A Modern Makeover

Brian and Deborah renovated this house in Killiney, creating a stylish family home that ticks all of the right boxes for their needs.

I didn’t feel we needed to add floor space, but we needed to improve the flow and open up the potential for light and garden views.’ Going through the many possibilities, the couple decided they wanted an open-plan kitchen/dining area but a flexible arrangement with the living area, so that it could be separated, and they also wanted a completely separate living/TV room for the children and a toy room.
They spoke to four different architects. However as Deborah comments, ‘We found some were a lot more interested in their own vision than our needs.’ However, Stefan Hoeckenreiner of Ambient Architecture was recommended by a friend and the couple found him very practical and straightforward. ‘Stefan could talk about design without losing us, describing things in very practical terms,’ says Deborah. ‘We asked him to solve our issues with spatial flow, open up the house to the garden and provide us with a large entertainment space; we both come from big families and need to seat large family groups.’

Read more in the February issue…