Novelist finds Keyes to perfect home
Although Marian Keyes is a hugely successful author (now contemplating her sixth bestselling novel) she is only a little one fish in the flesh as she bounds up the large door of the home which herself and husband Tony have transformed into a fabulous retreat in just two years.
This former bed and breakfast is a triumph of modern meets classical where modern wins hands down. "It was a typical fusty bed and breakfast place with an overriding brown theme. We banished all that with lime greens, purples and yellows and we are thrilled with it. It feels light and bright today and we very much enjoyed doing it too," says Marian says it was indeed a bonus that they both tend to have the same adventurous taste in décor and colour schemes.
The hall is a large affair and is painted two gleaming shades of yellow which prepares you for the family room which is wild and wonderful with lime green walls, yellow paintwork and a wonderful pair of curvy purple and green designer style couches with sexy chrome legs.
"We used to live in a flat in Camden and I often walked by this shop and admired the couches but we didn't have room for them at the time. As I couldn't find similar couches here I went back to the shop and got them and they are wonderful as I always imagined them to be," laughs Marian who is the least smug person you could meet.
Marian says that it took time to get a house suited to their needs when they returned to Ireland from London. After many disappointments this house sort of fell their way in spite of the fact that they never had any particular desire to live in Dun Laoghaire. Today they happily walk the Pier like most residents of the area.
All dark pink and two enormous decadent looking couches, it looks out onto the back garden complete with palm trees swaying in the rain. A large Buddha occupies pride of place alongside a small wavy bookcase which holds four first edition books by the lady of the house.
Upstairs there are four bedrooms, a swanky looking guest room with jade walls and a seriously fancy wrought iron bed. The look for their own room was inspired by a stay in the Anouska Hempel Hotel in London. The Japanese-style bed on a platform is where Marian does all her work on a laptop while propped up with numerous cushions. It is an inspiring room where less is more and cream and ebony are the order of the day.
Earlier this year Marian Keyes realised a long held dream - she learned to drive and passed her driving test. Outside the hall door is her pride and joy - a Nissan Micra which sums up the lady very succinctly indeed.
While she is hugely successful at what she does, has a beautiful home, a gorgeous husband and looks unfairly youthful for her years, she is essentially a terribly nice person with no airs and graces whatsoever.
"I am most definitely not a rustic person who would ever wish to own an Aga. I like modern chrome kitchens. I hate pine and I think that purple walls in the kitchen add a fun touch."
"I first started writing by accident. I was always a great reader but never imagined myself as a writer. One afternoon in London I read a short story and thought to myself immediately afterwards 'I could do better than that' so I wrote a story there and then and I haven't stopped writing since."
"My success has brought only two main changes to our lives - it brought us this house and means that we don't have to do a day job as well. Apart from that we still have the same friends and live the same sort of life as we always did.
"I never liked glitzy parties and in fact nobody ever invites me to them anyhow," she laughs as she shows us what she calls the 'posh room' - the sitting room.