Design flair and space with a practical, family heart

DÚN LAOGHAIRE: €1.4M:This elegant home has enough space and clever design to deal with the rough and tumble of an active family life

DUNROE, AT number 25 Lower Albert Road, in Sandycove, Co Dublin, is an Edwardian red brick that has been given a very quiet yet thoroughly 21st-century make-over.

The five-bedroom house will appeal to anyone looking for a family home that has grace and charm but is also easy to live in.

For sale through Guardian Property at €1.4 million, the 260sq m (2,834 sq ft) house was designed by interior architect Maria MacVeigh and built by David Coyne

The house opens into an airy hallway that in turn leads to a large sittingroom with period features, such as lavish coving and marble fireplaces.

Bi-fold interconnecting doors open into the family TV room, which has space for the owner’s Steinway piano. This room is moodier as it no longer has direct light from a window. The original walls have been pushed out to create two light wells, one on either side of the fireplace, so the room feels lit from within. The coving is intact and the alcoves are now home to deep drawers.

The balance between the old and the new is subtle. A floor-to-ceiling sliding door glides back to reveal the step-down contemporary kitchen. Basalt worktops contrast with two Italian marble islands – one is for food preparation and the other is a breakfast bar.

The kitchen table is where the family gathers at weekends. There are white, oiled oak floors throughout as well as underfloor heating on all floors.

The space is big and roomy but warm thanks to glazing and a high-tech air/water heat pump. There is floor-to-ceiling glass on three sides that give a balanced sense of light and hide the neighbours’ homes from view.

To the left is a home office, again hidden behind a sliding door. It has walls of storage to hide DVDs, CDs and printers. A den leads into an inner hallway with banks of storage built in under the stairs.

A second WC, pantry and utility room lead from the kitchen back out to a front side door. This is designed to accommodate four kids trooping through from their various sporting activities. There is plenty of storage all set opposite the utility room so muddy gear doesn’t fester in kit bags but goes directly into the washing machine.

The storage envy continues upstairs on the first floor where there are four bedrooms, including the main one and its en suite. A fifth, in the converted attic, also has an en suite. The doors on all have been reconfigured: at 2.7 metres high they wash the period rooms in light yet remain in proportion to the rest of the build.

Every effort has been taken to reuse and recycle energy and the expensive outlay in insulation, solar panels to heat the water and the air/water heat pump have paid off.

The back garden is west-facing and has a limestone patio with limestone planters that self-irrigate. This is where the kids grow their herbs and greens. Designed by Bernard Hickie, the garden is low maintenance and planted with silver birch trees and grasses and surrounded by a high box hedge, ensuring privacy. Hidden behind this hedge is a compost heap and storage area large enough for boats and other sporting paraphernalia.

There is also a proper bike shed with another shed for storing bins to the side and off-street parking for two cars.

25 Lower Albert Road, Dún Laoghaire

Edwardian redbrick with high-end modern makeover and period details

Agent: Guardian Property