Window is a glass act

DesignSolutionsProblem: Fiona Gratzer, the managing director of Unislim Ireland, lives with her husband Uwe and their young children in Drumcondra. When the couple bought their 300-year-old house four years ago, it was home to a B & B and in poor condition.

But positioned on a quiet, pretty street, it had many plus points: once inside, a series of rooms open up, each surprisingly large with grand ceiling heights and features such as a 19th century stained glass door, an exposed brick hearth and a dramatic staircase.

At the back of the house (which was actually the front when it was originally built) is the kitchen, in a structure that was added during its B & B days.

"The room was oppressive with a low ceiling and no view to the garden," says Fiona, "and also very dark because this side of the house doesn't get much sun."

So during the renovation, doing something to change this was a priority: "We wanted to let in extra light, orient the room towards the garden and, because the rest of the house has such high ceilings, continue that sense of space."

Solution: Fiona's architect, Alistair Coyne, designed the catering-style kitchen with professional cooker, steel rack shelving and the built-in stainless steel cutting board that Fiona perches upon in this photograph.

To keep continuity with the rest of the house, ceilings were raised and a sloped roof light that runs the width of the room lets in a lot of daylight. What attracts the eye most, however, is a curved glass window at one side that runs from countertop to ceiling.

"The curved glass gives an uninterrupted view of the garden," explains Fiona, "and, because it's so big, we can see our children when they're outside."

The combination of pushing the room upwards and creating this window transformed the space but it wasn't the easiest thing to do.

"We used a company called True Curve. They specialise in curved glass but, because of the size of the window, it was very hard to install. And it was double glazed, which meant it was heavy too. I think they broke about four panes to get one in!

"It took a lot of effort but they were excellent and really good about it, even though they must have been cursing me."

A slim, flat metal bar is used to stabilise the glass so one continuous piece could be used. Because the window is sealed with no openings, to the right is a tall panel - in the same Iroko African wood used throughout the kitchen - that opens to allow airflow.

She admits the window was expensive, but then most things that are custom-made tend to be and this is particularly unusual, if paradoxically quite simple also.

The curved window is a success, says Fiona, because "it lets great light into the kitchen and, although there's certainly only one gardener in the house - my husband is mad about plants and has a herb garden at the bottom - we can now really see the garden properly."

True Curve, Unit 2 Grand Canal Business Park, Jamestown Road, Inchicore (01 4730710); Alistair Coyne Architect