Normally artists' studios resemble a cross between a hoarder's den and the contents of a paint shop. This is not the case for the studio of artist Ed Miliano at his home in Glenageary.
Simply staged with an easel, table and chair, American-born Miliano has cleared his studio to prepare his house for sale, but he is also currently in Kinsale at the studio of famed furniture maker Joseph Walsh, creating a 7m-wide backdrop for Walsh's upcoming international exhibition at Art Basel.
Miliano and his Irish wife, Anne, met while the pair of them were working in Lesotho; he was a US Peace Corps volunteer while she was with the United Nations. They purchased Cullellen, a Georgian gem from 1820, 32 years ago.
“At the time the lady who lived here was in her 80s and I don’t think she did much in the 50 years she lived here. So we did work in stages, doing what we could afford at the time,” recalls Miliano.
Commencing with the basics such as roofing, plumbing and rewiring, in 2001 the couple built a mews/studio beside the main house to replace what was a garage, and this is where Miliano, who began as a designer and illustrator, now produces his work. Extending to 70sq m, upstairs is a floodlit studio with a workshop underneath where he keeps his tools for sculpture.
In 2006 the couple engaged architectural firm Duff Tisdall to design an extension to the rear to address what Miliano describes as “a sad, dark kitchen”. Now it is the focal point of the home, with a Smeg range in the Arena kitchen, and the addition of a large roof-light floods this previously drab room with light.
Recently a bay window was added to the front room at garden level and the addition of French doors allows easy access to the Victorian-style garden which Miliano has spent years tending.
“There were only brambles here when we bought, so I did a year at the Dublin School of Horticulture, which was fantastic, and I became serious about the garden.”
Extending to 34m long and focused on the front of the house, Miliano has created different areas in the plot, and they are divided by a mixture of yew, beech and box hedging, with colour from delphinium, cherry blossom and cascading roses that climb and meander through various specimen trees.
Located at the end of a private tree-lined driveway, Cullellen feels like it’s miles from anywhere but it’s just a stone’s throw from lots of amenities in Dún Laoghaire, Glasthule and Glenageary.
Interiors are superb and the all-white palette allows Milano's art collection – some of his own, a signature piece by Joseph Walsh and quite a number of art and antiquities picked up from the couple's travels, to shine.
Two gracious reception rooms lie to the front of the property, one at garden level and a second one directly upstairs. Both have fireplaces, as does a fourth bedroom that is currently used as a study.
The three remaining bedrooms are bright and spacious and have the best views of the garden and surrounding area.
The Milianos are rightsizing from their Ber-exempt home, as 278sq m (2,992sq ft) plus the 70sq m (753sq ft) mews is too much for their needs. To that end they have placed their lovely home on the market through Lisney, seeking €2m.
