Interior designer Pequita Loring and her husband, Dara Ambrose, spent three years transforming 47 Philipsburgh Avenue, Fairview, Dublin 3. It had previously been rented out and was turned into a home that cleverly combines a bold use of colour and modern design with beautifully restored period features.
The end-of-terrace redbrick period house is coming up for auction on July 5th through Douglas Newman Good, with a guide price of £220,000. With the connecting doors open, the first thing that strikes you when you step into the green hallway is a profusion of colour. The tomato red of the sittingroom, acid-yellow of the kitchen and purples and lilacs of the guest bedroom at the top of the stairs all work incredibly well when set against the calming pine interior doors and polished wooden floorboards.
The sittingroom, with a large bay window overlooking the front garden, is decorated in rich warm colours with tomato red ragged walls, honey-toned floorboards and sporadic pieces of gold and bronze detail. The original slate marble-effect fireplace with green and yellow inset tiling has been beautifully restored, as has a second fireplace in the connecting dining area. Both rooms have the original cornices and rose ceiling centre pieces.
The diningroom has the same colour scheme and is accessed through a magnificent set of painstakingly restored original pine double doors with a stained-glass inset. A window in the diningroom overlooks the cobbled courtyard at the back, which is dotted with plants and pretty borders and is bound on two sides by a striking Mediterranean blue wall. There is side vehicle access to the yard from Turlogh Gardens via a roller retractable door, which makes optimum use of relatively small space.
There are a few steps down to the acid-yellow, pine lined kitchen at the bottom of the hall. The owners held on to the light oak wooden units installed by the previous owner but added fake-granite counter tops. They also continued with the previous use of the former fireplace area as a storage areas for recipe books. As both are keen cooks, part of the underneath of the stairs has been converted to a larder. A small utility room is plumbed for a washing machine and dryer.
At the top of the stairs sits the small guest bedroom - a fun room with a gothic dungeon look. The rough plaster-finish lilac and purple walls are framed with the stencilled words of a psalm. The fireplace is sprayed silver and the deep blue ceiling is dotted with silver stars. A muslin draped window and a blue dragged-effect wardrobe with silver crosses complete the look. The small attic above has been floored and has a new water tank. The sunny yellow bathroom, which features the original bath, has sealed pine-lined walls and is fitted with an electric shower.
On the main landing, the spacious main bedroom at the front of the house has a tropical feel with orange ragged walls, blue skirting boards and dark-stained wooden floors. The present owners have completed the look with animal-print bed and chair covers. The room also has a cast-iron fireplace with slate hearth.
The second bedroom has a period feel with Barrington blue dado panelling. It has a timber ceiling with recessed spots and a cast-iron fireplace.
