Chef extends by doing what comes naturally

Dublin 8/ €900,000: Timber, granite and brick has been used extensively to combine old and new elegantly in an extended redbrick, says Emma Cullinan.

A two-bedroom redbrick villa in Dublin 8 which has been extended to enclose a decked courtyard, is for sale at €900,000 through Sherry FitzGerald, Ranelagh.

The single-storey, late 19th century house at 62 St Alban's Road, opposite Griffith College on the South Circular, has the typically generous internal spaces found in these modest-looking homes.

This is apparent the minute you step into the large hallway, dramatically painted here in deep raspberry. The livingroom off to the right is also grand, with its 13ft high ceilings and substantial bay window whose glass extends to the ceiling.

This east-facing room (good for morning sun), has a period cast-iron fireplace and is painted blue up to the high picture rail. Above that it is white.

Beyond this room, in a sharp turn left off the hall, is an office/ second bedroom that faces west over the decked courtyard. The current owners have put an en suite in one corner.

The front hallway leads directly into a diningroom and kitchen beyond which is entered through a brick-sided opening with ancient oak beam above. The previous owners had plastered this over but the current residents were keen to expose some of the original fabric of the building.

This beam is held up by a metal plate which ties it in both structurally and aesthetically due to its deep colour.

Also working with the original structure, the long kitchen, with an island unit, extends into the courtyard in a large bay designed to mirror the bay window at the front of the house.

The kitchen comes with plenty of storage, behind which is included an American fridge and freezer. Designed, built and installed by Andrew Ryan & Co of Gorey, Co Wexford, the kitchen answered the call for a well-equipped, easily negotiable space for the chef who currently lives here.

Between the units is exposed brick and the floors are tiled with stone from Fired Earth. There has been extensive use of natural materials throughout the house, including a granite worktop, timber floors and tiles in the kitchen and main bedroom en suite (which has a huge shower). This will all work well as a long-lasting backdrop.

The main bedroom faces east onto the courtyard, with French doors giving easy access. The room is painted in a relaxing cornflower blue with a pale "moonlight blue" ceiling.

This follows the line of the pitched roof as another example of the owner's wish to have an interior that displays a feel for the building's structure.

"I wanted to reflect the old in the new," she says of the principle behind the recent refurbishment.