Rathgar neighbours on Frankfort with cool, calm interiors

Number 38: €1m-plus Two very different Victorian houses on on the same street in Rathgar offer choice to buyers looking for well-proportioned, low-maintenance family omes in a sought-after Dublin 6 location, writes Joyce Hickey.

Frankfort Avenue in Rathgar, Dublin 6, is lined with Victorian redbricks in a variety of styles, from tall two-storey over basements at the Rathgar Avenue end to terraced houses close to Upper Rathmines Road. It's a convenient residential road close to many shops and schools, and while houses come on the market fairly regularly, there is bound to be plenty of interest in two very different properties that Sherry FitzGerald is selling.

Number 38 is a beautifully upgraded three-bed terraced house with 167sq m (1,800sq ft) and a guide price of €1.05 million prior to auction on May 6th.

The neat front garden is long enough to set the house well back from the road, which is one-way at this end. The smart dark door opens into a wide hall with soft white walls, dado rail and ceiling rose. This creamy colour scheme is one of the main contributors to the feeling of calm throughout the house.

To the left, the formal drawingroom has stripped wooden floors and an impressive pale stone fireplace with slate surround and hearth. As part of the renovation, the current owners installed double-glazed wooden sash windows throughout the house and these are especially notable in the deep bay window. To the rear is a carpeted livingroom that overlooks the back garden.

Down a few steps to the return, past a utility room on the left and, on the right, some useful storage and an under-stairs toilet, is the bright kitchen/diningroom with lots of cream cupboards, a granite worktop and a large window overlooking the garden. This is mostly in lawn and large gates at the end provide access to a laneway.

Upstairs, the accommodation in the return has been reconfigured to incorporate the original fourth bedroom into the bathroom, which is now very spacious and has a big shower unit as well as a bath. A good double bedroom at this level overlooks the garden.

Two more double bedrooms are at the top of the house, one of them overlooking the back garden. The main bedroom spans the front of the house and is full of light from two tall windows; it is so large that the huge marble fireplace and sleigh bed are almost lost.

Number 58: €765,000 Almost across the road, number 58, a two/three bed end-of-terrace villa-style house with 107sq m (1,150 sq ft) has a guide price of €765,000 prior to auction on May 5th. Almost across the road, at number 58, granite steps lead up to a grey front door with fanlight that opens into a double-height hall. There is one room at this level, a livingroom with original bay window and a 13-foot ceiling, which is painted red and bordered by attractive plasterwork. The owners are both members of the traditional music group Altan, so there are nice musical touches in the accessories that are set off by white paintwork throughout.

Downstairs, a room currently used as a study, but which could be a third bedroom, overlooks the back garden. The kitchen/diningroom, in a flat-roofed extension, is rather dated but generously proportioned. A lobby off this leads to the unexpectedly large bathroom, and to the low-maintenance garden which has a good variety of pots and plants, as well as a screened-off parking area at the end with access to a lane.

Upstairs there are two light but cosy double bedrooms overlooking the back garden, one with a wood-panelled ceiling. There is potential, subject to planning, to build on at this level, the main purpose being to install an upstairs bathroom.