The owners of the 1870s cottage at 21 St Brigid’s Avenue faced a huge amount of work when they bought it in 2017; the lime-plastered walls had been covered over causing damp to take hold. The house required more than a simple renovation as its layout presented a puzzle that needed to be solved by its owners – a conservation architect and a product designer.
With a moody blue facade, a bottle-green front door opens on to a long hallway with terrazzo-tiled flooring. Many of the internal features are new but the couple took pains to emulate anything original; the solid architraves around the doors are an echo of the base of the arch in the hallway.
The sittingroom at the front of the 89sq m (958sq ft) house has a carved wooden fireplace with inset stove, a pitch-pine floor, and its walls are painted in Sage Green from Little Greene. All the walls in the cottage were stripped back to their bones, insulated and covered in a lime plaster.
In place of a ceiling rose, master craftsman Paul Griffin, whose work can be seen in Leinster House and the National Gallery, created a delicate tracery of roses and stems that swirl around the light in the centre of the room. He’s also responsible for the covings throughout the house.
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Next door to the sittingroom is the principal bedroom, painted in Ben Bulben by Colourtrend, a deep, tranquil navy that sits perfectly with pale reclaimed floors of Douglas fir and a bank of bespoke cabinets.
The hall splits and a section of the original stairs takes you up to a room at the back, in use as a study but this could function perfectly well as a second bedroom. There are dual aspect windows so the light is good, the ceiling is exposed with vaulted rafters. The owners removed the ceiling here and insulated the roof above the rafters. It has a Ber rating of C2.
Back in the hall, a couple of steps covered in terrazzo tile lead down to a dining area. The roof here is low but struts have been placed in the ceiling for interest and a door plus window flood the room with light. Things get really clever as a bank of shelves has doors covered in dark-green lino and opens on to handcrafted oak units.
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It’s a very clever system, with a myriad of cupboards and shelves that should cater for any storage needs. A secret door leads into the bathroom with grey floor tiling, grey metro tiles and Crittall-style shower doors.
At the end of the house is the kitchen where every surface has been considered and put to work. The window frame is lined with oak, bouncing light around the room. Under the counter there’s a dishwasher and washing machine, all integrated. Another bank of storage entirely covers a wall.
The garden is planted with bamboo for privacy. It extends to a narrow section past the kitchen, the window pivots, swinging out, allowing morning coffees and evening beers to be easily served. The garden gets good sun throughout the day as the back of the house has a southwest orientation.
The owners are moving on to another project, placing their renovated cottage on the market with Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €525,000. You can walk into Dublin city centre from the North Strand location and there are also plenty of buses and a new bike lane for easier commutes. There’s not a thing to be improved on here, with this house ready and waiting for new owners to settle in on this old residential street.
