Barry and Sandra Walsh bought their house on Mount Anville Road in 2000, then renovated and extended it in 2003. Lisronagh was one of the first houses built by builder John Kenny in Mount Merrion in 1926: he went on to build hundreds of what were then modern houses in the area over the next few decades, fitted with electric lighting and “labour-saving” kitchens.
The Walshes and their builder came up with their own labour-saving idea when they located a laundry room in part of a large attic extension. But the main focus of their renovation was adding space and light to the house: glass doors lead from one room to the next, there are glass brick walls in various parts of the house, glass bannisters on the stairs and glazed atrium roofs in several rooms. There’s a touch of art deco elegance in the interior fit-out, with lots of mirrors as well as striking artwork on the walls. Interiors are painted in neutral colours.
Set well back from busy Mount Anville Road, Lisronagh, a 241sq m (2,594sq ft) detached four-bed with a D1 Ber, has double-glazed windows that mute the sound of traffic. The front door opens into a hall floored with pale ceramic tiles and a glass brick window at the side.
There are two rooms at the front of the house off the hall, which curves to the left: a cosy living room and a small family room beside it, both with box bay windows that have, like in many rooms in the house, plantation shutters. There’s a downstairs toilet off the hall. Most of the ground floor is fitted with underfloor heating.
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The focus of the house is at the back, where the Walshes built their extension. The front hall opens through glazed double doors into what Barry calls the garden room: it’s a bright, warm, carpeted reception room running straight through a wide arch to a wall of tall windows overlooking the back garden. There’s a glazed atrium roof over the extended part, which opens on the left through glazed double doors into the kitchen/breakfast room.
There’s a large glazed atrium over the breakfast room too; with floor-to-ceiling glass double doors opening into the back garden, it’s a very bright space. The kitchen is divided from the breakfast room by a marble-topped breakfast bar and has a marble-topped island unit which incorporates a sink, hob and below-counter oven. It also has a large cream Aga. On the gable side of the house, there’s a glass brick window providing privacy as well as light.
An understairs cloakroom opens into a covered side passage — with doors at front and rear — used for storage.
Upstairs, past a glass block window, there are four bedrooms, three doubles and a single on the first floor and the converted attic could be used as a possible fifth. The single bedroom is fitted out as a study and the main bedroom runs from the front to the back of the house. The bedroom overlooks the back garden and the walk-in dressing room is at the front; the en suite in between them has a curved glass brick wall. The en suite is fully tiled and the dressing room — which looks over the front of the house — is very well fitted out with shelving and pull-down clothes rails.
The family bathroom on the first floor has a bath, shower and is also fully tiled.
The attic room is being used as a bedroom and has a tiled en suite, a dormer window and under-eaves storage. The laundry room across the top landing is a good size, with a washing machine and shelving for dry clothes: it’s an unusual north American style but practical addition to the house, which makes washing bedroom sheets, for example, much easier, Barry says.
Outside, the back garden is sheltered by high hedges: it’s mainly in lawn, fringed by flowers and shrubs, with a good-sized paved patio. The front garden has electronic gates leading into a gravelled driveway with room to park a number of cars, as well as a small lawn, also sheltered by high hedges. Lisronagh is now for sale through Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €1.75 million.
