A spacious house on a Rathgar square is presented in mint condition, as is a refurbished house in Rathmines which is back up for auction over two years after it was sold – with a cut of around €1m in the AMV. BERNICE HARRISONreports

RATHGAR €1.25M:

A TWO-STOREY over basement house at 36 Kenilworth Square is for sale through Douglas Newman Good for €1.25 million. The three-bedroom house, with 200sq m (2,160sq ft), is on one of the square’s quieter sides and has been lived in by the same family for the past seven years.

When the couple bought the house it needed considerable work but it’s in walk-in condition now and will appeal to a small family or someone trading down from a larger house in the area.

As is usual in these houses the basement level is where they spend the most time and it has a large, comfortable family room to the front that opens into the kitchen at the back.

The kitchen has been updated over the years and the painted wooden units, which include a large centre island, are topped with quartz. There is a good-sized utility room in the back return. There is clever storage everywhere in this house as the owners sought to maximise space. So down at this level there are several cupboards hidden away behind tongue and groove panelling and the area under the granite steps that lead up to the front door has been converted into a toilet.

At front door level, the main reception rooms and the hall are very grand with their high ceilings and decorative plasterwork. The matching original marble fireplaces are still a feature.

Upstairs there are three bedrooms, a very large and beautifully decorated main bedroom with en suite shower room and two smaller rooms. All bedrooms have smart built-in storage. There is also a small family bathroom.

The back garden was divided and sold off some years ago by previous owners, so the garden that now comes with number 36 is small relative to the size of the house. It is kitted out for children, with a timber deck area, a sunken trampoline and a child-safe play surface instead of grass. The square is privately owned by St Mary’s College in Rathmines which uses it as its sports grounds and is the home of its scout den.

36 Kenilworth Square, Rathgar, Dublin 6

Spacious three-bedroom terraced house in walk-in condition with a high-spec

Agent: Douglas Newman Good

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RATHMINES €1.25m: A HOUSE ON Windsor Road, Rathmines that sold less than two years ago for a reported €2.25 million is back on the market for €1.25 million.

Number 31 Windsor Road, a renovated and extended four-bedroom terraced house went to auction in February 2007 with an AMV of €1.9 million.

Bidding in the room pushed the price to an eye-watering €350,000 beyond that, but even so it was withdrawn and sold on the day for the reported €2.25 million.

Handling the sale this time around, Pat Mullery of Douglas Newman Good feels the price tag accurately reflects the new reality in the market.

Two years ago it was presented fully styled up with all the accessories and furnishings that make these houses look really very smart.

It's a little barer now as the new owners never fully moved in but it's a fine, spacious redbrick house that needs no work, on a well-located, desirable road.

The previous owners extended at the back to make room for a large eat-in kitchen. They extended off the back reception room so the whole area is open-plan. A large rooflight and wide glazed doors to the back garden leave the room bright. The kitchen has simple white units topped with granite. There is a small utility room that opens out into the garden. The front reception room with its high ceilings, polished floorboards and tall sash window, is an attractive room.

The house, one in a terrace of four matching houses, is two-storey at the front, three at the back; upstairs the bedrooms are spread over two levels. They are three doubles and a good-sized single. There is a family bathroom in one return and a small shower room in the other.

The back garden is landscaped with a patio area, and there is a pedestrian door into the laneway that runs along the back of these houses.

Parking is on-street.

31 Windsor Rd, Rathmines

Smart refurbished four-bed

Agent: DNG