Dublin 4: €1.25m - Modern makeover in Sandymount family home

Lea Road is a quiet street that connects Guilford Road to Sandymount’s Strand Road on the seafront.

Number 30 is a fine brick-fronted four-bedroom house that has been extensively remodelled to cater to family life.

When the owners bought the semi-detached house in 2002 they upgraded it by rewiring and installing central heating. Four years later they added a two-storey extension that has given the house plenty of breathing space with lots of hidden storage to keep it looking clutter free.

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30 Lea Road, Sandymount

Stephen Nelson of Nona Architects extended the original house out to the side – where the garage was – so that everything has its place.

Hidden away off the wood-floored hall is a roomy cloakroom, guest wc and most interestingly a sports cupboard, home to equipment usually relegated to a garage or garden shed. Golf bags, hockey sticks, a clatter of tennis rackets and umpteen hurleys reveal a sport-mad family.

The sittingroom now spans the width of the original house and features a sofa area around its open fire. Five windows stream light into this west-facing room adding an amber glow to late afternoons at this time of the year. A piano is the main feature of the other half of the room.

Glazed internal doors look into the reception rooms. Through the one facing the front door is the den, a light-filled space painted a warm blue-grey, that has French doors opening out to the east-facing lawned back.

Kitchen

The kitchen was remodelled at a later stage by interior designer Maria MacVeigh. A wall of wood that conceals a fridge freezer and a good-size utility room has direct access to the garden. Floor-to-ceiling cabinets hide stock pots, special occasion tableware and the shelving, cabling and plug points needed to run a home office.

The worktops are cashmere granite and the same surface covers the island. Sliding glass doors lead to the garden from the dining area.

The back garden is mainly lawned and includes a paved area to the rear, originally designed as off-street parking but when they discovered it was a late evening suntrap it become a dining area. Several fine specimen trees, cordyline australis, add to the seaside feel.

The house also boasts a garden room where the family has held children’s parties and taken shelter during barbecues.

Upstairs there are four good-size doubles, the master has a shower en suite. The two gable rooms are dual aspect with a second long rectangular window installed at eye level. Each bedroom has enough built-in storage to keep them clutter-free.

The house, which measures 208sq m (2,239sq ft) is asking €1.25 million through Bennetts Auctioneers.