Though it had an exterior toilet until 2010, savvy upgrades helped Brian Colhoun and Sinead Keenan bring their terraced Dublin property into the 21st century
Asking price: €575,000
Agent: DNG Fairview, Rachel Cunningham, (01) 8331802
From the outside, you might think No7 Hawthorn Terrace, a three-bedroom, single-storey period home in East Wall, was dark and pokey. It’s anything but, however.
Its front door opens to a bright, airy and spacious interior. “People often remark that it’s like the Tardis from Doctor Who, as from the outside it look deceptively small,” says Brian Colhoun, an IT consultant and singer-songwriter, who owns the house with his partner Sinead Keenan.
Keenan, a consultant for NGOs, bought the property in 2010, from an elderly woman who had lived there all her life. “The house was rustic and had changed little since it was built,” explains Colhoun. “While it hadn’t been modernised, it was in fairly good condition”.
The exterior of No7 Hawthorn Terrace
Like many houses built at the turn of the century, No 7 had an outdoor toilet. Keenan did away with it and had a new one installed inside.
It would be 10 years before she further renovated the house, and in that time, she met Colhoun. Both are from Clontarf and had known each other growing up. He’d lived in Paris for five years, before returning home. When they bumped into each other in 2012, they struck up a relationship, and they now have two children, Fiadh (8) and Finn (5).
One of the three bedrooms
In 2020, they relocated to Colhoun’s parent’s house in Clontarf for four months to facilitate the building of an extension. “We thought a lot about how to do the extension,” he explains. “We considered building upstairs, but realised it would be quite small, as you can’t go higher than the chimneys.
“The house has two pitches and some of the houses on this road have added another, but we wanted to let as much light in as possible, and opted to extend out at the back instead. It made sense given the extensive garden.”
They partially modelled the extension on Keenan’s parent’s home in Connemara and added fan lights to make the most of the light to the front, which is south-facing. “I was out with measuring sticks beforehand, to ensure we captured the light,” says Colhoun.
“The fan lights are very effective. They catch the light at the front during the day and transport it to the back of the house, as well as capturing the evening light.”
The open plan living/kitchen/dining area
They converted the old kitchen, which was small and dark, into a bedroom, and used half of the back garden to create what is now an open-plan kitchen/dining/living area. Here, they added a skylight above the kitchen counter.
There are a number of soft lighting configurations in this space and an attractive overhanging lamp, which they bought online, over the dining table. “The soft lighting makes a difference to the atmosphere,” says Colhoun.
I make pizza from scratch every Saturday and the kids join in. We try to involve extended family and friends too, and in the summer, guests spill out onto the patio
Having an open-plan space suits their lifestyle. “I like to cook, but be able to talk to the kids and keep an eye on them at the same time, or involve them in the cooking process.”
The couple also find the space lends itself well to entertaining. “I make pizza from scratch every Saturday and the kids join in. We try to involve extended family and friends too, and in the summer, guests spill out onto the patio. We’ve also hosted Christmas dinner here too as it’s so spacious.”
The guitar on the wall is one of many owned by Colhoun, who writes and releases folk music under ‘The Lion Colhoun’ on Spotify. “It’s something I’ve always done,” he says, adding that he plays gigs from time to time too.
At the same time as the extension, they built an en suite bathroom in one of the bedrooms and a patio and small courtyard outside, which further lets in the light through big windows on three sides.
The patio area
They put down laminate flooring throughout, and added insulation. They replaced all of the windows but kept the frames, as well as the door frame and railings at the front.
The couple opted for a minimalist look, with colour added in the furniture, paintings, curtains and cushions. In the reception room to the front, for example, the walls are white and the couches grey, but colour is provided by the orange curtains and a painted red square behind the stove.
It’s obvious too in the dining area, where there’s a retro feel to the furniture. A bold rug underfoot and yellow cushions provide splashes of colour.
It’s a traditional community with friendly neighbours
The work was finished in February 2020, just before the pandemic. “In a way, we were shielded from the pandemic because we were looking after a newborn baby and our daughter, and neither were in school. We were blessed to have this house at the time,” says Colhoun. “The area is peaceful. You can’t hear the cars at the front and the back garden is even quieter. We could sit outside if we had visitors.”
The spacious garden
Fairview Park is a 10-minute walk away. There’s a community centre with a creche, a number of schools, cafes and shops. “It’s a traditional community with friendly neighbours,” adds Colhoun.
The house has a side passage leading to the back garden, which has a lawn with mature trees, shrubs and flowerbeds. There’s a trampoline, swings and garden furniture. From the back, you can see the clock tower of St Joseph’s Parish Church. “Unfortunately the clock hasn’t worked for a long time, but it lights up at night and looks beautiful,” he says.
They’re selling the house now as they want a new adventure. “We’re considering going further afield, possibly the west of Ireland as we have family ties in Connemara,” says Colhoun. “The kids like the countryside too.”
“We’ll be nostalgic for the moments we’ve created in the house,” he adds. “But we’re ready for the leap. It feels right.”
Number 7 Hawthorn Terrace has an asking price of €575,000 with DNG Fairview.
