DesignSolutions Those who live in the south county Dublin area may remember Fish Antics, a store in Monkstown that for many years sold all kinds of exotic fish.

Simon Kilroy owned it and now runs the business - which is no longer a shop - from his office in the house in Blackrock that he shares with his wife Gail and their three young daughters.

In many ways theirs is a standard suburban house but it's also unusual: the garden looks like a grassless ode to a Californian courtyard put together by Formality; the long kitchen was created from three rooms knocked together; the internal structure was further altered elsewhere and architectural details simplified.

But it's in Simon and Gail's bedroom that one of their most effective ideas was employed to make the space seem larger.

"In estate houses, bathroom en suites are a fairly standard size," says Simon, "so we knocked down part of the dividing wall and put in a stud partition with no door. The two rooms now flow into each other. It's a nice way to live."

Because the partition is only about eight feet high, the ceiling of both rooms can be seen from either bedroom or bathroom.

This creates the sense of being in a larger space (a very low bed from Ligne Roset at Arnotts also helps).

On one side of the partition is a mirrored press and large white wash-hand basin.

"We got it from Villeroy & Boch at Ideal Bathrooms," says Simon. "It's mounted on a timber shelf that hangs from the wall."

Because the sink unit is not flush to the ground, it means you see more floor space, making the room seem bigger.

The freestanding bath rests on a similar platform below a Graham Knuttel painting.

On the bedroom side of the partition, a small flat television screen is inset, so it can be watched from bed.

As ideas go, it's relatively simple to adapt to any type of bedroom and en suite - and perhaps the reason it works so well here.

Fish Antics 01 2846364

Ideal Bathrooms 01 4609911

Arnotts 01 8050400