Vesey Mews is a small, quiet gravelled lane running behind a row of large Victorian homes overlooking Vesey Park in Monkstown, and the coach houses along here have been converted into small homes, each with its own distinct personality.
Number 4 is brimming with personality, thanks to an extensive and tasteful refurbishment carried out only last May by the owners. As well as doing a full renovation from top to bottom, the couple put a lot of thought into the tasteful interior decor, and it all adds up to a lovely home with a Mediterranean feel that is ideal for downsizers or professionals looking for a prestigious property close to the restaurants, bistros and boutiques of Monkstown village, and the seafront promenades and piers in Dún Laoghaire.
The owners stripped the house back to its original stonework, replacing the pipework and insulating and replastering this 103sq m (1,109sq ft) property, bringing its Ber rating up from a D1 to a C3. They took out a wall separating the livingroom from the kitchen, turning the entire downstairs into a lovely living-dining-kitchen area with wide-plank laminate oak floors, an understairs storage area and a small utility room off the kitchen. They kept the old fireplace, putting in a new gas fire, and the owner designed the kitchen, putting in Shaker-style wall and floor units with nickel hardware, granite countertops and installing a mirrored splashback behind the five-ring gas hob.
“We wanted to keep the old look rather than make it modern,” says the owner. “I love interior design, it’s a hobby of mine, and I put in lots of nice pieces I picked up on my travels.”
Having created this beautiful, cosy bolt-hole in Monkstown, the couple are on the move again, and number 4 Vesey Mews is for sale through Sherry Fitzgerald, seeking €1.095 million.
The house sits behind tall gates, with room for car parking, but owners of many of the homes usually park on the quiet gravel road outside. The rustic entrance lobby has a tiled floor and new extensive glazing; it’s a place to kick off your boots in the winter or your sandals in the summer.
The livingroom area has glazed double doors opening out to a garden patio, and the kitchen has an integrated fridge-freezer and dishwasher and recessed lighting. The stairs to the first floor run along a partly exposed granite wall, and on to a landing where there is a hot press and recessed lighting as well as skylights drawing in the natural light.
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There used to be three bedrooms upstairs, but the owners cleverly turned the smallest bedroom into a dressingroom off the main bedroom with its own porthole window. The main bedroom has a luxurious, Italianate feel, with a large window with shutters looking out to the garden, and an en suite neatly tucked away, with exposed granite walls, tiled flooring, Velux windows and a step-in rainwater shower with tiled surround.
Bedroom two has extensive built-in mirrored wardrobes and shutters on the window, and next to that is a shower room with tiled floor and walls and an exposed granite wall.
The garden is spacious and nicely oriented to catch the afternoon and evening sun. There’s a lovely outdoor patio area for entertaining guests during the warm weather and a sizeable garden space with scope to extend, subject to planning permission.
If space isn’t a huge consideration, and old-fashioned warmth and comfort are your priorities, then this converted coach house could be the perfect place to park up.
