Finding the right architect and builder to work hand in glove on a period renovation meant the owners of this Dalkey redbrick were in residence in just seven months.
You can draw any number of sketches, but if you don’t have the right builder to execute them, it means nothing, as architect Albert Noonan of Noonan Moran modestly describes his contribution to a light-filled home with a gracious flow to its layout.
The contractor who carried out his wishes was Dermot Stapleton and his team at Yew Renovations.
Number 14 Castle Park Road in Dalkey is one of those rare things, a renovation where almost everything went according to plan.
“We bought in September 2021, briefed the architect in December, and it was completed, with a very small snag list, in seven months," the owner recalls.
Coming out of COVID, this time frame is impressive.
“We’re all still talking,” he adds. This too is unusual.
Many, many other homeowners do not have the same renovation experience. They fall out with either the builder or the architect, or both.
Address:14 Castle Park Road, Dalkey, County Dublin, A96 AF40
Asking price: €2.95 million
Agent: Vincent Finnegan
The bay-fronted house had been in the same family since the early 1900s, and the hand-in-glove partnership had to strip the two-storey residence of about 224 square metres back to the bare bones, Noonan says.
The house had fine proportions and quite a large three-storey return.
This was gutted with concrete floors installed at all rear levels.
These are warmed by underfloor heating, as is the kitchen. The front of the house retained its raised timber floors.
There were plenty of surprises, a few of them good, the owner recollects.
Uncovering a mahogany staircase, "a beautiful piece of wood," under layers of paint was one.
A cast-iron bath dating from 1903 that they had re-enamelled was another.
It now has pride of place in the ensuite bathroom of the principal bedroom, where it is commodious enough to fit the six-foot-two-tall owner.
Because of the orientation of the house, Noonan designed a frameless, sky-to-floor glass seam that runs the length of the extension and down the exterior wall.
The set square seam looks effortlessly simple to install, but is “technically tricky”, as Noonan puts it.
A quarter tonne in weight, it had to be craned in from the back of the house, the owner adds.
Thanks to that architectural sight line, when you now open the front door, you can see all the way through the house to the back garden.
The glass incision also illuminates the task area of the minimal kitchen. It has brushed black-oak cabinetry, a Siematic design supplied and fitted by Arena Kitchens and Interiors.
The counter and island feature Sensa Black Beauty sealed granite worktops, a premium range by Consentino.
The pantry and utility rooms are equally well appointed, often not the case.
The four-bedroom, four-bathroom terraced property now opens into the now classically panelled hall.
There are two reception rooms to the right.
The drawing room enjoys the bay window, and a study opens out to an internal courtyard.
Down a couple of steps and past storage and task rooms, such as the utility and laundry rooms, is the high-design kitchen, which includes dining and lounge areas.
The latter overlooks the garden, where corner glazing recedes to open the wall to the outdoors.
Three of the four bedrooms have en-suites. The first is on the first-floor return.
The principal bedroom runs the depth of the first floor and includes a walk-in wardrobe and a luxe ensuite with a w.c screened from the sybaritic side for privacy.
There is a small third bedroom to the front, and on the second-floor return is the fourth bedroom.
The property now extends to 263 square metres, has a B3 Ber-rating and is seeking €2.95 million through agents Vincent Finnegan.
