This Art Deco Donnybrook house has been adapted for multi-generational living
While preserving the features of the original home, Antipas Jones worked on a generous extension, garden room and mews house to provide space for all nine of its inhabitants.
Multi-generational living has many benefits, but it can be tricky to find a home that suits everyone’s needs. The owners of this Art Deco home in Donnybrook moved there because they felt that it was more suitable for this purpose than their previous Georgian home, but it still needed work.
They got in touch with architecture practice Antipas Jones, founded by Lucy Jones and Christophe Antipas, to help them transform the home.
There were many aspects to this project, Lucy explains. “The baseline requirements for the clients were the restoration of the existing house, the installation of cabinetry to maximise storage, the design of a sheltered ‘external room’ for summertime, a new space large enough for entertaining and the potential for a mews house. Over time it became clear that to support their family the house needed to be thought of in four zones.”
The first is the shared family and utility rooms on the ground floor of the existing house. The second was an ‘apartment’ including two home offices on the first floor for the couple. The third was two enclosed suites for their college age children on the second floor. And lastly, an accessible mews house in the garden for their elderly parents and future carer.
“The separation between these areas gave us flexibility,” Lucy says, “allowing each part to be treated differently.”
The approach in the existing house was to return the building to its original form, removing additions and repairing whenever possible. “This approach was aided by our clients who appreciated the imperfection of the historic fabric and collaborated with us to source suitable finishes, materials, furnishings, and fittings,” Lucy explains.
Storage was key to this part of the house, and utility rooms and bathrooms were made the most of to help keep the main spaces clear of clutter. “Over the course of the build, our approach to the existing house changed, allowing it to develop an identity distinct from the new build elements. This allows the house to read as something with its own logic, adjacent to the extension rather than being over-shadowed by it.”
The extension was a key aspect of the project. “The extension was conceived as a generous room linked to the garden that would create a flexible backdrop for its nine users,” Lucy says.
“It is sheltered by a vaulted roof supported by four deep triangular beams meeting on a circular steel column. This column pulls the glass façade and garden inside, while the reflective terrazzo floor continues outside, seemingly pooling at the edge of the planting to create a sheltered external dining area. This spatial and material blurring is deliberate, and further emphasised by large sliding glass screens and rooflights flooding the space with light.”
Opposite this are the garden room and mews. “The mews itself is one large multifunctional space on the ground floor. It is flexible and unassuming, with a large space supported by a continuous poche wall with an accessible bathroom, kitchenette, storage, wardrobes, a fold down double bed on the ground floor and a guest mezzanine above.”
The success of this project, Lucy believes, lies in this approach of considering each element individually, yet making sure they work together. “Ultimately the project succeeds because of the nuance and flexibility of the design and as each part works in concert with the next creating a shared complexity. This is emphasised by the interior scheme which was designed to showcase the client’s existing art, antiques, lighting and furniture.”
She also advises with any project, to keep a conversation open throughout the process. “As the project starts to emerge, opportunities will appear. Discussing these and taking your time in the first work stages can lead to a richer design.”
Photography: Shane Lynam
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