A big seaside 80s revival
Couple brought their Malahide pad back to the future, writes Gabrielle Monaghan 8 AUBURN GROVE Malahide, Co Dublin Asking price: €1.1m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald (01) 8454500
The addition of a contemporary glazed extension has long been adding new life to period homes as depicted on shows like Dermot Bannon’s Room To Improve, which sees the host add his trademark glass boxes to homes dating from the Victorian era right up to the 1970s.
But 1980s and 90s homeowners are less likely to deploy the back-to-front approach to take their houses back to the future, even though the end results can be just as transformational.
In the case of one late 80s estate home in Malahide, additional challenges were posed by its mock-Tudor features, with diamond-patterned leaded windows, PVC conservatory of the ‘too hot in summer/too cold in winter’ variety, and a dark, lonely, unused dining room.
Joanna and Dave Pringle purchased No8 Auburn Grove in Malahide during the recession. Built by Sorohan in 1989, the home’s proximity to Malahide Castle and its 250-acre gardens lured the Pringles. “I’ve always loved the overall vibe at Malahide, the restaurants, the castle and the beach,” says Joanna.
By adding a contemporary singlestorey rear extension and redesigning the entire house inside, the Pringles have not only shaken off its back-combed and shoulder pads look, but added significantly to its value.
When the Pringles first moved in, the rear of No8 had “a kitchen, an 80s-style conservatory, a dining room that we had only used twice, and a utility room”.
“My dad was in the building industry and encouraged us to push on with an extension during recession when builders weren’t as busy.” In 2015, the couple finished the extension, which added a utility room and a large kitchen/ dining/family room with a bank of sliding glass doors out to the garden.
Coupled with an attic conversion carried out by the previous owners, the Pringles now had 2,357 sq ft of living space.
The facade of the double-fronted ersatzTudor home, which is finished in render and red brick proved trickier to update.
“We took out the old diamond windows with their dark wooden frames and replaced them with black UPVC tripleglazed windows from Munster Joinery,” says Joanna.
They hired Audrey Reynolds from Estilo Design to reimagine the interior design. Reynolds sourced a cabinet maker who added wooden panelling to the entrance hall and along two flights of stairs. Either side of the fireplace in the front reception room, he built cabinetry and shelving that’s painted in Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue.
The living room comes with a marble fireplace and double doors lead to the extension. On the other side of the entrance hall is yet another front reception room with an open fire. The solid wood kitchen comes with an island unit, Silestone worktops and two roof lights to add to the natural light from the sliding glass doors and glaze running almost the full width of the extension.
The landscaped garden has a firepit, with built-in seating, a porcelain-tiled dining patio and an astro-turf play area for the family’s three young children. A block-built shed has proven useful for storage. The Pringles turned the home’s original fifth bedroom into a dressing room for their master bedroom and knocked in to create a larger ensuite with twin sinks, walk-in shower and underfloor heating. The converted attic includes a small gym area.
The couple are moving to the UK for family reasons. “It’s hard to up sticks after we invested so much time and money in what we thought was our forever house,” says Joanna.
Number 8 Auburn Grove is selling for €1.1m through Sherry FitzGerald on virtual view and by private appointment.