DesignSolutions: Problem When jewellery designer Maureen Lynch and her architect husband Michael O'Driscoll bought their terraced house in Dún Laoghaire it had not been occupied for several years and had been pretty much untouched since it was built in the mid-1930s: gas lamps were still in the bedrooms, there was no indoor toilet (never mind a bathroom) and barely a kitchen to speak of.
This was a modest house built with few comforts. So one of the most important parts of the couple's transformation of the place was an extension designed by Michael to accommodate a kitchen at ground level and a bathroom on the first floor above. The question was how to make it compatible with both the house and it's very small garden.
Solution: "The way I look at an extension is that you either try to make it look as if it was always there and not an extension at all, or make a clear distinction from the house and let it be very different looking," says Maureen. They chose the second approach and built a contemporary structure that is quite a contrast to the original house. It juts into the rear garden with a decking area to one side. "The garden is so small that the elements within it have to be sympathetic to each other because everything is so close. Wood obviously has an organic feel and is a soft material compared with say, pebble dashing, so we covered the extension with horizontal timber battens. You're not going to be rubbing against the walls, but in a garden it's important that things are touch-friendly.
The garden is made of textures - gravel, paving slabs, plants - and wood fits with all that." The extension roof is copper, as is the surround of the kitchen window. If there's a sense of calm looking back at the house from the end of the garden, Maureen reckons it's because "the repeated lines of the timber are very soothing. Repeat patterns usually have that effect because they're not busy".
The timber battens aren't just mounted on to an ordinary wall: this extension is also unusual because it is insulated from the outside. Basically, everything is opposite to the standard way: behind the battens is a waterproof membrane that keeps water away from the insulation that sits in front of the brick wall. The whole thing wasn't particularly expensive (the battens are cheap to buy) and they chose to treat the wood but not leave it in its natural state. So what they've ended up with is a very comfortable house with an extension that is honest to its purpose and has the added advantage of an exterior that successfully blends with the garden.
Maureen Lynch will be at RDS Crafts Fair from December 8th-12th. Her jewellery is stocked in the Kilkenny store and Elements in Black rock
