The dark-grey painted windows to the front of number 37 Church Avenue hint at the gentle renovation that fashion buyer Sara Abuzenen and tech worker Colin Murphy have completed at their mid-terrace Drumcondra two-bed.
The house, which its owners bought in 2017 for €450,000, according to the property price register, had good ceiling heights and a southwest facing rear garden but was in need of an upgrade. So they gutted it to create a broken-plan ground floor layout more suited to contemporary living. Engineer Marty Wardick of MSW Design and Engineering Consultancy completed the structural changes and rejigged the location of doors and walls to give the property a better sense of flow.
Some of the moves were simple. They closed off the door from the mosaic-tiled hall to the front room, instead creating an opening from what would have been the dining room, and now pocket sliding doors can close the front room off from the rest of the kitchen/dining area. This provided additional wall space to accommodate a roomy L-shaped velvet sofa for lounging.
Solid timber kitchen
Underfoot throughout the ground floor is a rich mahogany, chevron-patterned parquet, that was sourced from the Victorian Kitchen Company. The salvaged floor came from a church, fitting given the house’s proximity so close to the former seminary at All Hallows. It has been beautifully matched to ensure the grain of the wood flows with the direction of the pattern.
The same company installed the solid timber kitchen which features marble countertops, a vintage Belfast sink and an exposed RSJ beam. There is a second homely sitting area to the rear, washed in light from a large rooflight that sits flush with the roof. Painted in Downpipe by Farrow & Ball, the colourscape is a theme carried through the house with dark-framed glazed doors leading out to the garden. This is a paved, low-maintenance and private space.
The grey-painted stairs are covered in a hessian runner, supplied by Paul Kelly Carpets. Edged in black, it leads up to the return where there is a luxuriously spacious bathroom with a freestanding, ball-foot, double-ended bath, separate shower stall, and each fitted with bronze hardware and a smart, black-and-white-patterned tile underfoot.
Built-in wardrobes
There are two bedrooms on the first floor. The main is to the front and runs the width of the property. Each has built-in wardrobes with brass-coloured door pulls, supplied and fitted by joiners Billings & Brew, to a design by Sara.
The overall effect is a C2-rated home of 96sq m/1,039sq ft that is in walk-in condition.The property combines lovely original features, starting with its quarry-tiled path and lead-panelled front door and surrounds, with modernity in a discreet way that will allow the next owner to put his or her stamp on it.
The location is excellent within a short hop of Drumcondra village in one directions and DCU’s All Hallows campus on the other. The campus grounds are open to the public and Grace Park Educate Together primary school is located here too.
With a baby on the way, the couple have now decided to move west, across the city, to be closer to family and have put the property on the market seeking €525,000 through agent Move Home.
