Looking for . . . a family home in south Dublin for under €1.5m

They may be less grand than their two-storey over-basement Victorian counterparts, but there is a lot to be said for more modern two-storey houses. They are generally easier to maintain, and importantly their layout affords the perfect mix of living accommodation and bedroom/bathroom space. The following homes, all built around the 1930s, are perfect examples of this and have generous gardens with no shortage of potential.

4 Lakelands Park, Terenure, Dublin 6W

€1.395 million, Sherry FitzGerald, 174 sq m (1,870 sq ft)

Lakelands Park, which is just off Terenure’s Templeogue Road, adjacent to Terenure College and around the corner from Bushy Park, is a treelined street where homes rarely change hands .

This attractive double-fronted house features a range of original features including working service bells and original fireplaces. While it may not be as large as most other properties in this price range in Terenure, what it lacks in size it compensates for in elegance.

It is also rare to find such light-filled accommodation. This is thanks to an unusually large number of rooms with double exposures, including some of the four bedrooms.

The interconnecting reception rooms are especially pleasant, featuring large bay windows at each end and a set of Crittall steel doors, a style now very much back in vogue.

The house has plenty of character and charm, but it is clearly in need of updating. It is crying out for a new kitchen/diner to the rear, opening out to the mature northeast-facing garden.

There is huge scope to expand and enhance the house and one needs look no further than next door for inspiration. Number 2 Lakelands Park, its once-similar neighbour, sold in 2003 for more than €1.4 million and required refurbishment.

The owners of this house have since renovated and extended to over 300sq m (3,229 sq ft), with six bedrooms and four bathrooms. They opted for a two-storey side extension, a single-storey rear extension and converted the attic, adding dormer windows.

Those interested in 4 Lakelands Park are likely to consider similar changes in order to maximise its potential.

10 Greenfield Park, Donnybrook, Dublin 4

€1.3 million, Sherry FitzGerald, 162sq m (1,744sq ft)

Located off the Stillorgan Road, Greenfield Park is a highly regarded and discreetly affluent cul-de-sac, home to prominent business figures and professionals. The street is adjacent to UCD and close to the Teresian School and St Michael’s, to name but a few in the area.

Number 10 is a semi-detached house dating from about 1936. The interior has clearly seen better days, and the colour scheme needs a rethink.

On the ground floor there are two interconnecting reception rooms, a separate sittingroom, a utility room and kitchen to the rear. On the first floor, there are four bedrooms, three doubles and one single, a bathroom and a toilet. The current decor is unlikely to win over potential buyers, but a real selling point is the mature 100ft rear garden with its northwesterly orientation.

Many of the houses on the street remain in original condition. However Number 10 has the potential to be further enlarged, with the possibility of converting the garage (40sq m) and the attic, and extending to the rear to suit buyers’ needs, subject to planning permission.

Last year a former B&B on Greenfield Park, fronting onto the busy N11 dual carriageway, sold for €1.2 million. Number 10 is a different proposition, being semi-detached and with a less favourable orientation. However, the advantage of being in a more peaceful setting is invaluable. In 2007, a 200sq m detached house across the road on Greenfield Crescent was for sale with an AMV of €4.75 million. It has recently been demolished, with a 520sq m replacement house currently under construction.

69 St Helen's Road, Booterstown, Co Dublin

€995,000, Sherry FitzGerald, 136sq m (1,464sq ft)

Number 69 is one of a handful of corner houses with exceptionally large gardens on St Helen’s Road, a handsome Crampton-built residential street in Booterstown. The location is convenient, being mere minutes from Booterstown Dart station and schools such as Blackrock College and St Andrew’s College.

The house features a number of period features, such as fireplaces, coving and original hardwood floors. Downstairs, there are two reception rooms, a breakfastroom, shower room and kitchen to the rear. Upstairs there are four bedrooms and a family bathroom.

One of the interconnecting reception rooms opens out to the one-third of an acre southwesterly garden, which is so large and well-planted that it is impossible to see to the end of the 180ft-long expanse from the house.

Numerous neighbours have converted their garages and provided a first-floor extension above them, along with an attic conversion and large single-storey extension to the rear. Such an extension could add more than 90sq m to the house depending on the size of the single-storey rear extension, while taking up a relatively small proportion of garden space.

In 2006, neighbouring homes with standard-sized gardens were on the market for prices from €1.5 million to €1.75 million. Given number 69’s garden, its price then would have been more than €2 million. Around the corner, 38 St Helen’s Road, an extended 178sq m semi-detached house requiring some modernisation, is for sale for €850,000 with a 68ft rear garden.