Renovating the family home after loss can be a new start

The overhaul of her end-of-terrace house in Dublin 8, completed last spring, was more than just a home improvement project for Iseult Coffey. She describes the decision to do the work and the subsequent transformation as symbolising a new start for her family after a very tough few years.
Coffey, who is creative director for a children’s learning apps developer, bought the property with her husband, Adrian, in 2008 before the arrival of their two children — Felix, now 14, and Lola, 10. The house had been owned by the same family since being built in the 1920s and she fell for it instantly. “It was really run-down when we walked in but it still felt lovely,” she says. “From the beginning we had a good relationship with the house.”
The couple carried out some initial works that included knocking down a wall between the kitchen and dining room, installing French doors to the garden and putting in a guest WC under the stairs. They were limited with their budget at the time and, Coffey says, had bad luck with their builder. “We still loved the house, we loved the neighbourhood and loved living here but the layout left a lot to be desired.
“Then Adrian got unwell and he died suddenly in January 2020,” she says. “And Covid happened and myself and my two kids went to ground. Everything shut down and we took refuge in the house. Then I felt it would be so nice to have a new start, after everything that had happened.”
She spoke to Ciara Murray of Newmark Architects, who’s a friend. “We had an almost religious fervour about the importance of good storage. That resonated really well.” Murray, in turn, referred Coffey to her partner in Newmark, Sinéad Bourke.
After more than 12 years living in the house, Coffey knew exactly what she was looking for. “Light and better use of space. I have a mantra that I inherited from my mother, which is ‘enough is plenty’. Square footage-wise for three people we didn’t need to do a big extension. We just needed to do a better job of using the space we have. Sinéad had amazing ideas — particularly for increasing light and increasing the flow of light through the house, which doesn’t have an ideal aspect.”
Coffey was also keen that everything would be as sustainable as possible, with regard to the house’s energy efficiency and the materials used in the upgrade.
Before this round of work was done, the living space amounted to 77 sq m across two floors. The ground floor was made up of an entrance hall, living room, kitchen/diner and that understairs guest WC at the lower level. Three bedrooms — one a tiny box room — were upstairs, along with the bathroom.
Apart from the light, the main issues were lack of storage, an unfair division of space upstairs and that there was nowhere to dry clothes. “I’m trying to run an eco-house so a dryer is not an option and the weather isn’t very reliable,” Coffey says. “So how do you dry your clothes without having a clothes horse up in the middle of your living area? I don’t understand why that’s not at the top of everybody’s list of needs.”
The work was carried out between September 2022 and April 2023 with the project being managed by Bourke. “It was stressful and a lot of work but a lot of people helped out. I found it a really warming experience how much people did chip in.
“I really trusted Sinéad. Having been burnt badly by my previous builder, it was amazing to be able to have that confidence and somebody who was advocating for me. I did it wrong when we first moved in so I knew enough to know I don’t know enough.”
As part of the project, a “hilariously small” extension — 5 sq m — was added to the side of the house to get that dedicated place to wash and dry clothes. It does a lot more besides, being home to a new guest WC, the water tank and heat pump equipment, as well as shelving and Shaker peg rails. Coffey describes it as the hardest-working room in Dublin.
Next door, light and space in the northwest-facing kitchen have been maximised. “We live mostly in the kitchen/dining area — it’s the heart of where we function as a family,” Coffey says. “I knew I wanted to put the most effort into that space. We had to take out the back wall and put in a load of steel and that gobbled up an enormous amount of money to give us the windows to increase the light but I think it was worth every penny. We always had to have the light on before.”
A solitary glazed door opens to the garden. “We had French doors before and only ever had one of those open. I would rather be able to use the space. We have raised beds where the other door would have been and we have seating inside.”
A fireplace has been removed and the space under the stairs is now open to the kitchen and kitted out with custom-made storage. The bespoke joinery throughout — including the kitchen units and island, bench seating, storage and shelving, and the staircase and the screen between it and the kitchen — was made by Dermot Bracken and is a mix of birch and maple ply.
Space has been gained in the living room by removing the chimney breast and a radiator — the ground floor now has underfloor heating and an insulated slab. “It was so limiting with what you could do in there. It’s only marginally bigger but it feels like a different space. Getting rid of radiators in a small house is a fabulous move if you can do it.”
Upstairs, a new skylight at the top of the stairs brings natural light into the previously very dark stairwell and landing. A loft space — with room for a bed and storage — has been added to the box room by going up into the attic. “It’s another bit of joinery and it feels so special.”
The chimney breasts have been taken out in the other bedrooms and new joinery in Coffey’s room has created a built-in wardrobe and a home office space concealed behind a sliding door.
In keeping with the aim of having tactile and sustainable materials wherever possible, and adding to the warm palette, the flooring throughout is cork — supplied and fitted by Natura Cork Flooring. “I love it. People said you can’t use cork with underfloor heating, which, it turns out, is not true. I had to navigate quite a bit of misinformation.”
The colour scheme — including a joyful yellow door to the utility room, a coral-hued floor-to-ceiling sliding door between the hall and the kitchen, and the green of the kitchen windows and in the entrance hall — was inspired by a Claire Prouvost painting that’s now hanging in the kitchen. “It’s full of gorgeous corals and bright yellows. I was looking at it and thought, why don’t we just use this as the palette?”
She’s done much of the painting herself. “I’ve had so much fun with paint and I’m still at it. I’m still painting those circles on the way up the stairs. I don’t know if I’ll ever be finished. I’ve definitely enjoyed that as a bit of a creative outlet.”
As part of the project, the garden was redesigned by Ingrid Smyth. “Because we put in so much glass outside, the garden is really important to the experience of the house. I thought, if it gets left for five years we’ll be looking at a big mess and it would totally dilute our experience.”
A new bike shed — with floor-to-ceiling shelving for more storage — sits in the space in front of the extension and is accessible from the front garden.
Coffey says that she was optimistic about how the house would turn out but didn’t know it would be as effective as it has been. “It just feels like a big hug. We’ve been through a winter now and it was very draughty before. It’s really warm and bright but cosy. It’s absolutely fabulous to live in. We are just so delighted with it. We talk about it, we say, ‘Aren’t we just so lucky? This is such a nice place to live.’”
newmark.ie, ingridsmythgardendesign.com