All things considered in remodelled Blackrock two-bed for €645k

Brookfield Terrace is part of a small enclave of buff yellow-brick terraced houses, adjacent to Rockfield Park where you can exercise or be at one with nature by the babbling brook that runs through it. It is also home to Carraig Lawn Tennis Club. The terrace is just off Carysfort and Brookfield Avenues.

Number 8 is a house that was remodelled by architect Sean Carew of Carew Kelly Architects in the early noughties when the current owner bought the property.

The work then included new timber sash windows and a reworking of the ground floor layout so that the living room, which is set to the front, opens through to the dining room. Both reception rooms have polished timber floorboards and cast iron fireplaces and originally the kitchen was accessed via an opening off the dining room.

Back then the kitchen was a small, galley-space, something the current owners decided to expand, so using architect David Wright they extended out to create a pitched-roof space tiled in the same type of slating that features on the main roof.

The prep area of the kitchen is set out in a C-shape and features ultramarine blue units with polished granite countertops and splashbacks, designed by QK Living Kitchens.  To the right of the room is a double oven and fridge freezer. while a small utility has been hived out from space under the stairs, in a clever move that dials down any ambient noise.

Large-format timber glass doors, by Daingean Joinery, slide back to open the room to the south-facing garden where in healthier times the owners say they have had up to 50 people congregate for parties and celebrations. Set out in warm yellow sandstone slabs, the garden is simply planted and is set over two levels.

Upstairs there are two double bedrooms, one to the front, which is adjacent to the family bathroom where there is a roomy separate shower and deep cast iron bath, for those who like to indulge in a soak.

The main bedroom is to the rear and overlooks the garden.

In one of the first changes to the house the owners converted the attic. Used as an office it features exposed brick walls, a decorative trope that has gained enormously in popularity since this was done in the mid-2000s.

Spacious for a two bed, the property measures 90sq metres/968sq ft with more than 129sq ft, of additional space at attic level. It is now seeking €645,000 through agent SherryFitzGerald.

Recent doer-upper sales include number 14, which sold for €345,000 last September and number 3 which sold for €390,000 in February 2020. Number 9 next door, has been recently sale agreed at €427,500 and requires an overhaul to remedy its current G-BER rating.

In contrast, number 13, an already-extended and upgraded two-bed terrace of 106sq m/1141sq ft, sold for €625,000 last October and it is this price that would-be buyers might use as a benchmark when comparing and contrasting properties.

Up the street at 45 Brookfield Close, food blogger Indy Power recently sold her extended end terrace, two-bed cottage with 102 sq m/1097sq ft of space. It came to the market last August seeking €725,000 and closed at €735,000.

The owners of number 8 are trading up and staying in the area, only moving within about 300m of their yellow-brick home.