The change of Ber for 8 Acorn Road in Dundrum from an E1 to an A3 is indicative of the level of work that went into the transformation of this four-bedroom semi-detached home. “It had the same owners since the 1950s and, to be honest, it was like a bit of a time capsule as it hadn’t been touched. The entire place had to be rewired and replumbed. There was no downstairs loo and the sun had burned through part of the kitchen that was a lean-to,” say the current owners.
Renovations began the day the owners came home from hospital with a new baby, and in total the work took 18 months. They took architectural advice from Maedhbh O'Sullivan, who drew up the plans, with advice on interiors from Susan McGowan from Ashen and Cloud, and quite a lot of input themselves.
“We thought it would be a straightforward job, but when we were excavating we hit bedrock and that alone took three weeks. Looking back, if we had known what was ahead we might not have taken on so much.”
But it is the small attention to detail that makes this house special. Wooden slats in the kitchen by Damien Lennon of Noel Dempsey add interest and echo the slats used as part of the structure to hold the zinc-clad fascia to the rear of the building. "They really break up the sun as it gets very hot due to its southerly aspect." It also adds interest as does the zinc itself, and the entire house is in turnkey condition.
A lovely addition is the use of a G Plan sideboard which has been repurposed as the base for the sink and tap in the main bathroom: "The house dates from 1959 and the unit from 1960, so they fit well together. A pop-up S-Box socket from Chameleon in the UK sits into the quartz island which negates the need for leads and such, allowing the island – which has waterfall edging – to be clutter free. The quartz itself, along with the stone in the bathrooms, was sourced from Leinster Stone in Kilkenny.
Number 8 Acorn Road is less than a 15-minute walk from the Luas at Balally with Marlay Park, Ballinteer and Dundrum Town Centre all nearby.
With new work arrangements, the family are heading south and have placed their turnkey home, which has triple-glazed windows, an efficient Henley wood-burning stove and solid oak flooring, on the market through estate agent Vincent Finnegan, seeking €795,000.
