When Michael Cullinan was project architect for the Bishopsmead development on Clanbrassil Street, Dublin 8, five years ago, he took the opportunity to create a stunning light-filled three-bedroom duplex apartment for himself and his family.
Since then, his home has won several architectural awards and featured in interiors magazines - and now it is for sale, with a guide of over £250,000. It will be auctioned by Sherry FitzGerald on May 19th.
The reason why the apartment is so acclaimed is obvious the minute you walk in the door. It is a modern light-filled space which feels much larger than its 1,200 sq feet. It is laid out on two floors with a third level - a 400 sq ft roof garden which gives a panoramic view of the city. The bedrooms are on hall door level. There are three doubles and the main bedroom has an en suite, with access through doors on either side of the headboard, so that there is a shower on one side and a lavatory on the other. Also at this level is a study which could be an extra bedroom and a spacious and well-fitted utility room which doubles as the main bathroom in the apartment. The floor is covered in white mosaic tiles imported from America. The teak-clad staircase is lit by a large rooflight, and has a steel handrail. The main living area reveals where the architect got his inspiration. He lived in New York for a time and was inspired by its spacious light-filled lofts and apartments. So the livingroom - with a kitchen at one end, a dining table, and a sofa area at the far end - has light coming in quite literally through windows on all sides.
Livingrooms which contain the kitchen can be difficult to live in but not this one because the kitchen is divided from the rest of the room by a tall partition. This hides most of the units and the sink and cooker, and gives definition to the kitchen space. The units themselves have been made of varnished MDF and some of the doors have been glazed with sand-blasted glass. For cosy dining, a very large sliding door made from Yuan wood can be pulled across so that the stairwell is not on view. The living room area features a working fireplace and the floor is maple.
The secret of this uncluttered apartment is the amount of built-in storage. The kitchen may be compact but there is a large walk-in larder and a good-sized cupboard flush with the wall. All the bedrooms have roomy built-in wardrobes and the study has shelving on all walls. Another classic architect's trick for reducing visual clutter - using very few colours - is used to great effect. Most of the apartment is painted a very pale grey and the livingroom is white. The only strong colour in the place is a vivid yellow used in an alcove, on the fireplace wall and in the kitchen area.
This penthouse has the enormous plus of having two garages, with space to park four cars.
