This Dalkey home sports a nautical look - but with three kids about, it needs to be hard-wearing, writes Eoin Lyons.
Cyndi Sweeney has a distinctive style of her own but called on interior decorator Elizabeth O'Connor to help put together the home in Dalkey she shares with husband, Talbot, and their children. Sweeney moved to Dublin from Toronto eight years ago after marrying Talbot, who is Irish. In Canada she produced children's television programming and now has three children of her own, all under the age of five. Part of O'Connor's task was to create an easy-to-manage home that could take the wear and tear a young family doles out. "Nothing precious, but fun and whimsical," says Sweeney. The other half of the brief was to take inspiration from the New England look that Cyndi loves.
The kitchen has been extended and the attic converted. The decoration was a collaboration between the two women. "I knew what I wanted, but Elizabeth helped focus my ideas," says Sweeney. She recommends working with an interior decorator. "It helps with the overall vision - Elizabeth carried the nautical theme through the house - and sourced and managed everything."
HALL AND KITCHEN
The floor in the entrance hall is smoked oak, from the Hardwood Flooring Company in Sandyford Industrial Estate (01-2948836) and runs through to the living room. It leads straight to the kitchen, where units were made to O'Connor's spec by Colin Dunne of Custom Furniture Design in Greystones (01-2872989). "Colin's a very good cabinet maker and not overly expensive," says O'Connor. "The island in the centre has storage all the way around and a built-on seat at one side so the table from Meadows and Byrne (1850-210000) can sit next to it." The countertops are oak, with granite on the island. The shade of blue on the walls is Colour Trend's Brooklyn Mist, available at MRCB on Thomas Street, Dublin 8. "It's really hard to get a nice blue that isn't too harsh for a kitchen, but this is perfect," says Sweeney. An alcove, created when the kitchen was added to the original house, is used as an office. Built-in shelving wraps around a door to the hall. They were also made by Colin Dunne.
LIVING AND DINING
"I like open spaces," says Sweeney, explaining why the main living areas flow into one another. "At the front is a sitting room we use for entertaining, the middle is more of a family room, and at the end is a dining table." The sofa was from a previous home but O'Connor had it re-upholstered, and the rugs are from Duncan Rugs, Co Down (048-91814272). Over the the fireplaces a mantle was created from wood bought from Wilson Architectural Salvage in Newry (048-92692304). Letters have been carved on each. One reads: "TS Pathfinder". "It's a tall ship, non-profit brigantine that helped underprivileged children. I worked on that vessel - it was like a summer camp at sea. That's where I fell in love with all things nautical." The other mantle reads: "Follow your gleam." The nautical theme is picked up on floating shelves, fronted with braided roping, and displays Sweeney's collection of shells. Armchairs from Meadows & Byrne were chosen for their compact size. Old and new are mixed intriguingly. A wooden "horse" - once used by blacksmiths for making horseshoes - was found at an antique shop in Quebec and the dining table, made from railway sleepers, is from Top Drawer in Stillorgan (01-2780022). The paintings - a cow by Deborah Donnelly and a Rod Coyne landscape - are from Dalkey Arts Gallery.
PLAYROOM AND LANDING
The storage unit that lines the back wall of the playroom were made by Shane Kelly of Kelly's Hardware in Dalkey (01-2858235). "He's lovely to work with - reliable and fast," says Sweeney. On the walls are Farrow and Ball's Powder Blue, and their New White shade is on the floorboards. A deep window seat is like the shape of a boat. "The idea was to have an extra bed for kids staying over." A similar padded seat was created for the landing and covered in Jane Churchill fabric. This space was originally a bedroom but was opened up to enlarge the landing. "It means only the loss of a tiny room, but floods the stairs and landing with daylight. This could be a study area when the children get older," says O'Connor.
MAIN BEDROOM AND BATHROOM
The master bedroom is in the converted attic space. The rustic-style bed is another buy from Top Drawer. But the main feature is a roof window, bought at Heaton Buckley's on the Longmile Road that can open to become something akin to a small balcony. It gives views over Dalkey and Dublin Bay beyond. One of the most successful re-imagining of spaces is the family bathroom, originally sub-divided into two small rooms but now painted bright yellow. It features a walk-in, wet-room style shower, covered in tiles from Fired Earth in Dún Laoghaire (01-6636160).