‘What’s Going On in That Room?’ A Dublin Townhouse Gets a Mystical, Leap-of-Faith Reimagining

Sometimes sad things happen to good houses. Take the proud former home of the family that founded Jameson Irish Whiskey, perched on a historic square in the Irish capital. More recently a law office, the circa 18th-century townhouse had been mired in drudgery.

“Businesses take on these prestigious old buildings and chuck in a lot of furniture,” said designer Suzie McAdam of the throng of mahogany desks, wall-to-wall carpet and fluorescent lights she found in the property. “Everything was grim and a bit tired.”

The new owner, an Irish businesswoman who would live there solo, hired Mc Adam, a local pro, to restore and decorate the four-story Georgian home. Put off by the dark, masculine energy of the panelling in the entrance and reception room, the client at first wanted to paint all of it white. “I think her sense was to make it feel fresher, more lightened,” said Mc Adam.

To convince the owner to rehab the wood instead, the designer proposed a brash, whimsical plan.

Where the client saw oppressive beams and coffers, Mc Adam saw…a forest. She would enlist Irish muralist Michael Dillon to hand paint the white plaster gaps between the woodwork with local flora and fauna, like mythical creatures from Irish folklore growing out from between the timbers.

“It almost has a sense of decay, something that had been creeping through an old wall,” said McAdam of the final mural. “It’s very fantastical,” she said.

The designer won the client’s buy-in, and the mahogany was refurbished. The woodwork-as-woods concept intrigued the owner, Mc Adam believes, in part because she spends her days in the black-and-grey world of business and finance. She also craved uniqueness.

“Having seen a lot of other buildings in Dublin, none of which energized or excited her, I think she wanted to be taken on a journey with the design,” said McAdam.

That might explain why the owner welcomed the curious light fixture—the Halti pendant by Cameron Design House —that loops from the reception room’s ceiling like pearls sized for the Statue of Liberty. During Paris Design Week, McAdam was captivated by a lavender version she saw draped inside an installation of ornate boiserie panelling.

She says she has a tendency to embrace this kind of forward-leaning design: “A guiding principle I return to is this: Would I see this piece at an auction in 20 years? If the answer is yes, then I know I am on to something.”

She texted a photo to her client, who asked if it came in other colours. “The lavender was quite strong, maybe a little too far for her,” said Mc Adam. They eventually landed on an opaque white version, a nervy update of the drippy crystal chandeliers common to homes of this vintage.

The room’s expansive windows make the necklace-like fixture visible from the street below. “Even taxi drivers are, like, ‘What’s going on in that room?’ ” said Mc Adam. One, while driving her past the property, remarked, “Sure you wouldn’t know what they’ll hang off a ceiling these days!”

She didn’t let on, and says today, “If something causes debate and conflict, I think that’s where it gets interesting.”

The chandelier in the library upstairs initially raised even her client’s eyebrows. McAdam recalls that, as an electrician was installing the Italian glass chandelier from Giopato & Coombes, the client commented that it “looked like bowling pins that had been smashed over.”

McAdam dug in her heels. “Hold firm is my approach sometimes. When people see something in isolation, it’s hard to get a full sense of how the room is going to turn out.” Today, the space is adorned with pastoral Schumacher wallpaper, its barrel-vaulted ceiling painted a sky blue. “She wasn’t enamoured initially with that fixture, but the room came together.”

McAdam’s aesthetic bravery respects and suits the historic home. Centuries ago, the Jameson family had their motto carved into the reception-room mantel alongside the three-masted sailing ship that serves as a logo on each whiskey label. It reads Sine Metu , Latin for “Without Fear.”

Sydney is well and truly on the world map when it comes to luxury residential property, rivalling—and even beating—the likes of Tokyo and Dubai in terms of price per square metre.

The harbour capital has also proven itself to be a powerhouse for luxury residential rental growth. Knight Frank’s Prime Global Rental Index Q4 2024 showed prime rents across Sydney grew 4.7 per cent over 2024, the fifth-highest growth globally.

This has pushed several of Sydney’s top suburbs over the $2,000 per week median rent mark for a house, with surrounding areas fast approaching the milestone.

We’ve wrapped up the most expensive suburbs to live in across Sydney, with data sourced from property data analytics firm CoreLogic.

1. Vaucluse: Median purchase: $8.69m; Median rent: $2,198

Vaucluse has consistently ranked as Sydney’s most expensive suburb for rental properties over the past few years, even with annual rents contracting by over 14 per cent. What sets it apart is its unique geography—it’s the only suburb in the Eastern Suburbs that stretches from the harbour to the ocean. Homes in Vaucluse top the price charts because most either boast Sydney Harbour views or enjoy uninterrupted outlooks over the Pacific Ocean.

