Couple selling on €349k Lismore 'home of their dreams' after style makeover

Lios is more? No 41 Lios an Óir Lismore
Lismore Co Waterford |
|
---|---|
€349,000 |
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Size |
111 sq m (1,200 sq ft0 |
Bedrooms |
3 |
Bathrooms |
2 |
BER |
D1 |
Some people decorate reluctantly, others moderately enthusiastically but some, like the occupants of 41 Lios an Óir in Lismore. are willing to pull out all the stops when it comes to creating the home of their dreams On the outside this is a modest semi-detached bungalow with a pretty garden but, on the inside, it’s modern, bright and light filled - decorated mostly in white and grey with a little black and just a soupçon of pink.

Standout features include a contemporary three sided 1800 mm electric fire and a white gloss handleless kitchen in which, the owners say, they can see the reflection of the garden flowers.

For one of its owners it used to be a much loved holiday home. “My parents bought it off the plans, picking this site because of the views – you can see the Knockmealdown mountains, the turrets of Lismore castle and tip of the cathedral spire,’’ she reveals, explaining that her mother changed the layout before it was built in 2000 to create a long open plan kitchen living space.
Since buying it from her family in 2015, she and her wife have put thought, time and effort into turning it from a functional holiday home to a cosy and stylish permanent home.

“ We had a master plan which was all about light,” she reveals. Shaker style kitchen units came out and high gloss white ones went in and, in order to reflect as much light as possible in the living area, they added a glass table, fitted glass paneled doors and modern light fixtures, put down neutral coloured tiles and painted the walls white.

Only the chimney breast, which has both a stylish electric fire and a recess space for a 65 inch TV, has been painted black . “ We saw on an interior design show that if you put a TV on a black surface you won’t see it unless it’s switched on – we tried this and it works.’’ Once the kitchen dining area was sufficiently light filled, they started work on the three bedrooms and the two bathrooms which they retiled and refurbished.
The colour scheme in the master bedrooms mixes pale and dark grey and because the master plan requires lots of light – it has a Hollywood dresser. Another bedroom is grey and white while the third – like huge numbers of bedrooms everywhere, has been converted into an office space.
Conscious as always of light, the couple reroofed and retiled the sunroom at the rear.

Turning their attention to the garden, they set about creating a colourful contrast to the neutral house interior. A humble block built shed, once used to store garden tools, has become a pretty outbuilding with a rose trellis on the outside and a modern utility space on the inside.
When they took over the garden it already had stone walls and a water feature involving a pool with cascading water. Now it has been planted with a wide variety of plants and shrubs. “It used to just have summer flowers now it has colour for every season,’’ reveals the owner.
Spring arrivals in the garden include daffodils and blue muscari, but purple, red and pink tulips are expected soon. According to the owners the real show stoppers in the garden are vibrant red Dublin Bay roses planted by the little outbuilding which won’t be seen until summer.

Amongst the many features added in the garden are two antique style lanterns which the owners put effort into sourcing , wanting them because they resemble the lamps on Lismore bridge.
Situated in a cul de sac development of 50 houses, 41 Lios an Óir is within a five minute walk from Lismore town centre.
Quoting a guide of €349,000, Cormac Curran of Sherry FitzGerald Reynolds is expecting to see young couples, retirees and UK buyers at viewings.

"In the second hand market in Lismore this is nice as it gets,’’ he says, explaining that Lismore has always been attractive to retirees but is now becoming popular with young city couples who can mix commuting with working from home.
VERDICT: Unexpectedly stylish and light filled