Houzz Tour: Home Expansion Lets the Sunshine In
From the outside this house in Dublin, Ireland, looks fairly standard — a modest family home built in the 1980s. Step inside, though, and you’ll find a modern, light-flooded space that is absolutely vast. “The extension at the back has more than doubled this property’s footprint,” says Catherine Crowe of Optimise Design, the architecture and interior design team behind the project.
The space accommodates a young couple and their growing family — two small children and a baby — but it also delivers a wow factor. “The owners wanted you to come into the house and it be completely different from what you’d expected,” Crowe says. “From the outside you would never guess this property is so big.”
Spacious architecture is married to a stylish palette of gray and white, modern rustic touches and a combination of vintage and design-classic furniture for a home that looks beautiful but is family friendly too.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A young couple with 3 children
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Size: 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
The long extension at the back of the house is flooded with light and replaces a small, single-story kitchen. “It more than doubles the footprint of this house,” Crowe says. “We had to design carefully, keeping that scale in mind. So rather than a single glazed wall overlooking the garden, we suggested fitting a door and windows, to help delineate the huge space and frame the view.”
The sociable couple who owns this house wanted space for entertaining. The kitchen island allows friends to relax with a drink while the owners are cooking, and this large table, surrounded by Eames DSW chairs, can seat 10. “The table was just one of several pieces the owners wanted to factor into the design of this extension,” Crowe says.
The original living room, at the front of the house, is now a playroom. This sophisticated living space straddles the place where the old house ends and the extension begins. A tunnel fireplace was installed in the wall between this room and the dining space beyond to link the two areas.
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Houzz Tour: Home Expansion Lets the Sunshine In
