Recently restored brick-fronted homes in central locations make for really stylish city pads. Two such homes - one in Rathmines, the other in Dublin 8 - have just come on the market with guides of €400,000 and €450,000 respectively.

Rathmines

Small but perfectly formed, an exquisite one-bedroom terraced house in a Rathmines cul de sac has style in bucketfuls. Totally upgraded to an exceptional standard, 6 Gulistan Place could be the perfect upgrade for someone tired of apartment living.

Billy O'Sullivan & Associates is quoting €400,000 by private treaty for this 60.4 sq m (650 sq ft) period yellow-brick, which is off Mountpleasant Avenue in the heart of Dublin 6. Everything is new including the wiring, plumbing, kitchen, bathroom and the roof.

The decor will please most viewers, softly coloured in shades of cream and white, with splashes of dark oak, crimson and terracotta. The owners turned the two original upstairs bedrooms into one, something that could easily be re-established if necessary.

The timber front door opens directly from the pavement through a tiny hall to the sittingroom, with its cream walls and carpet, simple modern fireplace and dark-stained bookshelves. The 12-pane sash window is dressed with a classic Roman blind. Ceiling coving is in perfect condition.

This room leads through to a crimson and white Shaker-style kitchen/diningroom with ivory mosaic wall tiling, recessed lighting and a complete range of new appliances. A roof window lets in plenty of natural light and the back door opens to a small decked terrace.

The bathroom is equally well fitted out, with a full bath, stand-in shower and contemporary bowl washbasin. The spacious bedroom spanning the entire top floor is bright from two sash windows looking out on the street. Built-in wardrobes and a vanity unit across one wall provide plenty of storage space.

Proximity to the city centre, the villages of Ranelagh and Rathmines and the coming Luas line increases the desirability of this little gem of a house. - Kate McMorrow.

Dublin 8

Architect's homes aren't always as impressive as yu mihgt imagine: often there is something of the busman's holiday syndrome among the profession when it comes to decorating their own houses.

This is anything but the case in 13 Lullymore Terrace in Dublin 8, a two-bedroom redbrick being sold by architect Johnny Bennett. It is on the market through Sherry FitzGerald at €450,000.

This is a ready-to-go house - there seems to be no serious flaws and the building has been recently been re-wired, re-plumbed and re-plastered. Floors were ripped up and new wood sash windows have been installed. The result has been photographed by interiors magazines and has, after all the renovations, considerable style.

The house has been turned upside down with living areas upstairs and bedroom on the ground floor. Off the hallway the two bedrooms are not particularly large but still a decent enough size. The main bedroom has double doors opening on the rear garden, reflecting fitted wadrobes whose doors are covered in a photgraphe of a woodland stream: all very cool.

The bathroom, also on the ground floor, has afree-standing cast-iron bath with Victorian shower head. The rest of the room is as contemporary as it's possible to be. Grey tiles line  wall with a recessed mirror above a sink unit with a "bowl" basin and good storage below.

The overall feel of the house is a light filled place that seems larger than dimensions suggest thanks to all white walls and bare wood flooring. The sense of space upstairs is all the greater as walls ahve been removed to make an open-plan living and diningroom. Here, the owner has let colour speak only through furniture and artwork.

The fireplace in the living area has been raised and low fitted shelves inserted on either side, no higher than the top of the hearth.

The upstairs room must be easy to live in with a long galley-style kitchen at the top of the stairs, facing the back of the house. Kitchen units were made from MDF and sprayed white with a thick Junkers solid cherry worktop. Streamline is the best descritpion for this room: everthing has its place. A vertical window has a wide opening over the rear garden.

The patio garden is a reasonable size and is a mix of timber decking and gravel with steps leading to a raised deck off the kitchen on the first floor. - Eoin Lyons.