Not too many redbrick Edwardian terraces double as private art galleries, but that is certainly the case with this renovated three-bedroom home on Terenure’s Eaton Square. Modern art and surrealist drawings and prints in the hall have gallery-style labels affixed to the wall as a quirky feature, making it clear this is a home of impressive interiors that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
While one of the owners likes to paint, the other half of the couple is an interiors stylist and her painstaking choices have created a stylish backdrop for the high-end furniture and fittings. The luxurious living did not come easily: when they bought the 195sq m (2,098sq ft) property in 2020, it was divided into six bedsits and had a Ber of F. The owners set to work, gutting the house, rewiring, replumbing, insulating, installing underfloor heating and digging up the garden. Its Ber is now C1.
Many of the original features were still intact, so although the house has been stripped back to its bones, it still retains the period feel, mixed up with contemporary and antique light fittings. The hall has painted stairs, panelling and a sisal runner. Two reception rooms are on the right, with a guest WC under the stairs.
The front drawingroom is lovely, with an original marble fireplace with a very pretty tiled inset and tiled hearth. The front of the house, with a bay window, faces north and the owners love to spend winter evenings here, listening to music. Another room opens up behind it, a second sittingroom filled with art.
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Beyond this room, steps lead down to a stunning south-facing kitchen, with a new extension for the dining area with a roof light and doors that open to the garden. The kitchen by Tierney Kitchens features a Belfast sink, Calacatta marble counters and splashbacks along with units painted in Forest Green by Benjamin Moore and walls in Farrow & Ball’s Olive Green. The clutter-free countertops are due to an extensive pantry unit designed by the owners. Behind the pantry is a small utility with laundry appliances.
The back garden has tile and gravel underfoot and there is a room at the end of the garden which is used as a home gym. There’s an EV charging point and gates that access a lane behind the house, so it’s possible to park and charge a car here.
On the first floor, the owners knocked a wall between two rooms at the front to create a generous principal suite that has a lovely bay window and panelling on the walls, painted black to match the rest of the decor. There’s a dressingroom behind and beyond that an impressive en suite with slipper bath, pedestal hand basin and wetroom-style shower.
A large guest room, painted in Sulking Pink by Farrow & Ball, sits at the back of the house with an en suite tiled in baby-pink metro tiles and a shower with Crittall-style doors. The third bedroom lies on the top floor, a dream escape suitable for any teen, with its own en suite in a cool black-and-white colour scheme, and a Velux window built into the sloping roof, which the owners had raised to add height to this room.
The current owners have another renovation project in their sights but will miss the space, the flow of light, the calm of Eaton Square and the quick stroll to Terenure village, with its host of smart eateries including the Yew Tree, Black Sheep and Eaton’s. Number 51 Eaton Square is on the market through DNG Terenure, seeking €1.495 million.
