Booterstown cottage a two-bed cocoon packed with clever design

Dating from 1872 and constructed for labourers by the Pembroke Estate, the charming cottage located at 75 Booterstown Avenue has been given a recent overhaul – with the exception of a downstairs bathroom – since it was purchased by the current owners in 2017 for €560,000, when it was seeking €595,000.

The old photographs are still online so you can see the difference, starting with the front door.

What was a brown PVC unit has been replaced by a smart solid wood door from the Victorian Kitchen Company, who also installed a new kitchen and designed clever storage solutions in the 73sq m (786sq ft) house. And in these quaint Victorian properties, it is really all about smart storage.

Although the families who would have lived here in its heyday may have had big broods of children, their belongings would have been a different story – unlike today.

To make these properties work, it takes clever design solutions. Narrow-set bookshelves and a small study area at the top of the stairs make the most of the floor space, while the attic, which is now fully insulated, has a Stira providing easy access for additional storage.

A simple white palette with sanded floors allows light to reflect off the walls internally, giving the downstairs areas a greater sense of space.

The principal bathroom is really something, and the use of Crittall-style shower doors, against a white backdrop – where colour comes from subtle floor tiles – is not just on trend, but also gives the room a greater sense of space.

To the rear is a lovely patio, where a line of Dicksonia antarctica – the native Tasmanian tree fern, and one of the oldest plants in the world – look striking with their dramatic crowns of fronds against the limestone flags.

The owners, who have been “locked up with a new baby for most of lockdown” really love their home, describing it as “a lovely place to be cocooned”. They will miss their neighbours and the lovely atmosphere of their home and are moving for family reasons.

They have placed their charming home, which is Ber-exempt, on the market through Sherry FitzGerald seeking €695,000.