In 2003, Pauline McGlynn decided to sell her long-term home on the North side of Dublin and find somewhere larger to live with her husband and two cats. The problem was she didn’t want to leave the area.
A friend spotted a newspaper advert for this house two streets away. Initially I wasn't that keen as it was on another street entirely, but when I viewed it I instantly fell in love. - recalls Pauline
Living area:
The red sofa and matching chairs are from Pauline and Richard’s previous house, and the narrow book case is from Cody & Company on Capel Street, Dublin.
It's really been a matter of arranging our stuff and making the house ours. I'm a terror for knick-knacks and have had to stop going into bric-a-brac shops. We had two beds, an ancient wardrobe, bookcases, a red sofa and matching chair, kitchen table and chairs and one chest of drawers that filled our last house.
This house is much bigger than our last, so we bought two leather sofas from the previous owners - Richard fell for them and they really do suit the living room. The cats are trying to make them into mohair at the moment!
Kitchen/ Dining area:
The kitchen is quite modern but lives happily with the period features. The previous owner was an architect and spent time renovating the house, bringing it back to its original glory and making it more liveable, which meant extending the kitchen.
The previous owner kept everything quite plain and tasteful - wooden floors, white walls. The only thing they couldn't get to work was the old range in the kitchen, so that's for show and storage now.
The old range was the only thing the previous owners couldn’t get working – it’s just for show and storage now.
Bedroom:
The bedroom is simple and uncluttered in white.
We haven't done anything to alter the character of the house - it's what we loved in the first place. We have two cats, which the previous owners did not, so the place is probably hairier than it was in their day!
Bathroom:
The bathroom is probably Pauline’s favourite room in the house and she enjoys lovely afternoons in the beautiful cast iron bath.
The bathroom is my favourite room, for all the many good and essential things in it - I have lovely afternoons in the cast iron bath.
Pauline’s top tips for easy living:
- If you've got cats, get yourself a good brush to get hair and fur off the furniture! Sellotape is good for this too and there's now even a biodegradable one you can get.
- Always have plenty of cat food for said cats.
- Always have the kettle full and ready-to-go and have a big stock of tea and milk for making many lovely cups of tea for yourself and others.
- A radio in the bathroom is essential for keeping up-to-date with news and music, without having to leave the bath.
- Always have plenty of unread books on hand, thereby having the perfect excuse to skive off work for a few hours.
