'We've designed the IDEAL SPACE'

Emer renovated her home to create an inviting space decorated in a soft colour palette, packed with timeless design

- MAXINE BRADY AND LAURIE DAVIDSON

As a lighting designer and maker I work with interiors and material designs daily, so it's always part of my every day,' says Emer. "So when we moved into our house, it didn't faze me that it needed to be fully renovated. Although it was in good condition and had all its original fireplaces and beautiful ceiling detail and cornicing (which is what we fell in love with), the space didn't work for us as it was.

We started off by knocking down the wall between the reception rooms, which had become a dumping ground. Then we started updating the bedrooms, and it wasn't long before we submitted planning to convert the loft.

Moving ahead

Once planning was approved, we had an L-shaped loft conversion built, complete with a master bedroom and en-suite, and another smaller bedroom which is a guest room, with a hidden washing machine and dryer.

The Americans got it right with having their washing machine and dryer upstairs; it's a game changer and incredibly handy. This part of the renovation took about five months.

Extending out

At the top of my wishlist was to be able to access the garden through large double doors. My husband Brad is a keen gardener, and we both adore sitting in the garden. Because we had a raised kitchen at the back of the house, I wasn't convinced this was possible, but an architect friend assured me that it was it just might cost more. So, for the second phase of our renovation we built a side-return kitchen extension, dropping the floor and building out to the side, which took about six months.