Contemporary Charm

Julie and Julian found the perfect location, and with a bit of persuasion they found themselves with a rundown cottage to turn into a home that ticked all the boxes.

- Barbara Egan

With spiraling house prices in Dublin, Julie and partner Julian despaired of ever being able to afford to move out of their parent’s homes. ‘There is nowhere even to rent in Dublin at the moment, so we couldn’t even create a credit record of rental payments’, says Julie. Then Julie’s father, property scout and designer, Wesley O’Brien spotted this tiny rundown cottage in Dublin city as an investment renovation project for long-term letting, and persuaded a client to buy it.

‘It was pretty horrible, but Dad seemed sure he could make something of it, and he’s really good at renovations,’ says Julie. ‘But I also thought it was very small, and I wasn’t so sure what he was going to be able to do about that.’ The cottage had been in the same family for generations, and had hardly been altered from the original layout; the kitchen consisted of an ancient gas cooker and a Belfast sink in a tiny scullery, and there was no bathroom, only an outside toilet.

‘The house was untouched, that’s what attracted me,’ says Wesley. ‘There were no structural alterations, although there was a 1950s beige tile fireplace, which would have to go. But the ceilings were 3.35 metres high, and there was a reasonably sized back yard to use for an extension, with enough space left over for a seating area.’