{"id":271686,"date":"2026-01-30T09:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T09:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/271686\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T09:37:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T09:37:11","slug":"peaceful-light-filled-blackrock-home-restored-by-architects-with-large-suntrap-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/271686\/","title":{"rendered":"Peaceful, light-filled Blackrock home restored by architects with large \u2018suntrap\u2019 garden"},"content":{"rendered":"

M\u00e9adbh Stronge and Graham Harris\u2019 love of history was to the fore when renovating this Blackrock house\n<\/p>\n

Asking price: \u20ac675,000<\/p>\n

Agent: DNG Rock Road (01) 283 2900<\/p>\n

\u200bWhen it comes to buying a house, a knowledge of architecture is an advantage. A trained architect will know exactly what to look for; what to avoid in terms of structure and layout; and they can generally envisage the finished aesthetic.<\/p>\n

When architect M\u00e9adbh Stronge and her husband Graham Harris, who has a background in architectural technology but works as a project manager, bought San Antonio, a two-bedroom, semi-detached home in Blackrock, their architectural knowledge came to the fore. \u201cAs architects, we knew exactly what we were letting ourselves in for,\u201d says Harris. \u201cWe both have the practical knowledge to restore a house, and M\u00e9adbh has a keen eye for design, so we knew we could lean on each other\u2019s expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Graham<\/p>\n

Graham Harris and M\u00e9adbh Stronge at San Antonio. Photo: Bryan Meade<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were so used to working on other people\u2019s homes, so we were dying to sink our teeth into our own,\u201d adds Stronge. \u201cI have an absolute gr\u00e1 for older buildings, so I loved the idea of buying somewhere that has history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stronge is from Athlone, Co Westmeath, and Harris from Clonmel, Co Tipperary, but they were renting in Dublin. They started looking at houses to buy in early 2020. They found San Antonio, a double-fronted 668 sq ft semi-detached home, built circa 1950s, quite quickly. \u201cIt hadn\u2019t been lived in for a while, but it was evident it had been well looked after, and that a lot of work had gone into the garden,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The kitchen of San Antonio, 7 St Fintan\u2019s Villas, Blackrock, Co Dublin<\/p>\n

It was not habitable, however. \u201cThere was no heating and no insulation,\u201d explains Harris. \u201cIt had the original windows and there was no bathroom upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

They went sale agreed just before the pandemic, but it was the end of 2021 before they could move in. In the meanwhile, a lot of work was carried out.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The living room of San Antonio, 7 St Fintan\u2019s Villas, Blackrock, Co Dublin<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to make the house as energy efficient as possible,\u201d says Harris. \u201cWe insulated all of the walls and the attic, and added under floor heating. We also installed an A-rated gas combi boiler, and a gas stove in the sitting room, which fits nicely into the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it came to replacing the windows, they stuck with the original proportions of the sash windows at the front to keep the original look, but in the back, they added clear, triple-glazed windows to let the light in.<\/p>\n

\"Another<\/p>\n

Another view of the living room at San Antonio, 7 St Fintan\u2019s Villas, Blackrock, Co Dublin<\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t make any structural changes to the building but they did change the layout. \u201cWe wanted to maximise the space to ultimately suit our lifestyle,\u201d says Stronge. \u201cAs a result, we removed the small downstairs bathroom and replaced it with a utility room, and added a bathroom upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A bathroom at San Antonio, 7 St Fintan\u2019s Villas, Blackrock, Co Dublin<\/p>\n

In the kitchen, they installed a built-in seat, with storage underneath, and a counter that pulls out to create a table. \u201cWe thought about everything very carefully and drew on our experience as architects,\u201d says Stronge. \u201cFor example, when we first bought the house, the windows were quite small, which made it dark. However, we wanted to make use of the light coming in from the south-facing back garden, so we put a large window in the hallway and designed a customised door, which folds into the wall. Then, we painted the walls white to bounce the light into the kitchen at the front.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The nursery of San Antonio, 7 St Fintan\u2019s Villas, Blackrock, Co Dublin<\/p>\n

Upstairs, they also attempted to maximise the space. \u201cIn the bedrooms, we opened up the roof to add height and installed oak beams and recess lighting,\u201d says Harris. \u201cIt changes the atmosphere completely, making it airy and bright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stronge made most of the decisions regarding the interior design. \u201cI like the idea of having a clean space and then adding art, ornaments, antiques and furniture to give it personality,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The master bedroom of San Antonio, 7 St Fintan\u2019s Villas, Blackrock, Co Dublin<\/p>\n

An antique screen in the sitting room, for example, combined with a white \u2018pringle\u2019 shaped white lamp shade, gives the room an Asian feel. A mirror on the wall above the stove here reflects the artwork on the opposite wall. There\u2019s a guitar hanging on the wall, which Harris plays.<\/p>\n

Upstairs, in the nursery, there\u2019s a bent-wood rocking chair, which is also antique. \u201cThe decor is a mixture of the old and the new, which appeals to me,\u201d Stronge adds.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The garden of San Antonio, 7 St Fintan\u2019s Villas, Blackrock, Co Dublin<\/p>\n

In addition, they rewired and re-plumbed the house, and installed provision for electric charging of a car. They painted the front door pink to pick up the hues of a mature hydrangea bush which grows outside. They also tidied up the flowerbeds and added gravel underfoot. In addition, they restored a plaque with \u2018San Antonio\u2019, the name of the house, which hangs at the front.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a big garden to the rear and the side of the house and here, they left the mature trees and shrubbery, but removed a hedgerow which blocked the view, and tied up the lawn. There\u2019s a patio with a table and chairs outside the back door. \u201cIt\u2019s a real suntrap in the summer and it\u2019s very quiet,\u201d says Harris.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The back of the garden at San Antonio, 7 St Fintan\u2019s Villas, Blackrock, Co Dublin<\/p>\n

The house is located across the road from Deansgrange graveyard. \u201cIt adds to the feeling of peace and means it won\u2019t be developed in the future,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an established community and the couple felt welcomed by their neighbours from the moment they moved in. \u201cThe area offers access to all kinds of amenities and there\u2019s a great coffee shop in the graveyard called The Tranquil Tearooms, which we go to a lot. The scones are amazing and sell out quickly,\u201d says Stronge.<\/p>\n

The couple married in 2023 and had a baby daughter called Fiadh last October. They\u2019re selling the house now as they want to move closer to their families, and hope to start a new project.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve really enjoyed working on this house. We tried to retain elements of the previous owners,\u201d says Stronge. \u201cWe\u2019ve put our mark on it now and I\u2019m sure the next owners will add their mark. That\u2019s the great thing about an old house like this and it\u2019s something that really appealed to us. The cycle continues\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

DNG is seeking \u20ac675,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"M\u00e9adbh Stronge and Graham Harris\u2019 love of history was to the fore when renovating this Blackrock house Asking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271687,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,308,93,61,60,898],"class_list":["post-271686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-latest-news-ticker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}