The residents of Woodfield Terrace in Kilmainham have been busy tending their gardens during lockdown. “A lady up the road started a WhatsApp group for gardening, and we all traded seeds and plants,” says Colette Egan, owner of number 6.
Now her front garden has pumpkins, potatoes, beans, sprouts and salad leaves – as do the neighbours – in what became a pastime for many during lockdown, while restricted to the confines of their homes.
Egan purchased the 92sq m (990sq ft) property in 2013 for €165,000. “It was not in good shape at all, there was no heating and electrical extension leads all over the place. To be honest my mother-in-law was a bit horrified with the state of the place,” recalls Egan.
However her father Pádraig Egan, a builder, could see what she purchased was a diamond in the rough and set about renovating the entire house. “We were left with four walls as everything had to be gutted, we couldn’t have done it without my dad.”
The property is now in turn-key condition and has a converted attic which is used as a guest bedroom and office, bringing the total floor area to 111sq m (1,195sq ft). Two bedrooms are on the upper floor alongside a good-sized family bathroom.
At hall level the two interconnecting reception rooms lead into the kitchen – painted a lovely cobalt blue – which in turn opens to the rear garden. Outside is a 40sq m garage which offers additional storage and off-street parking at the end of the lawn.
A nod to humour is the storage space under the stairs which has been converted to a little room for the family dog, a poodle named Miles. “We have two young daughters who can be a bit wild and he goes in there to get a bit of peace from them, poodles don’t like sleeping outside so it’s the perfect spot for him.”
Egan and her family are trading up, but staying in the area and she will remain on the local WhatsApp gardening group now that the seeds have been planted for her new pastime of growing her own greens.
The property, in turnkey condition is on the market through DNG seeking €425,000.
