When Paul Schmitz bought this house on Deerpark Road in the heart of Mount Merrion in 2003, it was a three-bed semi-d; what attracted him was the property’s potential and the location. Over the two decades his family have lived here, they have optimised both, doubling the house in size with an extension and taking advantage of Deerpark behind the house, a gate in the back garden leads directly into the park.
They received planning permission to knock the garage and build up, adding a principal bedroom and en suite above a playroom, with an extension that wrapped around the back of the house at ground level. This added 900ft, bringing the footprint of the house to 175sq m (1,883sq ft).
It was important to the owners to maximise the light: “I had seen lots of extensions built that left the rooms behind in darkness. We wanted to mitigate against that,” he says.
And mitigate they did, adding large Velux windows and extensive glazing and installing glass doors between the south-facing extension and the livingroom.
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On entering the house, the former playroom, now a small sittingroom, is to the right; the livingroom to the left. The room was formerly two interconnecting rooms which were knocked into one.
The warm, sun-filled extension lies beyond that, with a large kitchen that has lots of storage space, a black granite-topped island and a Nordmende hob; the floors are oak hardwood. “There’s a lovely flow from the livingroom, it all flows into the kitchen,” Schmitz says. “On a few occasions we have had 80 people in the house for parties and it doesn’t feel crammed.” A utility lies off the kitchen.
The proximity to Deerpark was a huge draw when the owners bought the home and the park being at the end of the 70ft-long south-facing garden will be one of their biggest losses when they move; the couple are downsizing now that their boys have grown up. “The park was a huge appeal, it’s been amazing. When you sit in our back garden, you are about 3km from the city centre and you could be in the country,” says Schmitz.
On the first floor, the stairs split with the principal bedroom on the right, three good-sized bedrooms on the left and a family bathroom. The principal bedroom has a dressing area and an en suite with warm, Mediterranean-style tiling.
Schmitz sums up the house as the perfect family home: large, bright and spacious, with a C1 Ber. There is a varied choice of schools in the area and UCD students can be on campus within minutes.
There’s a constant flow of buses running into the city centre on the N11, two minutes away. For sport, Kilmacud Crokes GAA is around the corner, Mount Merrion football club is nearby and Deerpark tennis club is over the wall. Number 53 Deerpark Road is now on the market through DNG Stillorgan, seeking €1.195 million.
