Opening the door to better design

Two families who consulted architects on the fund-raising Simon Open Door day talk about how the advice they got transformed their homes. The next Open Day is on April 12th, writes Emma Cullinan

WHEN RUSSELL and Cliona Fitzsimons were looking for a new home for their growing family they viewed houses with extensions but were not impressed by what they saw.

"We got very disillusioned because many of them were badly laid out and many seemed to be rooms thrown on as an afterthought and were not thought through," says Cliona.

"They say that an extension will add value - and lots of people were asking an extra €50,000 for them - but they won't if they are not done right and would need to be pulled down."

So then the couple widened their search to homes without extensions, with a view to adding one themselves. They found two houses in Castleknock: a three-bed semi on a quiet street and a larger house on a main road.

They decided to get advice from an architect about the feasibility of reconfiguring the existing spaces and adding an extension and that was when Cliona read about the Simon Open Door day.

"We thought, what's the worst that can happen and, anyway, it is for a good cause, the Simon Community is something I would strongly support. We also felt that if an architect is prepared to volunteer their time then they must be alright."

They chose architect Colm Cosgrove of Cosgrove and Associates for geographical reasons. His office was near where they lived at the time and they took the RIAI's (Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland) advice - found on the website - and prepared for the hour's consultation.

"We were fairly clear about what we wanted," says Cliona, "but we did want to know whether we were barking up the wrong tree or not."

They brought brochures of the two houses they were thinking of buying and some rough sketches. Colm recommended the three-bed semi because it had a large garden - giving more room to expand - and the orientation was better, with its south-west facing garden. They also discussed how they might reconfigure the ground floor.

The Simon Open Door day not only gives people a chance to talk to an architect but also to get a feel for how they might work together should any project go ahead. "In that hour we sensed that we could work with him," says Cliona. "He was down-to-earth and grounded."

"He was very personable," agrees Russell, "he had no airs and graces which made it easier for us." So they asked him whether - should they go ahead - he would do the project. He said that he was busy until that September (2006) and the couple moved in in May, so they got a feel for the space and how it could be transformed.

This made it easy to appreciate how the house has changed. A kitchen that ran alongside one of the walls downstairs was moved into the extension to make way for a utility room, downstairs loo and shower as well as cleverly built-in shelves. The livingroom beside this now opens out completely into the extension.

"Every bit of space was used and Colm fitted in an amazing amount," says Cliona. "It has totally transformed the house."

The work took eight weeks and the couple praise their builder Jimmy Walsh. The neighbouring houses have extensions but, says Cliona, people often remark on how much bigger theirs feels even though it is the same size.

One reason is that their extension has been sunken slightly, being two steps lower than the house, and has a central pitch, taking the ceiling higher. "People are surprised when they walk in," says Cliona. "I'm not sure we would have gone to an architect if it hadn't been for this," says Russell, "it did open a door for us."

It is the couple's daughter, Ciara, who sums up the result. "I love this house," she announces.