Dramatic transformations: Drumcondra redbrick for €525,000

When the owners of number 23 St Brigid’s Road, a minute’s walk from the Whitworth end of the Royal Canal, bought the house last September it was an executor sale. The house had a BER F rating and was in need of modernisation. It cost €323,000, according to the Property Price Register.

They did all the dirty work, replacing the windows with argon-gas filled designs by Munster Joinery, installing floors, rewiring, replumbing to create a three-zone heat system and reimagining the layout. They extended the original floorspace by 60sq m (645sq ft) to 145sq m (1,560sq ft).

Now with a B3 BER rating the vendor estimates that he spent €150,000 upgrading the property, which is back on the market for €525,000 through Lisney.

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23 St Brigid’s Road Lower, Drumcondra: before renovations

Cosy sittingroom

By ridding the house of its original interconnecting reception rooms, he created a cosy sittingroom to the front and made a feature of the niche bookcase set into the dividing wall.

What was a formal diningroom to the rear was brought into the large open-plan kitchen-cum-diningroom and livingroom area.

The sitting area has a wood-burning stove. Panels of glazing add light but the house is painted in fashionable dark shades and has dark stained oak flooring and doors that soak up some potential light.

The L-shaped kitchen has a rooflight to further illuminate it and quartz countertops. The dining area overlooks the small east-facing garden which has pedestrian rear access.

On the first floor the large master bedroom that traditionally would have spanned the width of the house has been divided into two rooms, a large single and a good-sized double with lots of storage.

Converted attic

The original third bedroom on this floor is now a spacious family bathroom with a big hot press hidden behind a mirrored door. A smaller double is situated on the hall return where the bathroom once was.

The owner, who remodels homes as a hobby, also converted the attic extending it out to create a proper size bedroom with a large dormer window from which you can see Croke Park. Sloping wardrobes fill the eaves and the en suite is big enough to fit a bath.

The house is staged for sale. Parking is on street.