Total Transformation

Yan and Barry took a tired, dark 1950s cottage in Knocklyon, Dublin and transformed it into a dream home flooded with light.

Yan and Barry were living in a Dublin apartment in 2014 when the search for a new home began. They had decided they wanted a property that offered more space and was in closer proximity to Rathfarnham. The couple took their time searching for the right fit, over two years in fact, however the property they ended up settling upon came as somewhat of a surprise. A 1950s three bedroom cottage on an elevated corner site had caught the eye of Yan and she made an appointment to view the home. Barry didn’t come to the viewing initially, instead looking at the images online, but Yan saw great potential in the cottage.

Upon arriving at the property Yan was greeted by a detached hip-roofed cottage, overlooking a small green, surrounded by mature trees and shrubbery and she knew immediately that this was the site for their dream home.

The couple decided to enlist the help of Brian Mulvey from Mad About Design for the planned renovation as they specialise in contemporary residential design, extensions, and renovations. The initial plan was to work within the original footprint of the cottage and to extend out to the side, however the design developed from these first thoughts to include an attached garage and a new master bedroom, making the property considerably larger. In the end, the final design was a complete rebuild of the entire home, with only one room remaining within the original dimensions of the previous cottage.

The planning process was a trying time as the suggested new build was considerably different from the original. It took over two years of toing and froing to get the build passed, with permission finally being granted in 2016 and the primary contractor beginning work in April of that year.