Clever conversion

There are hundreds of single storey redbrick houses off Dublin's South Circular Road, and they are always popular, mostly because of their proximity to town and because they have some period features usually associated with much grander houses. However, their original layout is not very suitable for modern living, and renovators who don't have professional help usually run into trouble, especially when deciding the two most important issues when reworking these small houses - where to put the kitchen and the bathroom.

Roisin McCann, an architect and furniture consultant, bought 50 Greenville Terrace in Dublin 8 two years ago, and has now put it on the market. Anyone interested in these types of houses would do well to see the clever way she has reworked the house, which is for auction by Douglas Newman Good on September 29th with a price guide of £240,000.

These houses always have impressive and very large square-shaped front rooms with high ceilings and decorative cornices. Ms McCann uses this room as her bedroom.

Taking some space from the back room, she has made an en suite the size of a small family bathroom for her bedroom. Cleverly, it is accessed both from her bedroom and from the hallway, so it doubles as the house's main bathroom. Its walls are tiled in white, as is the floor, and the only strong colour in this house is a rich egg yolk yellow to be found on the bathroom's wall-tops and ceiling.

On down the narrow hallway is the house's impressive open-plan reception area that is likely to be the big selling point for this house.

It is a new extension that runs the width of the house and is designed so that it features two tall apex ceilings dotted with Velux windows. These windows are glazed with sandblasted glass, which is a very smart idea that reduces daytime glare and does away with the off-putting feature of a black patch of glass overhead at night.

Light comes into this room from every angle - through the roof, through large triangular-shaped windows at the end of the room, through the glazed patio door and even through two small, square-shaped windows in the kitchen area. The colour scheme is neutral throughout, with white walls and a new maple floor, which, interestingly, has been limed to make it look a soft white colour. This style of floor has been used in every room in the house. Art on nearly all the walls, as well as the large rugs, provide splashes of colour.

On one side of this large room is the kitchen/dining area; on the other is the living area. The kitchen is compact and bright, with white units and a Junkers worktop. There is extra storage space in a tall, built-in cupboard off the hall. On the other side is the living area, which has as its focal point a stainless steel fireplace, set high in the wall. Off this room is a sliding door that has been partially glazed in sandblasted glass. It opens to reveal a good-sized home office that also doubles as a guest bedroom. There is some storage space in this room in a space directly under the roof.

The view out to the patio garden is maximised by the glazed patio door and by the floor-to-ceiling window. Ms McCann hasn't hung curtains across this large expanse of glass, preferring to turn on strategically placed lights in the patio to give the very pleasant impression of an outdoor room. The patio has been paved in Portuguese limestone that is very similar in colour to the limed wooden floor inside.