House Tour: Downsizing lessons from this gorgeous Dublin mews

You’d never guess that the owners of this knock-out contemporary home in Co Dublin had spent most of their lives living with beautiful antiques. With their children moved out and their Georgian terrace feeling unnecessarily large, the design-loving couple decided to decamp to the mews at the end of their beloved garden and start over.

Originally completed in 2013 for their daughter who lives in Australia and returns home for prolonged visits with her young children, the couple realised that the beautifully designed space would make a perfect smaller home for their changing lifestyle. Neil Crimmins from Cathal Crimmins Architect designed the light-filled space.

The house was almost finished when Emily Maher, of Lost Weekend in Dun Laoghaire, was called in to help with the interiors. “Everything was done, from the kitchen to the bathroom, so my help was needed sourcing furniture and decoration – things like window dressings and rugs.”

Married 43 years at that point, the couple had amassed a collection of beautiful period furniture but agreed it was wholly unsuitable for the new mews. Besides two Oriental pieces and their collection of Irish art, they decided to shed all other household items and start again from scratch.

“It started with the dining table,” Emily says. “The owner really wanted a big table. As the living/dining space is open-plan, they didn’t want an island. The result is very much her aesthetic. She has a really nice sense of style and is not too fixed on her own ideas. She was very open to how to use the space.”

The finished home is a magnificent tribute to the classics – a “who’s who” of Denmark’s finest designers. Arne Jacobsen, Carl Hansen, Børge Mogensen and Hans J Wegner are all represented, with iconic pieces like the Wishbone and Swan chairs, all sourced by Lost Weekend.

Built in the sunniest and brightest part of the garden, a granite wall separates the original plot, with the mews retaining more than half of their beautiful old garden. “The aesthetic is very different to our old house,” the owner explains cheerily. “Here, there’s lots of gorgeous light, and we’ve kept it very plain. It’s a very liveable, relaxing and comfortable space.”

PHOTOGRAPHY Aisling McCoy    WORDS Jillian Bolger

This article was originally published in March 2022.