Built-in storage has helped transform this compact Sandymount home
Streamlining and adding depth to the home, Anam Design Studio made the most of every space with clever additions.
Designing smaller spaces can always be a challenge, but in the case of this Sandymount home, Anam Design Studio have made use of bespoke joinery to make each room feel calm and generous.
A typical 1930s terraced home, when directors Alex Michell and Liz Hughes first saw it, there was no cohesiveness to the house, Alex explains. “A number of extensions and building works had been carried out over the years to add an extra bedroom and increase the overall floor area. Whilst the house was reasonably well presented, it was clear that a lot of the recent renovations were cosmetic in nature and a lot of the building fabric was in need of repair.”
Vinyl flooring was covering up the original pine floorboards, which had been cut up and repaired over the years to the extent that it wasn’t possible to restore them. The plumbing and electrics needed to be updated, while an ensuite that had been added to the main bedroom had left the layout feeling awkward.
The owner of the home, Alex explains, had some key requirements for the design. “The client is an avid reader and wanted to have plenty of shelf space to display his books in his living room and office and comfortable seating areas to be able to read in. He also wanted to have a suitably social space that he could share with his adult children or his friends and be able to watch the odd rugby match together.”
He is also a fan of mid-century furniture, and had some existing pieces that needed to be incorporated into the design, helping to give direction to the style it would take.
Anam’s design included laying a new oak parquet floor throughout the house, giving a wonderful sense of warmth and flow, while the radiators were replaced with a cast iron style to feel more cohesive with the furniture and accessories.
“We split the living room into two distinct zones: one for reading and one for socialising and watching TV,” Alex explains. “The area by the bay window provided an ideal location for the reading zone, providing ample light to read and the surrounding walls form a cosy nook where we could arrange plenty of book shelves and an armchair.”
The other section of the room centres around an &Tradition leather sofa, and an ottoman that can double as extra seating. “We designed a green marble coffee table to fit the proportions of the space,” Alex adds. “Whilst it wasn’t practical to completely enclose the TV, we were able to build shelving around it to lessen its impact on the room and provide cable management.”
A home office was another important part of the brief, to be located in the second bedroom. “Given the limited space in the room we integrated the desk and the wall shelving into one unit,” Alex explains. “We were really inspired by some of the beautiful old libraries in Dublin with their use of rich woods and fabrics and wanted to recreate some of those elements in the design whilst also keeping it modern. That led to us using smoked oiled oak for the joinery and deep greens for the lino top and rug. He had acquired a beautiful old Eames desk chair that set the tone for the rest of the accessories that included a Louis Poulsen table light.”
When it came to the main bedroom, the layout was a major issue to be addressed. “It was considerably smaller than initially designed because of the addition of an ensuite bathroom,” Alex explains. “We were left with a rather small but deep nook in the corner of the room that contained the wardrobe. We felt that this wasn’t enough storage space so decided to build a small walk-in wardrobe that came out in line with the ensuite wall. We clad that entire wall in oak to reduce the amount of visual clutter in the room and created secret doors for both the ensuite and the walk-in wardrobe.”
Throughout the home, a feeling of calm and warmth is created thanks to the carefully considered palette. “The client wanted the space to feel light and airy, but also have a masculine feel to it. We responded to this by creating quite a neutral base with the oak flooring and white painted walls. The golden tones of the oak provide an overall warmth to the place, and we really like the feel of solid wood parquet under foot.”
The furniture, too is sculptural, in sleek materials such as leather, and polished metal, but this is contrasted with the tactility of deep pile rugs and throws, to add softness to the space.
A favourite detail is the Rae mirror above the sofa by Mazo. “It is considered bad form and incredibly vain to hang a mirror in a living room in Denmark so Jessica Vedel, the designer, challenged herself to create a mirror that would be socially acceptable,” Alex explains. “Her solution was to split a circular mirror into two and angling both sides towards each other reflecting two different parts of the space in an interesting diptych. This transforms the mirror’s function into something far more playful and sculptural than we are used to.”
Bespoke joinery is key to the success of this design, and Alex and Liz were particularly pleased with how the office space turned out. “Wabi Sabi did an excellent job with the joinery and we feel the tones work together really well. We feel that the juxtaposition of traditional materials like wood and leather with the metal shelving above provide just the right level of interest whilst keeping in line with the functional objectives of the room.”
Photography: Peter Molloy
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