The Perfect Mix

By combining old and new, Darran and Eoin have reinvented their terrace transforming it into a spacious two bedroom home that finally ticked all the boxes in their quest for their perfect pad.

- Penny Crawford-Collins

House hunting can be a time consuming and stressful task, particularly if you have a list of criteria that need to be met, which was the case in Darran and Eoin’s hunt for their ideal property. ‘We spent hours online trawling through different properties, our main considerations were the location and budget, we were living on the outskirts of Dublin and really wanted to be in town, ideally in a period property.’ The couple was also keen to take on a renovation project ‘this involved a bit of imagination, we had to look past the dodgy décor and try to imagine ourselves drinking coffee in our dream kitchen,’ laughs Darran, who admits they had trouble agreeing on a property, ‘in the end we had to select a few properties, write their names on a piece of paper and rate them one to five and then compare our results,’ says Darran.

Back in 2016 they both finally agreed on a terraced house in Philsborough, Dublin. ‘The house had been a rental for over 20 years so was very dated, we fell in love with the sitting room with its original features and lovely high ceiling, and instantly saw the property’s development potential,’ explains Darran. The property needed a complete overhaul which included re-wiring, re-plumbing, insulation and a new roof. Working within quite a tight budget the couple lived off site until the basic shell of the house was finished, they moved back while the final works were being carried out.

‘We camped out in the only bedroom that the house had at the time, the water wasn’t connected, so we had to shower in work, and there was no kitchen. It was tough going, but this didn’t deter us,’ says Darran.