rooms and a kitchen/breakfastroom. A floored, insulated attic would easily convert to an office or additional bedroom. It is for sale through Felicity Fox at a price of €850,000.

The interior is light-filled and contemporary in design, though adjoining drawing and dining rooms on the ground floor have a traditional feel to them. The floors here are polished and honey coloured, there are picture rails, cornicing and a dado rail. The drawingroom has a period marble fireplace. The diningroom is bright, with French doors to the rear garden and a side window.

There is a touch of Victoriana too in the old-style quarry tiles used in the entrance hallway, and in the fanlight over the front door. The fully-fitted kitchen, through a leaded-glass door at the end of the hallway, has a breakfast counter and ceramic tile flooring. Windows and a glass door make the most of the proximity of the landscaped garden with its patio, sheltering trees and shrubs.

The main bedroom, which has a built-in wardrobe, benefits from having a tall, ivy-clad tree outside the window. The en suite is a good size and has a sash window, double hand basins and shower. The second and third bedrooms also have built-in wardrobes while the family bathroom has mosaic tiling and brass fittings.

32 Charleston Avenue, Ranelagh, Dublin 6

Three-bed, home with floored and insulated attic ready for conversion

Agent:Felicity Fox