“There are little bits of all of us in this house,” says the owner of Kincora, at No 58 North Avenue in Mount Merrion. By “all” she means herself, her husband and their seven children who have grown up in this bright, welcoming home. It’s set back from the main road, just down from the church of St Thérèse, across from an entrance to Deer Park in all its autumn lustre, and within sight of the local shops. Neighbourhood institutions include the beloved Michael’s/Little Mike’s restaurant at Deer Park Road; the Pinnacle development is under way nearby.
The house is ideally located for young children, a few minutes’ walk from Scoil San Treasa and beside two little greens – one right outside the front gate and the other requiring longer legs to jump the wall, a few metres away, behind the community centre. It’s also a short hop to secondary schools and minutes from UCD.
The gravelled front garden is framed by fine trees including a cherry and a magnolia, and there is space for a car alongside a sturdy multi-bike rack.
The owners have extended and upgraded the house, adding a two-storey extension in 2002 that ties in well with the original 1950s elevation; it is now 192sq m (2,067sq ft). They converted the garage into a playroom with a glass front door, handy for bringing friends in and for storing helmets, coats and boots. Since last year it is in use as an office, with the pleasing addition of a piano – mostly work and some play.
Patterned tiles at the front of the hall lead on to a solid wooden floor that was laid downstairs during a further upgrade about 10 years ago. To the right is the office, and to the left is a living room with bay window and open fireplace. There is a guest toilet under the stairs. The BER is D1.
From the hall you can see through the glass back doors to the greenery beyond, and when you enter the large open-plan kitchen/family/dining room you feel right in the hub of the home, with sofas forming an L around a fireplace, and with a generously proportioned dining table by the doors. In addition to the four rooflights there’s a big wide window at the business end of the kitchen, facing west across the garden and the treetops.
The French doors open out to a deck that spans the width of the house and catches the sun during the day. Steps lead down to the grassy garden via the side passage, which leads back to the converted garage. It is partly covered and can also be accessed from the well-fitted utility room off the kitchen.
The stairs wrap around in a rectangle, up to the first-floor landing with three double bedrooms, one single bedroom and a blue and white family bathroom. The box room at the front was enlarged to take in the space over the garage so it’s now a big main bedroom with en suite shower room; the two front windows offer “our own private vista” over the park, says the owner.
A roof window pours light down the stairwell, which continues up to the converted attic, a lovely calm space with lots of head room and storage under the eaves. From two more Velux windows you can see the sea, with Lambay, Howth and Ireland’s Eye across the bay during the day; at night the lights from the church twinkle overhead.
You can also see why the owners were so taken with the house and the locality when they bought here 23 years ago – now, with some of the family working and studying from home they need a bit more space and are moving to a house very close by. No 58 is for sale through Ed Dempsey & Associates with an asking price of €1.15 million.
