3 bedroom cottage, Dalkey, Ireland
This 3-bedroom cottage located in the coastal village of Dalkey, south of Dublin City in Ireland needed some major TLC as well as some more substantial changes before it could be listed for sale. We had a timeframe of 4 weeks during which we added some custom-built wooden sash windows in front of the house as well as a new custom-built staircase. The latter was particularly difficult due to the lack of space on both levels. We wanted steps that were comfortable and wider than in the old spiral staircase that allowed for easier access up and down. We reconfigured the top floor from a one bedroom plus walk-in-wardrobe configuration to a much more spacious 2-bedroom layout with
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inbuilt wardrobes. All these alterations used up most of the budget, so we used and updated most of the existing furniture and sourced most of the remainder from charity shops and flea markets in and around South Dublin and painted or stained them like the glorious dining room cabinet in the beautiful peach / salmon tone.
As traditional Irish cottages always had some pops of colour we chose some beautiful pastel and earth tones mixed in with stronger accents like the olive green in the kitchen and the burgundy red in the master bedroom. We went for traditional half walls to add colour but make the spaces look as bright and spacious as possible. For the soft furnishings we used beautiful woollen blankets and linens and velvets for the cushions.
On the ground floor instead of retiling we painted the existing tiles in a light grey and revarnished the parquets floors. On the top floor this was not possible as we removed several walls, so we had to add new parquet flooring.
All the paintings, prints, artwork as well as decorative objects were bought in flea markets and charity shops in Bray, Greystones, Dalkey and Dun Laoghaire.
The façade of the cottage was a rather unattractive bright blue which we changed to a natural light tone with a burgundy front door and palm trees in terracotta pots on either side for extra curb-appeal.
