My Style: John Lynch went to buy a bookcase and ended up with a Georgian house - and a business, he tells Eoin Lyons
The interior of No 10 Ormond Quay, a private party and event venue next door to The Morrison Hotel, has been used many times for various kinds of photo shoots. But what hasn't been seen quite as often is owner John Lynch's apartment on the top two floors of the building. While the rooms on the lower floors are rich with period furniture, his living space mixes a few choice antiques with contemporary style.
Number 10 was built in 1745 for the first Earl of Belvedere, and later occupied by David La Touche, founder of the Irish banking system. Lynch, who was previously in the computer business, bought the house in 1996 on the cusp of the property boom from antique dealer Gerry Kenyon, who had carried out a thorough restoration. The 1,393sq m (15,000sq ft) house has a banquet and various function rooms. Lynch is currently creating a gallery space in it.
Facing the Liffey and the city skyline, the study in his eyrie holds a bookcase that brought about his serendipitous purchase of the property. When visiting Kenyon to see this piece, he discovered the house was for sale. "I always wanted to live in a house like this but it had to have a commercial aspect to make that possible." The Georgian bureau bookcase is now filled with yellow 19th century china and sits between two windows.
The kitchen is at the centre of the upper floor of the apartment. The island unit is by Bulthaup and the row of units behind by Miele. The pale green colour on the walls is Castle Grey by Farrow & Ball, whose paints have been used throughout the apartment. Against one wall is a long low white lacquered unit from Haus on which rest art deco lamps from Niall Mullen Antiques on Francis Street. Above are paintings by Geraldine O'Neill, one of Lynch's favourite artists, bought from the nearby Kevin Kavanagh Gallery.
The scale of the apartment is more intimate than the rooms below. A lift opens to a hall off which most of the apartment's rooms open. The lift runs right through the building and was installed by the Kenyons, who considered it necessary in a house of this size. Lynch is passionate about conservation but believes modern conveniences should be accommodated to making living in Georgian house more appealing. "No 10 is a Grade I listed building and any changes to the interior are subject to planning permission but some conservationists have a romantic idea about what living in these houses is like. The costs of maintaining a building like this is very high - people should be allowed make them user-friendly."
A hand-loomed runner was commissioned from Ceadogan Rugs in Wexford and takes the shape of the zig zag hall. On another white storage unit from Haus sits an art deco lamp. The walls are lined with Irish art.
In the livingroom on the lower floor of the apartment, deep red walls provide a backdrop for 18th century chinoiserie furniture. On either side of the imposing marble chimneypiece installed by Lynch sit two chests on which rest lamps and collections of small objects. He attributes his eye for furniture to his grandmother who, when he was a boy, brought him to auctions, fostering a collecting bug that's continued to this day.
He buys most of his furniture from antique dealers but sometimes from auction rooms. For example, a very large breakfront bookcase was bought from Adams in 1998. "It's a George IV Irish, made from mahogany and oak. Its 8ft5in high and at the time, large-scale furniture wasn't in vogue so I got it for £18,000, when the guide was £30,000-£50,000. That's still a lot of money, people will think I'm mad, but it was a good deal. Overall though, it's better to buy from a dealer - you're not always sure what you're buying at an auction."
The pleasure of living in a building like this outweighs the cost of running it, says Lynch. He enjoys the business of entertaining and sees himself as the custodian of the property. Current plans involve developing the flat roof of the building to create a garden and using newly-created exhibition space to hold a show of work by Ceadogan Rugs in early October.
• www.no10dublin.com
