This Dublin Bay home blends family history with modern design to create a peaceful sanctuary

by Amanda Kavanagh
22nd Jan 2026

The design honours the home’s past, and embraces its coastal views.

Perched on a slight slope, with sweeping views across Dublin Bay, stands a reimagined 1950s bungalow that blends the familiar with the contemporary. Originally it was one of four houses, and from the road retains a low profile, respecting its origins.

“It was our client’s grandfather’s home and they still have some old photos of how it looked when originally constructed,” says Gareth Brennan of Brennan Furlong Architects & Urban Planners. “The entrance doors were placed on their side elevations – likely for two reasons: to provide shelter to those entering the house and to allow the full extent of the front façade to enjoy the amazing views.”

The clients didn’t want to demolish the house and didn’t want the front facade to differ significantly from how it had looked before. “The house had been altered in terms of layout and extended over time,” explains Gareth, “but with the result that the flow of the house wasn’t ideal, and didn’t take advantage of the amazing setting.”

The brief was for a “quiet” house that wasn’t overtly visually assertive when viewed from the road but that catered for their busy family life – two adults, three children and a dog. “As it was our client’s grandfather’s house, there was an emotional attachment to it also, and they didn’t want that sense to be lost.”

Piggy-backing on the pre-existing dormer at the front, a new large dormer serves the relocated main bedroom, and by keeping the front door in its original location, Brennan Furlong was able to position the dining table adjacent to French doors centred on the front façade. Two original bay window openings were retained but the rooms are now living spaces.

As we walk around the house noting clever and thoughtful design choices, Gareth praises the homeowners and their relationships with all contractors throughout the project. Though keenly involved from start to finish, from the outset, the homeowners trusted the professionals they brought on board. “This created a remarkably collaborative sense on the project throughout as everyone bought into what we were trying to do, and I think, gave more of themselves as a result.”

Concrete is core to the new design, chosen for its strength and robustness, echoing sea-facing structures along the coast, from Herbert Simms shelters in Clontarf to the A2 Architects and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council project at Dún Laoghaire Baths.

“In winter, the sea can smash against the rocks across the road, the clouds tumble over the mountains heading for the house, and the ships look like they’re hunkered down waiting for a break to head into the port,” explains Gareth. “It always made me think of the Bob Dylan song, ‘Shelter from the Storm’ and I wanted to create that sense in the house – that the house would provide a literal and metaphorical shelter – from weather and the outside world.”

Gareth shares a number of reference points that influenced the design, from Baily Lighthouse and the Martello Tower at Red Rock – both with functions specifically related to their setting, and the concrete finishes of St Fintan’s Church by Andy Devane.

“But the main influence was the Mariners Church in Kilbarrack – a now ruinous structure which acted as a guide for sailors entering Dublin Bay before the formation of Bull Island, and into whose graveyard the washed-up bodies of unidentified sailors were laid to rest. There is something lovely about it as a small building battling against the inevitable casualties the storms in the bay would cause over the centuries.”

Caroline Flannery of Interiors by Caroline sourced much of the furniture and art, designed fittings, and devised the colour palette, which is informed by the spectacular views – designed to complement, rather than try to compete.

“Petria Lenehan and Leah Beggs are very talented Irish artists whose paintings are emotive and sensory with a strong connection to the natural environment,” says Caroline.

“The work is large-scale, which was important for this project, and the abstract nature allows the observer to contemplate. The more you look, the more you see; or perhaps you see something different each time, like all the most interesting facets of life.”

Throughout the home, a careful curation of old and new tells the family’s unique story, which is indicative of Caroline’s thoughtful and intuitive approach. A rug in the hallway, belonging to the owner’s grandparents, anchors the space with history, as do the original dining chairs, which were simply reupholstered in green fabric.

By respecting family history, the building itself and Dublin’s coastal heritage, this earthy home is testament to the power of respectful renovation. By making the most of the existing house, it maintains its modest charm, but internally unfolds into a practical haven for busy family life.

Photography Ruth Maria Murphy