‘It was worth all the pain and the disruption’: Transforming a corner house in Rathmines

When Lynden Breatnach and her husband Gianni were looking for a home, they knew they wanted to live in the centre of Dublin. But it wasn’t until they came across the beautiful 1830s building on Grosvenor Square, Rathmines, that they realised they had found the perfect place.
After seeing it advertised, the couple, who have two children, made an appointment to view it and, although the building clearly needed a great deal of work, they were willing to take on the challenge.
“We first saw the house in the property pages of The Irish Times in 2021 and immediately fell in love with it,” says Breatnach. “We knew it needed quite a big refurb, but it had all its original features, so that was a real bonus. Also, the back of the house is south-facing so it is flooded with light and the square is overlooking the river, as well as the tennis club. I didn’t think we’d ever be able to afford something like that in the centre of the city, but we had been looking for a long time and suddenly knew that, despite the work, this was the one for us.”
The couple bought the house and engaged the services of an architect and builder.
“But it took quite a long time for work to begin as, because it is a listed building, there were a lot of restrictions,” says Breatnach. “The authorities were very stringent, and we needed planning permission for lots of different things. Fortunately, the architect was very aware of trying to keep within budgets and knew what we could achieve within the limits of the house.
“Ultimately, the most important thing was that it would be warm and comfortable and that all the big things were working well, so we could move in as quickly as possible, as we were renting elsewhere while waiting for the work to be done.”
Indeed, the tech worker says the house needed to be completely gutted inside with new heating, plumbing, electrics, insulation, new floors and new windows put in.
Having bought the house in 2021, it took until 2023 for the family to move in.
“So it was a long haul, mainly as we had to wait so long for planning permission,” she says. Once the work started, it was very quick, taking only about seven months.
“When the envelope of the house was done, we moved in and, although we still had a way to go, we did the interiors ourselves. My husband is a designer and I have an eye for it too, so we took all of that on ourselves. Also, because we couldn’t afford to buy everything new, we took a lot of stuff with us from where we were living before.”
When it comes to the interiors, Breatnach says they haven’t “done a huge amount” yet – although looking at the photos of the home, a reader might beg to differ – other than the painting, which they tried to ensure was done in interesting colours.
“Other aspects we will get to in time,” she says.
The house, which was in the same family for decades, is in a corner site.
“The house is unusual in that it forms the corner of a Victorian square in Rathmines,” says the architect responsible for the transformation, Sinead Bourke of New Mark Architects. “Its unusual corner aspect means the back garden is very generous in width and it is also south-facing, which made the blank rear elevation, with no windows, to be particularly unusual and quite surprising.
To address the main challenges then, of a lack of sunlight and connection to the garden, windows were inserted into the rear elevation.
“The placement and alignment of the windows were carefully considered given the context and the protected nature of the house,” says Bourke.
The refurbishment throughout was completed to conservation standards, and all interventions are “discreet to respect the original character of the house” – the new windows in the rear elevation are modern in aesthetic, so as to be distinguishable from the original period features of the building.
The Dublin-based architect says that in keeping with the age of the house, it was fully reslated using salvaged Blue Bangor slates and the original windows and front door were fully refurbished. While new paving and planters in the rear garden serve to frame an outdoor space linked directly to the kitchen and dining area. No extension was required as the house was sufficiently large to meet the needs of the family.
It is this mix of old and new, together with up to date, plumbing, heating and electrics, which transformed the house into the perfect family home.
“When completed, the sunlight and connection to the garden provided by the new windows lends to a bright and calm atmosphere throughout the house – so with minimal interventions, it was restored to unlock it’s potential as a family home,” says Bourke.
Indeed for Breatnach, the new windows in the property are its crowning glory.
“For me, the best part of the refurb was the new windows as they let in a lot of light,” she says. “We put really big ones in at either side of the chimney breast in the sittingroom and also in the bedroom directly above this, so we kind of opened up a whole wall. It is now beautifully bright and as the sun rises over the square and sets behind the garden, there is a constant flow of natural light. It’s just gorgeous.”
The couple also invested in panelling to create some interesting features on the walls – both in the hallway and sittingrooms.
“It adds real character, kind of like a Parisian apartment,” she says, adding that they both love the kitchen, even though it’s small in comparison to the size of the house.
“But I think we’ve done a really good job of maximising the space there with sliding doors, which mean the room opens out into the garden and creates a lovely flow.”
The spacious house has three sittingrooms (one which is used as an office) on the ground floor, and four bedrooms in total.
Heating an old house can be difficult, and although planning restrictions meant that insulation was not allowed to be added to the old walls, the Rathmines refurb included the installation of old-fashioned iron radiators which, the owners say, are very efficient and also add to the style of the house.
“We also put on a whole new roof as part of the refurb, and although at the front we had to keep the old window frames, so could only use double-glazed glass, we have triple-glazed at the back, so the house is actually really warm and as soon as you put the heating on, it quickly gets very toasty,” says Breatnach.
So would they do anything differently?
“We are all really happy with the result of the refurb and although the kids are still very young (three and one) they also love it here. I don’t think there is anything we would change if we were to do it again, because while there was a lot of work involved, it was worth all the pain and the disruption – and now when we’re sitting around the fire in our cosy house, we are delighted with everything we’ve done and feel so lucky to be here.”