Extension that sees the light

MY SPACE:Lighting designer Niamh Barry built an extension and a garden room to make space for family and friends

Lighting designer Niamh Barry lives with her husband Killian McNulty and daughters Katie (7) and Ella (4) in Clontarf. Killian hires furniture for use in film, theatre and ads, and owns a furniture sales firm, Midcentury Designs (www.mid-centuryonline.com).

When did you move here and why?

We moved from a beautiful Regency house in Summerhill because this was nearer to Killian’s work and schools. If I could have picked up our old house and brought it here I would have. In an ideal world I would never have moved to a three-bed semi but that is all we could afford in this area. We moved in 2004. I knew the minute I walked in here that it fulfilled all our criteria: it was south-facing at the back and had quite a long garden. I knew we could do something really nice with it and could see the potential for extending it but Killian hated it. The only reason for buying it was because I could see that I could do something. We painted it before we moved and got the practical things in place, like heating, to get us through a few years until we could afford to do something.

What is it like to live in?

Because we had come from an amazing house, scale-wise this felt small. But we felt instantly at home. The first family who lived here had 11 children. They had cows – which they kept in what is now a car-park – which they would drive up and down Vernon Avenue. I think the house had a good feel because of all the children who lived here. The garden was closed off from the house. There was a small window from the back room to the garden and a tiny window in the lean-to kitchen so the house wasn’t making the most of south-facing light. We wanted to open up the house at the back and create a space for entertaining and dining in the courtyard. We also wanted an open fire outside and space for growing herbs and vegetables.

How did you go about designing the extension?

I wanted an extension that was as bright as possible and contemporary. I love the idea of a glass box on a Georgian house, expressing the difference between old and new. But, while I kept that idea in mind, it wasn’t really possible here because of the design of the house. It was built in the 1930s and is simple and plain. Also, while I absolutely love the glass-box look I had to think practically. This is a home, not a gallery. We live with two kids, dogs and a cat so I went for something softer.

Why did you build a separate structure at the end of the garden?

We wanted a fourth bedroom and no matter how I tried to design one upstairs it just looked like a big monstrosity stuck onto the back of house. So we built the guest bedroom outside, although it is a multi-purpose building and has doors that fold right back because we wanted a room that we could dine in, in the summer, and a place that the children can hang out in with their friends when they are older. When people come to stay it is brilliant. It is private for them and private for us. It is a great way of accommodating friends and family. We can have dinner together and then they can go down the garden and sleep as late as they want and we don’t have to worry about keeping kids quiet so as not to wake people up.

Did you work with an architect?

Jim Lawler, of Melted Snow, fine tuned the design with me. I had the basic plan done when I met him. He was able to tell me what complied with building regulations and planning. He created a 3D model so I could see how things would work. He is brilliant to work with. We also had a great builder in Eddie Rainsford of Kelly and Rainsford. They were a nice crew and there were no problems.

We stayed in the house while the work was carried out and at one point we were living in our bedroom. We had half a bathroom and cooked on a little gas ring in the garage: there was lots of eating out and going over to mum’s for Sunday lunch. But it was an advantage being on site because I was able to answer questions and to see if something wasn’t right.

The kitchen is pretty central to the ground floor. The kitchen that came with the house didn’t function well – you were constantly in your own way. We love to cook and everything we have done to the house is about entertaining.

The kitchen – from Arena Kitchens on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay – was really important. We have had bad kitchens in the past where they just didn’t work when two people were cooking in them.

I spent hours and days thinking about the kitchen. I must have done about 30 different layout sketches and we thought about how to make it really functional; things like putting a drawer beneath the oven so that you don’t store things in the oven and keep baking them. I’ve also had kitchens where the handles didn’t work well and I made sure that everything worked here: it’s a hard-working kitchen. The island unit is great when friends come and we can be cooking and talk to them.

We looked at ultra modern shiny glossy dark kitchens which looked great but they don’t have longevity. I wasn’t buying a kitchen as an accessory but as a functional part of the house. To make it last both practically and aesthetically I went for something very neutral but I will introduce some colour to the walls soon now that I have lived with it for a while.

Do you have some of the lighting that you design in the house?

I don’t: I don’t really dwell on my work. I do what I do and move on, although I do have a piece that I am going to make and put into the livingroom. But I did consider the lighting in the house very carefully. I used relatively inexpensive fittings but cleverly; everything is directional and dimable.

Lighting is probably the single most important element of an interior. If a home is not lit properly it can be dead flat and unatmospheric. People don’t consider lighting as much as they should.

If you leave a builder to do the lighting you will often end up with a sea of halogen downlighters in every room. I have seen cases where they will put in GU10 mains halogen lights because they are too lazy to put in a transformer. These will all start to blow three months down the line, the electricity bills will be high and the room will be dull but the client won’t know that when they are being put in.

I buy a lot of electrical components from Euro Sales in Ringsend, Glasnevin and Sandyford: they really know what they’re doing. I thought of every scenario: what we would be doing in every part of the day and put lighting in key areas, to light paintings, books and places where we read.

Does Killian’s work mean that you change your furniture often?

He brings in a lot of furniture from the US and sometimes I will see something I like and bring it home and live with it for a while before it goes back to the warehouse. I go out and eye things up and ask how much it would be if we were to buy it. We had a great Pierre Cardin dining table – which could extend to seat 14 people – that came home at Christmas for a month.

Are you happy with the way the house has turned out?

I love it. The extension really works visually and practically.