Small but PERFECTLY FORMED
A change of heart paid off for this couple, who found their ideal starter home miles away from their original dream
When building contractor Damir Catic agreed to help his builder friend Colin Wendel refurbish a property, he didn’t think for a moment it would lead him and his wife-to-be Sue to their own new home. Colin had bought a small period terraced home in Dublin in dire need of repair and, as they worked on it, Damir found himself won over by the city centre location and character of the property. He also enjoyed the challenge of creating a contemporary living space while retaining period features.
‘We’d been planning to buy a new-build three-bedroom house located somewhere on the outskirts of Dublin,’ says Sue. ‘This was a totally different proposition altogether.’
Colin had found his house with the help of property scout and interior designer Wesley O’Brien, who had also reconfigured the layout of the interior. Just out of interest, Damir asked him if he could find him something similar within his budget. Wesley said he had something nearby, and would Damir like to take a look?
A rather startled Sue had her doubts when Damir first took her to the mid-terrace artisan two-up two-down on a sleepy street in the shadow of St Peter’s Church in Dublin’s Phibsborough. The house was small and damp, with a substandard extension at the back housing a cramped kitchen, scullery and bathroom. It needed complete refurbishment, new insulation, heating, plumbing, wiring, and a new roof, kitchen, windows and bathroom. There was no fire wall between it and the adjoining house, and the boxed-in staircase was particularly dark and gloomy.
‘To be honest, I didn’t know what to think,’ says Sue. ‘It was far from beautiful. I did like that it was just minutes from the city centre, and Wesley pointed out that period city houses keep their value very well, so it would be easy to trade up from it as a starter home. Damir seemed to have set his heart on it, but I was only convinced when I saw Colin’s finished renovation nearby. From a similar start, they’d created a lovely, warm and comfortable modern home with lots of character, and I trusted completely in Damir’s ability to make our home every bit as beautiful.’
The couple decided to make an offer and when it was accepted planning began in earnest. Their priorities were to create a contemporary house with a sense of style, that retained its original features and had a good energy performance rating.
Damir called on his friend Colin for assistance, and the first thing they did was to pull down the partition covering the stairwell to reveal the original balustrade, handrail and newel post, which was in good condition behind it. There were also some unexpected features uncovered along the way, including the original brick fireplace where the Victorian range would have stood, an arch to the kitchen and tongue-and-groove doors upstairs.
A new kitchen was created from the former kitchen, scullery and bathroom, which were all in a row, and rooflights in the ceiling and a small window over the stairwell helped to brighten up the interior of the house.
One of the most controversial decisions was not to install double doors from the living space out onto the yard. ‘We thought it would be nice to have glazed doors opening out into the small courtyard, but Wesley persuaded us to put in a large window instead,’ says Sue. ‘I wasn’t sure at first, but his reasoning was that double doors would clutter the already very small dining area, pushing back the table and taking up wall space, and would rarely be used in this
‘I can walk to the city for shopping, or home after a night out, and I love to show off the house to friends,’
SAYS SUE
climate anyway!’ Upstairs, extra wardrobe and storage space was found for the main bedroom by extending into the spacious staircase area, and walls were moved around to fit in a shower room flooded with daylight from a large light well in the roof.
Damir was put in charge of the demolition and structural renovations, helped by Colin who was only too pleased to return the favour for his friend, while Sue set about choosing furnishings and finishes with Wesley’s help. As the couple had spent most of their budget on the purchase and renovation, there wasn’t much left in the kitty, so the majority of the furniture was sourced in secondhand shops and online sales and exchange sites, and then repainted and restored to fit with the décor.
‘I still can’t believe the transformation,’ says Sue. ‘Our home is cosy and compact, filled with light and surprisingly stylish given the minuscule budget for finishing. I can walk to the city for shopping, or home after a night out, and I love to show off the house to friends.
‘We’re only really here because Damir volunteered to help out Colin, and we could never have imagined that this good deed would bring us such a lovely reward!’