When young couples view houses they tend to look at the process romantically. They can picture the big glass extension at the back that will be full of friends and family; they make plans to convert the spare room into a home office; and pick out the plot in the garden that will be perfect for their own vegetable patch.
Roll on five years, when two becomes three, then four, or five. The home office has become a nursery, every bit of glass in the extension is covered in sticky handprints and the homegrown vegetables are being thrown, uneaten, back at you.
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It’s when the time rolls around for school enrolments that the stress really kicks in. This is when people start kicking themselves for not doing a better job of researching the school catchment area.
Any young family who takes on No6 Willow Place will not have to worry about where little Johnny or Mary will end up going to school though. It’s on Booterstown Avenue in Blackrock, and here the academic world is your oyster. Primary schools within walking distance of the house include Willow Park, St Mary’s Boys, St Andrew’s Junior School, Our Lady of Mercy Convent School and Booterstown National School.
Some of the highest performing secondary schools are also on the doorstep. Coláiste Íosagáin, Blackrock College, Coláiste Eoin and St Andrew’s College were all in the top 25 schools in the latest guide to Irish schools. Older kids don’t even have to worry about university as UCD is only 10 minutes away by car or half an hour on foot.
The vendors of No6 can vouch for the convenience of the address. “It’s a fantastic area for families,” says Deborah Kirkland, who lives here with her husband Angus and three children Saskia, Luke and Adam. “That’s why we’re only moving five minutes away. We love it here. We’ve walked our kids to St Mary’s National School for years and the boys are now in St Andrew’s which is still close by.”
Deborah and Angus bought the house 17 years ago when Deborah was pregnant with their first child. “When we bought there were only two bedrooms, but it was perfect for the stage we were at,” recalls Deborah, fondly. “In our bedroom there was a small little dressing room area and this is where we put Saskia’s cot.”
As their family grew over the years, so too did the house. “We’ve never wanted to leave so we’ve worked away at growing the house for our family for years,” says Deborah as she tries to remember all the changes they made, big and small. “In 2006, we did the first bit of work which included the kitchen extension. We were still very small on top though, so in 2012, with three children, we built up to make it a five-bedroom home.”
It’s clear to see the house has been well-cared for by the Kirklands. The hall is gleaming with marble polished floors and fresh grey paintwork. On either side of the hall are the original rooms of this 200-year-old property, that started out as a farmhouse. The living room to the left and dining room to the right both have the original wide-set floorboards that have been sanded and stained. Both of these rooms, as well as the hall, open out into the new kitchen extension which occupies the full width of the house.
It was first extended in 2006 and then again in 2012. Deborah says they’ve found from experience that kitchen is pretty adaptable. “The units were hand-built by a carpenter, Andrew Pedlow, in 2006. He did such a great job with them. The island from Christoff was added later along with a few other bits. We’ve had to move the units around when we extended the kitchen and it pieced back together really well.”
The downstairs space is perfect for entertaining, according to Deborah. “It’s a really cosy house with smaller rooms that wouldn’t be as grand as some period houses,” she says. “That said, you can open it up if you have people over.”
The dining area is big enough for a table that sits eight and a full-size pool table that the family has recently added to the delight of the kids.
There are now five bedrooms upstairs. The master has an ensuite shower room and the main bathroom has a bath and separate shower.
For Deborah, the garden will be the hardest thing in the house to walk away from. Over the years it’s gone through many transformations but is now a practical but pretty space for the kids and Pip the dog.
“The garden was gorgeous when we moved in with raised flowerbeds and lots of granite stone. This was lovely when I was able to potter around with Saskia, but once the boys and football came around this all changed,” laughs Deborah. “As much as I’d love to have real grass, we put in the astro as a practical choice. It’s still my favourite thing about the house though.”
No6 is down a quiet cul-de-sac and has on-street parking to the front. Booterstown Dart station is a five-minute walk away.
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