Sandymount home within a short stroll of the sea and Dublin city centre on the market for €865,000

A 10-minute walk from both Lansdowne Road and Grand Canal Dock Dart stations sits the beautifully renovated 12 Derrynane Gardens. The current owners, Maria and Andrew, bought the house as their first home back in 2015, and paid €460,000, according to the Property Price Register. The three-bedroom home needed a lot of work and the couple, who now have two small children, finally moved in when it was completed in 2018.

This property is not the only house to be remodelled in this cul-de-sac, with a number of others boasting a fresh facade. It is likely the great location that is drawing young families to the area, says Maria, before adding that she and Andrew are hoping to take on a new project with a bigger house close by. “The hardest thing will be leaving the neighbours,” says Maria. “It’s a close-knit area and when people move here, they tend to stay.”

The property – which was once owned by Mrs Ferrari of the well-known Ferrari’s chipper, according to the owner – is located a short walk from the Star of the Sea primary school and there is a range of great restaurants nearby, such as Juniors and the Chophouse. Maria says she often walks into the city centre, and it takes about 30 minutes to reach St Stephen’s Green. They really appreciated their location during Covid lockdowns, she says, having both Sandymount Strand and Herbert Park pretty much on their doorstep.

This home, extending to 123sq m (1,324sq ft), looks like a stylish new-build from the road, with its smooth plastering and contemporary windows. There is a pretty garden area and a parking space at the front of the property. When you step inside there is a small room on the right which is being used as a home office. This used to be a bathroom, which, understandably, the owners decided to move from the front of the house. They now have a guest WC under the stairs. The livingroom is on the left as you enter the home and, although the space here is a little narrow, it makes for a warm and cosy retreat. You can see into the kitchen through a rectangular floor-to-ceiling window in the wall, which is very handy for keeping an eye on the children, Maria says.

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The kitchen-dining-living space is a real highlight of this home. Its white fittings and quartz countertops coupled with the natural light that shines in from the huge sliding doors and skylight would fit right in on the pages of a glossy interiors magazine. The glass doors also make the west-facing garden feel like an extension of the space. Originally, this part of the house was a small annex kitchen, which was extended during the refurbishment.

The principal bedroom, with an en suite shower room, sits opposite the top of the stairs and gets a lot of light from the glass doors which were installed to match those in the kitchen. The second bedroom on the left to the front of the house is another decent-sized double while the third bedroom is a smaller double. The family bathroom is a generous size and accommodates the bath comfortably. This well-located, airy home, with an impressive B energy rating, is on the market through Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €865,000.