Maximalist masculine Mount Brown home for €525,000

Blink and you’d miss Faulkner’s Terrace, a row of single-storey cottages on a busy stretch of road, directly opposite the building site that will eventually become the national children’s hospital.

Number 2 is a home that warrants attention, for it belongs to decorator Joe Ensko of upscale outfit Merrion Square Interiors, who bought it for €381,500 a little over two years ago in February 2020, according to the property price register.

He’s one of the many people whose life plans have been transformed as a result of the Covid upheaval. He’s moving to Spain with his husband, Ismael Fernandez, to live there full time and he’s putting his very manly and pristinely finished house on the market.

When he bought the property it was in need of complete modernisation; he focused his attention on creating a floorplan that would work for him and his partner.

Extending to 104sq m (1,119sq ft), the house opens from the street into a dramatically dark hall, painted a deep aubergine. The paintwork, joinery and wallpapering are all perfectly executed by talents from Joe’s little black book of craftspeople.

The rest of the hall and ceiling is papered in a chalk stripe by William Yeoward that draws the eye up.

He installed new windows and large, flush-with-the ceiling rooflights and amped up the insulation so that it now has a B3 BER, impressive for a period property.

Classical motifs

Ensko describes the decor as classical, for there are both Greek and Roman motifs at play throughout. The front room, now a guest bedroom/study, is accessed via glass-panelled sliding doors and has a Greek key detail in its bespoke joinery, on its Cole & Son frieze and custom curtains.

The main bedroom is an internal one in that it doesn’t have a window. But a large rooflight brings in plenty of daylight. In contrast to the dark family bathroom, the internal en suite here, hidden behind an Arte-clad door, is mustard and gold and white marble.

Between the rooms is a dark marble-look, large-slab porcelain-tiled shower room, sourced from Design Emporium in Deansgrange. Adjoining it is a walk-in dressing room with strip-lit shelving. The finish here resembles a fashion boutique and, like the en suites and the utility, it has sensor lighting.

As well as looking super-swish it keeps clutter out of the primary bedroom, Joe explains, dispensing with the need for wardrobes.

The hall to the living room is punctuated by large rectangular rooflights to bring in lots of natural daylight. This gives lots of wall space that he has used to hang art, tapestries and mirrors.

The open-plan living space is set to the rear where, it overlooks an impressively private 25m-long garden. It gets lots of southern light and combines a neat kitchen of dark units with a slim island that is just 80cm wide and topped with a slab of granite from Stoneworks. The splashback is a bronzed-effect mirror, to tone with the units. Within the cabinetry he has managed to shoehorn in a full-size fridge and has hidden the microwave in an appliance garage so the counters are completely clutter-free.

Utility room

By hiving off a couple of cubic metres he has included an internal utility room with a full-size freezer, washing machine, broom cupboard and pantry. The dining area comprises a smartly-upholstered bench and an oval table, while the living area is set around a gas fire. Its marble surround was rescued from a skip and he kept it in storage waiting for such a project.

The decor won’t be to everyone’s taste. “It takes a lot of things without looking cluttered,” he says. And it does. Minimalists will run a mile, but for those who want to channel a bit of maximalism and want a home for their things, this is a high-spec property that feels like a ritzy Upper East Side apartment by way of ancient Rome.

While the interior is all done, there is scope to add value and space in the garden. Landscaped with a pergola in the middle, it has the same flooring used outside as indoors, just in a different, non-slip finish. You could build a garden room to the rear of this very private green space.

You could also factor in a roof terrace that not only would be south-facing with a westerly aspect but would also overlook the Camac river.

Next door, number 1 did just that and the vista from it was impressive. It sold for €545,000 in January 2020, according to the register, having come to market asking €500,000 in July 2019.