Keeping it in the family
Modernising her childhood home has created the perfect new house for this downsizer
For Margaret Reilly, growing up in her family’s three-bedroom terraced home in Dublin is a great memory. ‘This was always such a happy house,’ she says. ‘It seemed to be full of people, cousins from England staying and lots of friends and family visiting. My parents were very hospitable and kept an open house.’ Margaret inherited the property when her mother died in 2014. ‘It was so sad to see the house empty,’ she says. ‘For the next year I just had someone caretaking it, and postponed making any decisions about what to do with it.’
In early 2015 Margaret decided that it was time for her to downsize from her own large property as two of her three daughters were now married with homes of their own, at which point all three daughters – Rebecca, Emma and Vicky – started a campaign to keep the house in the family.
‘I’d initially thought I’d buy somewhere smaller near where I was living, but the girls were horrified at the thought of their grandparents’ house being sold or rented out. They had a deep attachment to it because they’d spent a lot of time there when they were growing up, as my parents were a huge help to me in rearing my family.’
It made sense financially, too, so Margaret was eventually persuaded and in November 2015 she started work on the refurbishment of her childhood home. Built in the 1930s, it had a flat-roofed kitchen extension that was added in the 1960s, and in the 1970s the attic was converted, which was accessed by a steep staircase leading up from a wardrobe in the main bedroom.
The kitchen extension was very small and there was only one bathroom, which was on the ground floor. In addition, there was no insulation and the interior was very dated.
‘The extension needed to be demolished and rebuilt, and my father’s workshop took up the entire back garden,’ says Margaret. ‘I wanted a large, open-plan, child-friendly family area opening out into the garden, with a kitchen,
a big kitchen table and room for a sofa and TV, so everyone would be able to be there together and feel comfortable in it.’
A friend recommended designer Wesley O’Brien, a coincidence as Margaret had once been his daughter Julie’s childminder. Wesley took her to see some recent projects he’d completed. ‘I was impressed by the clever use of space and the way the houses had been finished to a high standard,’ says Margaret. ‘And I really liked the fact that they were homes rather than showpieces.’ They worked together on the plans, and the renovation started in January 2016.
‘It was very strange to see the builder start on the demolition of the house that had been the same for as long as I could remember,’ says Margaret. ‘I couldn’t help wondering what my mother would make of it all! But it was exciting, too. I kept reminding myself that this was a fresh chapter – new life being breathed into the house.’
The reconfiguration started from the front door, where brick piers had been built under the original concrete canopy. Removing them damaged the pebbledash underneath so Wesley designed new rusticated pilasters adjacent to the front door. The sitting room door was moved to free up the long wall and make room for a sofa, and an original Crittall window from the house was used as a light panel. A dark timber fireplace was removed and the opening enlarged to allow a woodburning stove to be recessed into it. Wesley then designed a new fire surround, the back of which was covered in light-reflecting white Metro tiles. Also downstairs a new bathroom and utility room were built, while the old kitchen was demolished and replaced with a bigger, brighter extension.
‘The kitchen was the only area where Wesley and I disagreed,’ says Margaret. ‘I had seen a buttercup yellow kitchen in another house and fell in love with it as it reminded me of the Formica design we had in this house when I was a child, so I was determined to get one that resembled it.’
Wesley was unsure, but in the end Margaret got her way and the units were supplied by Elphin Fitted Furniture with yellow doors from Ikea that can easily be replaced if she wants a change. The high-backed peninsula unit designed by Wesley perfectly defines the kitchen area and creates a natural recess for a sofa. ‘It’s amazing how much we managed to fit into the space with Wesley’s help!’ says Margaret.
The three bedrooms upstairs were reconfigured to create two larger bedrooms, a bathroom and proper stairs to the attic room, where her grandchildren have sleepovers. ‘They love having their own room in the roof,’ says Margaret.
‘The whole build went very smoothly – having Wesley as project manager meant I had no hassle at all. He took care of everything and Colin Wendel of GC Construction was an excellent builder. In all, the renovation took six months and in July 2016 I moved back in. The house now works fantastically well for us all. I’ve come full circle back to my happy childhood home.’