Ballymaloe-trained Nikki Walsh set up her cooking business around her cream four-door Aga. It heats her home, is at the heart of her kitchen and she has a Victorian-style pulley above it for drying clothes.
It was 2011 and the song Born This Way was a global hit so she thought the name Lady Aga, a play on the pop star, would help her stand out.
And it did. In the time it takes a soufflé to rise, Walsh was told to ‘cease and desist’, by Lady GaGa’s legal team.
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Walsh promptly changed her cooking demonstration and school name to Lady Eve, inspired by the Garden of Eden. Looking backs she sees a silver lining in it all because the surrounding publicity helped her get work with Aga, Miele and assisting TV chef Rachel Allen at demonstrations.
Walsh bought her home in 2000 and in 2011 hired Studio Red, then an up and coming architecture firm, to reimagine the property. They added a large extension to the rear which houses a dining area, a work station and a lounge as well as a large classic style kitchen with a long island, and pantry and dry goods stores galore. The units have quartz countertops and the set-up was designed by Thurles-based Andy Spillane’s Savvy Kitchens.
A large skylight floods the room in light while the floor to ceiling glazing and sliding doors to the rear access a west-facing garden with patio area, shed and has pedestrian rear access.
In the two interconnecting front rooms Walsh has hosted many supper clubs and the rooms can easily accommodate 35 people seated. With matching modern fireplaces, 3.2m ceiling heights and carpet underfoot the rooms feel elegant yet easy to live in.
The refurbishments to the mid-terrace period property are low key, the large timber windows to the front are original and retain their original glass panes, for example
Upstairs there are four bedrooms, one on the return, along with the family bathroom and three doubles on the first floor. The main bedroom has a shower en suite.
Set well back from the road, wisteria climbs around the Ashes of Rose painted front door. Residents on the road also enjoy access to the neighbouring Royal Hospital and its lovely sylvan grounds.
The property measures 170sq m/1840sq ft, and is seeking €1.295million through joint agents Knight Frank and Crawford’s.
Number 6, a few doors down on the same terrace, sold for €1.27million three years ago following refurbishment by its architect owner. It had been previously purchased for €702,000 in April 2012, the same year that number 12, also on the terrace, sold for €645,000. There is off-street parking for three to four cars.
