Merrion Park, a development off South Hill Avenue in Blackrock, has really stood the test of time. Despite being constructed some 30 years ago, its well-tended mature grounds provide a manicured setting for these well-built redbrick homes.
Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty has just released number 79 to the market, a smart, fully refurbished and redesigned end-terrace four-bedroom house.
The owners purchased the property, which extends to a generous 166sq m (1,786sq ft), in 2015 for €695,000, according to the Property Price Register. They spent two years living there and subsequently engaged Mark Mullally of Kildare-based KBM Architects to reimagine the house.
The brief to Mullally was “to convert it from an 1980s family house into a 21st-century eco-friendly house with a much better flow”. The family also didn’t want an open-plan design as they wanted “separate spaces within,” according to the owners, who are in search of another project in the area.
The aim has certainly been achieved with Mullally’s design. Installing a second front entrance (into the utility room) was a great idea for a family with small children, as was moving the kitchen space to the rear of the house. It is now the hub of this four-bedroom home.
The installation of a 3m-long roof light in the kitchen helps to brighten up the cooking space as it has a northwest aspect, and the use of pocket doors to an adjacent livingroom allows rooms to be closed off for privacy or opened for entertaining.
There is a third room, used as a study and second livingroom, to the front of the property, opposite the utility room and downstairs toilet.
Upstairs has four bedrooms, two of which are en suite.
The entire house runs on green energy, with new German technotherm radiators, which are controlled by a phone app. Its new internal insulation, triple-glazed windows, solar panels and geothermal water supply of hot water give the house a B3 Ber and lower electricity bills, the owners say.
The rear garden is accessed from the kitchen and a side door to the front. It is overlooked by a towering acacia tree, has a patio and large lawn, where the children of the house play football and bounce away on a trampoline.
In terms of location, it’s about a 12-minute walk to the Dart station at Booterstown and 15-20 minutes to Blackrock village for amenities.
The 166sq m (1,787sq ft) house, in walk-in condition, is listed at €1.15 million.
For those doing comparisons on the Property Price Register, do bear in mind that these houses differ in size to a large extent. For example, the latest house listed on the register is number 57, which sold for €760,000 earlier this year. It measured 90sq m, had three bedrooms and a C2 Ber. Number 78, a 105sq m three-bed with a C3 Ber, achieved €920,000 in February, while in November 2024, the register lists number 97 as having sold for €1.05 million, which was a three-bedroom, 129sq m, B3-rated house.
