25 Beautiful Homes

| 25bh25bh october 2017 | 47artisan cot tagefoR stockists go to page 141design tip ‘Use straight-edged tiles for a kitchen splashback that requireselectrical sockets, as the finish will be much neater than with bevel-edged tiles’###### Spiraling house prices in Dublin meant that Julie O’Brien,an artist and photographer, and her boyfriend Julian Palmer,a photographer, despaired of ever being able to afford tomove out of their parents’ homes. ‘There was very little evento rent in Dublin,’ says Julie. Then her father, property scout anddesigner Wesley O’Brien, spotted this tiny rundown cottage as aninvestment project. ‘It was very small,’ she says, ‘but Dad was surehe could make something of it, and he’s really good at renovations.’The cottage had been in the same family for generations, andhad hardly been altered from the original layout. There was nobathroom, only an outside toilet, and the kitchen consisted ofan ancient gas cooker and a Belfast sink in a tiny scullery. ‘Thehouse was untouched, which was what attracted me to it,’ explainsWesley. ‘The ceilings were 3.35 metres high, and there was areasonably sized back yard to use for an extension.’Wesley worked on a new design while the house was gutted.‘The main problem was that there was no place for a sofa in thesitting room,’ he explains. ‘It had an internal porch one side andan unusual diagonal wall shared with the room on the other.’This was solved by taking out the internal porch and shiftingthe diagonal wall to create space for a three-seater sofa opposite thefireplace. The original plan to install radiators was changed to``````underfloor heating, freeing up more wall space. The beige-tiled1950s fireplace was removed and the surround brought back toits original shape. Julie and Julian wanted at least two separateworkstations where they could work on projects, so overhead shelvesand a wider desk shelf were added to the niche beside the fireplace. ‘Another oddity was that the bedroom ceiling was also veryhigh, so the room seemed taller than it was long,’ explains Julie.‘Dad suggested dropping the height to add an attic for storage,which we did. There was enough space for a reasonable extension,so I wanted to have a good-quality bright kitchen,’ says Wesley.‘We used the full height of the space, bringing the units up to theceiling to provide valuable extra storage in such a small house.’With the building work done, Julie set about making the housecomfortable and giving it a unique identity on a miniscule budget.‘I prefer an eclectic look anyway so we gathered old and recycledpieces from markets and internet sites and mixed them with Ikeaand DIY store buys,’ she says. ‘We painted the study a deep marineblue, which seemed bold at first, but was a stroke of genius, becauseit becomes a totally separate space and makes the house feel larger.’It didn’t take long for the couple to settle into their new home.‘It’s very small but feels spacious enough for two,’ says Julie. ‘We lovethe location and can cycle everywhere – we’re very happy here.’``````Bedroom‘Lowering the ceiling has made thissmall room feel more cosy,’ says Julie.Nordli bedside tables, £60 each, Ikea.artwork, Fionnuala Nolan