The Irish Times
March 2004

A FINELY BALANCED KITCHEN DESIGN

Isabel Charlton and her family must have wondered whether their period house near Dublin city centre was going to fall down around them. It began when a living room ceiling fell in.

Architect Gary Mongey from Box Architecture was drafted in to help. He oversaw the replacement of the ceiling in that room and the adjoining one, and plasterwork remoulded.

Then, as often happens, once the builders were in there was a knock-on effect. The upstairs bathroom was changed and when its floor was found to be rotten this was replaced and, hey, why not redo the room below, whose external wall was falling off. Result? A new kitchen and dining area in an extension to the rear of the house.

While its tempting to build right across a garden to create as much indoor space as possible, the architect persuaded Isabel to have an internal courtyard (surrounded by a party wall, living room, kitchen and dining room). This works really well with the island unit inside the kitchen – something Isabel was reticent about because she was worried that the kitchen space was too small.

But now the island is in, the circulation space around it is fine and Isabel enjoys having a view to the courtyard while cooking, and if family and friends are there to block that view, even better. She loves being able to socialise while preparing a meal.

Appliances are hidden behind the veneered units from McNally Kitchens but there is still a good interplay of materials. The glass cupboards above the sink – lit from within – balance well with the high cupboards on either side, and the granite worktop and light ceramic floor tiles contrast nicely with the kitchen units.

The architects have designed a space with an astonishing amount of natural light while retaining the privacy of this city centre home. The huge timber-framed sliding doors beside the dining area and kitchen, which meet at a right angle, pull back to give both rooms direct access to the courtyard (which is Indian sandstone floor) and each other.

Isabel is happy with her new kitchen but says the process was painful – dealing with plumbers, electricians and so on, and ordering things only to be told that the delivery would take eight weeks. “The amount of running around is extraordinary and I was on short fuse for a lot of the time,” she laughs.

She is pleased that she didn’t opt for the cheapest kitchen reasoning that a kitchen does a lot more than a car and yet people are prepared to pay thousands for their four wheels while skimping on cooking facilities. Her previous kitchen lasted for 15 years and she no doubt expects the same sort of performance from her new one.

An unexpected drain on the family purse was the fact that once the new dining area was in place, the existing furniture looked wrong and was sent off to auction. The new dining table and chaise lounge, on which to contemplate the back garden and life, came from Living (Drury Street, Dublin) and the table is graced by a Paul Costello vase.

Spot lights, inset halogen lamps and the doors handles were all specified by the architect.

The work began last July and the family moved back in just before Christmas for some dusty celebrations. “It takes ages to get rid of the dust,” says Isabel, “it even got into clothes and food.”

But now that it’s all settled she says that it was definitely worth it.

www.box.ie