Architect's city house with contemporary good looks

Drumcondra: €450,000: Architect Aine McEnoy's house has period charm and contemporary style, reports Bernice Harrison

Dargle Road in Drumcondra, Dublin 9 is a quiet road that is unusual in that its houses line only one side. The terrace of single-storey Victorian redbricks face onto the pale granite wall of what used to belong to the convent. The quiet location and proximity to the city centre were some of the features that attracted architect, Aine McEnoy, and her husband when they bought number 24 three years ago.

A further attraction was that the previous owners had done all the hard renovation work which included changing the layout of the two-bedroom house to give it a large eat-in kitchen. And in this type of house it is hard work, because creating a large room running across the back means knocking two rooms together and removing the chimney that they share.

The house is single storey to the front, two-storey at the back. "These houses traditionally have a good, typically Victorian livingroom at the front with a high ceiling and tall windows," says McEnoy, and the couple have left this room pretty much as is. It has a deep bay window which adds to the feeling of space although somewhere along the line the original fireplace was replaced with one that is not particularly attractive.

Down a couple of steps at the back of the house is the eat-in kitchen and it's a really lovely room. McEnoy took out the pine kitchen that was in situ three years ago and replaced it with sleek modern custom-built units with a stainless steel splashback and detailing. A large, square-shaped island is also topped with stainless steel and, in a design that is both clever and practical, it contains all the "wet" appliances - the dishwasher, washer/dryer and the sink.

"I do a lot of cooking and this layout of the island facing the dining area is a pleasant way of working," says McEnoy.

The floor is Portuguese limestone. "This is a north-facing room so I wanted to make it as light and bright as possible," she says of her choice of colours and surfaces. "I knew reflective surfaces would help make it brighter."

The kitchen area is on one side of the room, on the other is a good-sized dining area and double glazed doors opening out onto the patio/garden.

"It's too small for grass," said McEnoy, "and I wanted to contrast the sleek smoothness of the kitchen with some texture, so we went for granite cobbles and sandstone flags." The back wall is painted a vibrant shade of red. There is pedestrian access out onto a private lane that has been gated by the residents at both ends to provide a safe place for children to play.

"There's a great sense of community around here," says McEnoy of the area which has seen considerable rejuvenation in recent years as young families renovate and restore the Victorian redbricks that line these roads. The bathroom is on this level and it was kept as simple as possible with white mosaic tiles and a white suite. Upstairs there are two double bedrooms.

McEnoy and her family, which now includes two little boys under two, are moving to Belfast, hence the sale of 24 Dargle Road which is by private treaty through Douglas Newman Good who are looking for offers of around €450,000.