Kitchen takes centre stage in Blackrock

In another 100 years’ time, I wonder what they’ll be adding to period homes? For this generation, it’s all about the contemporary kitchen extension, as modern families eschew separate formal diningrooms for their meals, and the kitchen takes centre stage as the place to gather, and even to turn cooking into a kind of theatre.

At 11 Mount Merrion Avenue, for sale with Sherry FitzGerald for €2.15million, it's a very stylish theatre, too. There are even front row seats in the solid oak bespoke kitchen – a row of stools lined up at the central marble-topped island; plus plenty of space for a dining table in front of the expansive wall of glass looking out to the garden.

Off this is a den with a feature modern fireplace and more French windows. There are also two bedrooms, both en suite, and a utility room on this floor.

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At hall level are a pair of reception rooms which keep their original period features, while the study on the return is the kind of place where you could find yourself wanting to spend time at work.

On the top floor are three more bedrooms and a bathroom. The master bedroom is en suite, and has a view of the sea from its beautifully proportioned shuttered window.

The family bathroom is fun – the shower is so positioned that those enjoying a day away from the office can soap their hair while watching the commuters snake down Mount Merrion Avenue.

Despite the large extension, which brings the total accommodation to 278sq m (2,992sq ft), you still get an almost 20-metre (60ft) back garden, which has a large garage and further off-street parking, reached via a lane at the rear.

Both front and back gardens are laid out in a low-maintenance, formal style, and there’s a nice sunny patio at the rear too, as well as a lawn.

Surrounded by high stone walls, it feels like a peaceful enclave away from the world, though you couldn’t be more convenient as Blackrock village, the Dart, schools and shops are all a few steps away.

No 11 appears imposing and grand from its double-fronted façade, but inside it’s a friendly and welcoming family home, albeit one with a dramatic kitchen theatre waiting to tempt you.