Phase Three: A Home Designed for Life

When Martin and Edel decided to leave their larger family home behind, they weren’t searching for somewhere smaller. They were planning for the future.

Working alongside Michael Malone of Ceardean Architects, homeowners Edel and Martin transformed a neglected Dalkey cottage into a contemporary home designed to support them through the decades ahead. Every decision, from the layout and energy efficiency to the kitchen design and furniture choices, was made with one goal in mind: creating a beautiful home that would continue to work for them well into old age. ‘The whole remit of the build was to think of us in our 80s,’ explains Edel. ‘If, God forbid, one of us lived there on our own, it had to be a fully functioning, low-maintenance, comfortable house.’ The cottage they purchased had been vacant for some time and was run down. ‘It was in relatively poor condition and hadn’t had any renovations or modernisation,’ explains architect Michael Malone from Ceardean Architects. ‘Subsequently, we fully had to renovate the infrastructure.’

Read more in the August issue…