The Neighbourhood

While most Eastern Suburbs have one main beach, Vaucluse is dotted with several secluded spots, such as Parsley Bay, Milk Beach, and the recently reopened Shark Beach, which had been closed for several years due to retaining wall repairs.

2. Dover Heights: Median purchase: $6.38m; Median rent: $2,024

Vaucluse’s immediate southern neighbour, Dover Heights, is the only other suburb in Sydney with a median house rental over $2,000. Dover Heights hugs the cliffs and is well known as one of the most tightly held house markets in the Eastern Suburbs. The homes are perched on the cliffside, and the majority of houses in the area have at least four bedrooms, pushing up prices.

The Neighbourhood

While there are no beaches to speak of, its elevated position provides some of the highest views of Sydney Harbour. It is also home to the Federation Cliff Walk, a five-kilometre clifftop walk with postcard views of the Pacific Ocean from Dover Heights to Watsons Bay.

3. Bronte: Median purchase: $5.64m, Median rent: $1,963

Bronte takes out the title of the most expensive of the ‘typical’ Eastern Suburbs beachside suburbs. Just 30 per cent of homes in Bronte are separate houses, with nearly half being apartments. Houses in the rental pool are typically original homes dating back to the 1960s that have been renovated over the last decade or so.

The Neighbourhood
Bronte has long been a favourite due to its more relaxed beachside lifestyle compared to the busier Bondi, although Bronte is no longer a ‘hidden gem’ anymore. It offers numerous lifestyle perks, from a small high street lined with shops and cafés to several eateries located by the beach, which also features one of the best natural ocean pools in the Eastern Suburbs.

4. North Bondi: Median purchase: $4.81m; Median rent: $1,932

North Bondi has become a hotbed of new homes, with frequent sales of either original houses or older apartment complexes being bought to be demolished and replaced by brand-new contemporary builds. There’s a mix of original cottages and new homes in the rental pool, the latter fetching over $7,000 a week.

The Neighbourhood
North Bondi is situated in a small pocket, just south of Dover Heights and north of Bondi Beach. Starting at the Ben Buckler Peninsula, near where Campbell Parade transitions into Military Road, North Bondi is one of the most secluded areas on the coastline, with Hastings Parade, Brighton Boulevard, and Ramsgate Avenue all offering a southward view over the sand.

5. Balgowlah Heights: Median purchase: $4.13m; Median rent: $1,930

Balgowlah Heights is the most expensive suburb to rent a house in the Northern Beaches. Land sizes tend to be much larger, and you get more for your money in the area compared to the East.

The Neighbourhood
Balgowlah Heights is the harbourside southern neighbour of Balgowlah. The Sydney Harbour National Park occupies half of the leafy suburb, part of the Manly to Spit Bridge Walk, and is home to Tania Park, with a children’s playground and sporting facilities overlooking Manly Cove. Nestled on the northern shores of Sydney Harbour, it offers a serene and leafy environment.

6. Bellevue Hill: Median purchase: $10.63m; Median rent: $1,917

Bellevue Hill stands as one of Sydney’s most prestigious suburbs and has some of the largest houses by median land size.

Given the large gap between median purchase price and median rental price, it is no wonder renters want to live among $10m homes and pay under $2,000 a week, when a $10m purchase means $2m deposit, over $500k in stamp duty, and roughly $12,000 a week in repayments.

Most mansions will never make it to public rental sites and are often snapped up by Hollywood stars, musicians, or even royalty when they visit Australia.

The Neighbourhood
One of the biggest drawcards for those living in Bellevue Hill is the proximity to two of the country’s top schools. While there are no catchment areas for private schools, Cranbrook School and Scots College will always draw affluent families to the suburb. Scots fees start at around $30,000 per annum from Year One and reach nearly $50,000 by Year 12.

Sydney’s Cheapest Suburb: Tregear; Median purchase: $782,000; Median rent: $544

The cheapest suburb to rent in Sydney is Tregear, located on the outskirts of Mt Druitt, approximately 50 km west of the CBD. The median house rental is $544, which is four times cheaper than renting a house in Vaucluse. The median house price in Tregear is $782,000, around 12 times less than Vaucluse.

Sydney’s Best Suburb: Point Piper

If money were no object, it’s hard to look past Sydney’s most affluent suburb as the top pick for the best place to live in the city, in my opinion.

It doesn’t even have an actual median house price, simply because so few properties change hands. Last year, just five houses sold, ranging from $8 million to $51.5 million. Homes on the best streets offer gun-barrel views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, while the cosmopolitan Double Bay next door provides all the lifestyle conveniences.