Inside this sleek Victorian terraced home in Ranelagh

WHO LIVES HERE Gavin Prendergast, head of successful boutique catering company Urban Picnic, and Lucy, his lovable chocolate Labrador.

THE HOUSE A modernised, extended redbrick period house in Ranelagh.

WHY WE LOVE IT The warm, off-white Scandinavian-chic interior, the expansive, fluid space, and the quality of the light.

Gavin Prendergast came across this redbrick terrace in Dublin 6 just over two years ago. Built in 1885, it hadn’t been touched in a long time and was not really liveable (there was no heating), but the minute he walked in the door, he felt this could make a wonderful home.

For the arduous renovation process that was to follow, he hired Arthur Gibney and Partners, whose lead partner, David Harris, is a long-standing family friend. “I had a bit of a bond with him, and he understood what I wanted.”

“We designed the house around the courtyard, in a very Northern European style, because I wanted to look out into a garden from every corner of the house.” The whitewashed elongated floorboards and the light, muted colours of the walls further contribute to a wonderful fluidity throughout the house.

“In summertime, the three folding doors from the side of the kitchen slide right up – and when you open the front door, standing at the front gate of the house, you can look right through, all the way to the garden and the back gate.”

He discovered he had a strong interest in minimalist Scandinavian design, but was adamant that the house was also going to be cosy. The result is a beautifully sleek and uncluttered house, with a clean and calming sense of space that still manages to be warm and inviting.

Gavin developed his sense of style gradually, influenced by his travels to Europe and Australia. He started putting ideas together using the moodboard du jour, Pinterest, and buying a lot of furniture and pieces online. “I also went out to places like Peter Johnson Interiors [in Dublin 8’s Antiques Quarter], where I got quite a few pieces. I went to the Dublin Flea; I even went to a fleamarket in Paris, not necessarily with the intention to ship home, but a lot of it was just about discovering myself and what I liked.”

“If I weren’t cooking, I would have picked this as an occupation,” Gavin laughs. “There is a bit of an artistic flair in both professions, I guess, and I enjoy that.”

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Words Diana Nacu. Photography Simon Watson. Styling Marlene Wessels. This article was first published in Image Interiors & Living in 2015.