Open-plan kitchen/dining/livingrooms are commonplace these days, but they don’t work for every household. The owners of 10 Orlagh Close, a six-bedroom detached house on a quiet cul-de-sac off Scholarstown Road in Rathfarnham, knew they wanted to incorporate some separate living spaces for their growing family when they redesigned this home in 2003.
“The open-plan layout can be irritating in terms of noise, if someone is on the phone or boiling a kettle, for example. There’s also no privacy if you have visitors, and if you’re cooking, you can smell it throughout the room,” says one of the owners, who bought the house in 1992 with her husband.
They opted to turn the garage at the side of the house into a separate livingroom, and went with an open-plan layout for the kitchen/diningroom. There was already a separate lounge and a diningroom, but they wanted more space for their three children.
Glass doors leading out to the back garden were installed off the dining space, and remote-controlled Velux windows. In addition, underfloor heating and marble flooring was installed.
Upstairs, two bedrooms, both en suite, were added, and the attic was converted. Battery-operated blinds were installed in most of the rooms and the entire home was redecorated.
Now extending to 265sq m (2,852sq ft) with a C Ber, 10 Orlagh Close is for sale through DNG Rathfarnham with an asking price of €1.25 million.
The home has been well looked after over the years. Three years ago, the owners added new kitchen units by Jonathan Williams and engaged Dell Interiors to redesign the kitchen/diningroom, which now has an island with wood panelling on the sides and four high seats. A three-tier rectangular pendant light by Eichholtz from Wilde Interiors illuminates the dining table.
The back of the house faces east and, despite the extension, there remains a good-sized garden with a patio and a lawn. In the front, there’s parking space for three cars.
[ Look inside: Large and luxurious six-bed home with verdant views in RathfarnhamOpens in new window ]
Although they planned to make 10 Orlagh Close their “forever home”, the couple, whose children are now grown up, have decided to sell up and move to an older house, which they’re renovating.
“We’ve mixed emotions about letting it go as we’ve had many happy years here,” says the owner. “We’ll miss the house and the area. You’re so close to amenities and the Dublin Mountains here, and you can be on the M50 motorway within minutes.”
