With clever design, a small house need not feel cramped and cluttered, as a compact Dublin property demonstrates.
The first time interior designer Deirdre Danaher saw the house she would eventually buy, it was a down-at-heel two-up, two-down place with a tiny yard. Just think of it: the creaky well-trod staircase; dripping bathroom faucets; lean-to outhouse at the back. But the location was good and it screamed potential. For her clients, Danaher handles both the structural and decorative aspects of a renovation. One of her specialities is space planning. So for her own place she built an extension to the rear and made lots of clever modifications inside. The ground floor of the house now has an open-plan living, dining and kitchen area. But although the space is free-flowing, each area is subtly separated in some way with different flooring material or furniture.
Upstairs is the bedroom, bathroom and office. Among the space-saving ideas she used was the removal of every internal door. In their place she installed sliding panel doors. "They make the space seem larger," says Danaher. "I don't need the privacy a family might."
The door openings were extended right to the ceiling, again to create a greater feeling of space. For what is technically a small house, it feels twice its size. One paint colour was used throughout the house, with built-in pieces painted a slightly darker shade (Danaher used Dulux 30YY 79/053, or Chalky Downs 6, possibly the perfect neutral paint). Her style isn't inspired by fads or fashion, but is more about having a clear, elegant backdrop with plenty of interesting things layered against one another. "The floor and walls of a room should be neutral and let the furniture and artwork speak," she says.
Once the clear backdrop was achieved, it was time to add definition. "Small spaces need definition, such as furniture that stands out and makes a room interesting. But you have to be careful about how you create that - it's better to do it with small touches such as cushions or trims rather than big statements such as rugs or curtains. You can't have everything small and light in colour, or a room just becomes boring."
LIVING AREA
"Generally a room like this would be decorated with curtains and shelving to one side of the window. I think that's the wrong way to go. By not using curtains and by having a long low horizontal storage unit running along the window wall, it means the room is pushed outwards - it looks stretched and bigger than it actually is. Having no curtains mean you're taken beyond the room. Painting walls and built-in furniture in the same colour helps, too."
The living room has a linen-covered sofa and a mix of individual chairs. One is a pony skin Basculante chair by Le Corbusier, another is a grey flannel Antonio Citterio bucket chair and there's also a red velvet chair from Habitat that Danaher customised by cutting off the legs so it sits flush to the floor. "It's better for a small space to have neat-sized chairs rather than the usual sofa and bulky armchairs."
Beneath the window are built-in presses that Danaher designed. "It would have been a waste of wall space to do upright shelving. This gives me a place to display photographs and other bits and pieces." To the left of the window are "floating" bookshelves, with no gable end, another piece designed by Danaher. "It hides pipes that couldn't be moved from that corner - sometimes what seems like a problem can throw up a great solution."
Danaher has a great collection of interesting art and photography. The trio of works hung round the chimney, for example, include drawings by Alice Maher.
DINING AREA
Danaher often entertains at home and chose comfortable Danish "Moller" chairs with woven seats. "This is a great chair because the shape is so open, yet it feels like an armchair. In small spaces, avoid chairs with tall backs - they don't necessarily make a chair more comfortable and really block off so much of a room."
The bench on the other side of the table came from a church. The glass table is narrower than a normal table. "It's very long and therefore suits the shape of the room. A lot of people choose a table that's too small because they're afraid to clutter a room, but don't forget everything happens at the table."
Danaher advises avoiding using suites of furniture in small spaces: "Have interesting pieces that don't match but have some relation to each other. The dining table here, for example, is glass topped but has iron legs that complement the long bench that sits next to it."
The two large prints are by artist Brian Kennedy. "I like to use big art in a small space - it adds a bit of punch to a room. Also, because the dining area is part of the kitchen, using good art makes it feel less kitchen-y."
KITCHEN
Kitchen units run across the wall opposite the table. They have been set into a purpose-built alcove. "Because the kitchen is right in the room, I wanted to make them as discreet as possible, so an alcove keeps them visually contained." There are no handles or any fussy details, which also helps make them "fade away".
BATHROOM
The wet room-style shower is open, apart from a glass screen. The fittings are from Arcon Bathrooms (www.arconbathrooms.com). They are rectangular rather than curved and are suspended from the walls, with no pedestals. "Suspended is better because it makes cleaning easier and lets you see all of the floor."
The tiles are travertine, with smaller mosaic tiles on the floor of the shower area. "The theme of this bathroom is a square. In a small bathroom, it's good to take a shape and follow it through with everything."
OFFICE
Each room has a sliding door, and when open the whole upstairs feels like one big, bright space. The office has large windows overlooking gardens behind the house. The floor in this room and the bedroom is inexpensive pine that Danaher painted in a creamy colour with a dragged effect using different shades of putty. It's a clean look and gives a richer finish that belies the humble material. On the landing between the rooms upstairs hang panels that Danaher made from horsehair fabric, inspired by something she saw at the Corso Como shop in Milan.
BEDROOM
Upstairs, the bedroom is to the front and the office at the back, separated by the bathroom. Danaher's bed is from Duff Tisdall (www.duff-tisdall.ie). "Its platform style is good here because you can see a little more of the floor, which helps make the room look bigger."
The bed is dressed with a blue Foxford blanket and bed linen made by Danaher in one of her favourite colour combinations: duck-egg blue, red and white. "In a small bedroom, the main feature is the bed, so let everything else disappear and dress the bed with colour to create interest." The bedside lockers are from Peter Johnson Interiors and the prints are by Robert Ballagh.
Deirdre Danaher can be contacted at 01-2880380