The imprint of the owners of 23 Camden Row, a husband and wife who work, respectively, in fashion and interior design, is all over their early Victorian villa-style terraced house.
The two-bedroom house has been in their ownership since 1988 and they’ve done it up incrementally over the years turning it into a coolly decorated space.
When they first moved in, the front room at hall level was the living room. The owners created a wood-framed opening through to the diningroom to the rear. Over time, the livingroom has become one of the property’s two bedrooms – a change that makes good use of its original shutters. This room overlooks the street so the couple split the shutters horizontally to allow privacy when the lower half is shut, and light through the upper half.
0 of 3
The house, which was built in 1838, has period coving, original fireplaces and good ceiling heights throughout. The room to the rear is the formal dining room. It has painted floors and smart built-in cabinetry in its alcoves.
Off it is a small – at least by modern standards – U-shaped kitchen that overlooks the garden. It was installed in 1988.
The next owner might consider bringing the kitchen downstairs to integrate it into the sizeable open plan living/diningroom. Designed by architect Conor Moran in 2002, it features three sets of tall French doors that open out to the small, city-sized gravelled garden which is north-facing and has a slate water feature. Two atriums in the centre stream light in. This is the space the next owner is going to want to do most of their living in.
The ceiling height and lighting system, installed by Patrick Collins Lighting Design, really lift this space and the couple’s art collection hangs on floating shelves and in niches to create a gallery feel. There is no clutter to be seen.
The second bedroom is downstairs and to the front. Adjacent to it is a smart bathroom with a free- standing bath and as yet unused storage space in what was originally the coal shuttle under the front granite steps.
The house is situated just off busy Camden Street, down the road from Whelan’s side door, where music lovers flock to gain entry to their late-night events, in the capital’s so-called Camden Quarter. It measures 127sq m (1,367sq ft).
Bamboo shields the north-facing garden from neighbours who include the Dublin Institute of Technology on Kevin Street to the rear. In high summer, the owner says, you get afternoon sun.
