Clever design makes a difference in architects' homes

Homes owned by architects often have an extra edge. Rose Doyle looks at one built 10 years ago in north Dublin, and a refurbished house in south Dublin

Portmarnock: €1.2m: Detached, one-off, originally designed houses are rare on the Portmarnock property market. Sunnyside, at the end of Convent Lane, Portmarnock, Co Dublin, fulfils all the rarity criteria.

Just 10 years old, it was designed by its architect owner to very particular specifications.

It is now being sold at auction through Sherry FitzGerald Blanc which is guiding €1.2 million in advance of its auction day on February 23rd.

To make for the minimum external maintenance, Sunnyside was given a basic timber frame, brick finished and fitted with double-glazed PVC windows and guttering.

The internal open-plan design is aimed at eliminating passageways and corridors while a design emphasis on insulation, which included the use of polyurethane weather membrane, makes for a warm home with the minimum of heating.

The vegetation around it is particularly lush and, rare and wonderful in suburbia, a pair of pheasants strolled and pecked in the grass and ground ivy on the day of our visit.

In a nicely secluded spot and with a tall cedar tree in front, Sunnyside has 185 sq m (2,000 sq ft) of floor space in which there are two bedrooms, three reception rooms and, at the top of a spiral staircase climbing from the central open-plan area, a couple of attic rooms.

Columns are a design theme, something which is immediately apparent in the steel columns supporting the entrance porch - interesting in themselves in that they originally supported the balcony in the old Theatre Royal.

The sitting/dining room has further columns and, in the dining area, a wall of mirrored glass reflects the front-facing window in this part of the room.

The quarry-tile flooring here gives way to carpeting in the south-west facing sittingroom area, where windows overlook the rear garden and double glass doors lead to the kitchen and family room.

The main en suite bedroom is off the open-plan centre of the house.

A window looking over the back garden fills one wall; an arch leads to a walk-in dressingroom which follows through to the creamy/peach coloured en suite. This has a bidet, toilet, bath and separate shower.

The second en suite bedroom is to the front of the house and has an arched window framing the cedar tree.

Green-painted wooden units and a quarry-tiled floor give a rustic look to the kitchen and the dining niche in the breakfastroom is by a window overlooking the garden.

The family room has a gas fire and sliding glass doors to the garden and a good-sized utility room has a glass-panelled door to the side of the house.

One of the attic rooms (which has two small, Velux windows), is in use as a workshop/studio while the second, which which has an en suite with toilet and wash-hand basin, is used as a bedroom.

The rear garden has a couple of fish ponds and a patio which partly wraps around the house. A Barna shed is almost hidden in the growth and trees and shrubs give a sense of exuberance.

Blackrock: €875,000: The owners of 69 Glenomena Park, Blackrock, Co Dublin, architects both, have designed and added a good-sized, interesting extension to what was a traditional, early-1950s Wates-built house.

This has increased the floor area to 180 sq m (1,940 sq ft), replaced the original kitchen and added a utility room, guest toilet, bedroom and garage.

After more than 30 years and with their family reared, they are downsizing and selling their home through Lisney, which is guiding €875,00 in advance of its auction on March 3rd.

69 Glenomena Park has five bedrooms, a large, open plan reception room and kitchen/breakfastroom. The brick-built, split level rear garden, which has high, enclosing walls, adds an interesting dimension. With its water feature, small pond and enclosed, glass covered barbecue area directly off the kitchen, it's a living space in its own right.

The extension has also made for a larger than usual reception hallway and a staircase which divides half-way up to allow separate access to the main, en suite bedroom. In the bedroom there is a built-in wardrobe and wide window over the rear garden.

Of the four original bedrooms two are to the front and two to the rear. The fourth is presently in use as a study/office and has extensive shelving as well as a smallish bay window.

The living/diningroom is L-shaped and was originally two rooms. The longer part takes in the width of the house and has rear garden views. In this part of the room too there is a white marble fireplace.The dining area has a bay window facing the front.

The kitchen/breakfastroom stretches across the rear of the house and has a great deal of light from a wide window in the kitchen and a glass door in the breakfast area. There is a range of units at floor and wall level, worktops and marmoleum floor covering.

Off the cork-floored rear corridor there is a utility room and guest toilet as well access to the barbecue area. This has Chinese slate flooring, good storage and a healthy looking grapevine.

The garage, to the front, has a a gallery/loft for additional storage and a separate, custom-built wine storage room with tiled floor and shelving. There is off-street parking for several cars in the front driveway.