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The Irish Times
March 2004

A FINELY BALANCED KITCHEN DESIGN

Isabel Charlton and her family must have wondered whether their period house near Dublin city centre was going to fall down around them. It began when a living room ceiling fell in.

Architect Gary Mongey from Box Architecture was drafted in to help. He oversaw the replacement of the ceiling in that room and the adjoining one, and plasterwork remoulded.

Then, as often happens, once the builders were in there was a knock-on effect. The upstairs bathroom was changed and when its floor was found to be rotten this was replaced and, hey, why not redo the room below, whose external wall was falling off. Result? A new kitchen and dining area in an extension to the rear of the house.

While its tempting to build right across a garden to create as much indoor space as possible, the architect persuaded Isabel to have an internal courtyard (surrounded by a party wall, living room, kitchen and dining room). This works really well with the island unit inside the kitchen – something Isabel was reticent about because she was worried that the kitchen space was too small.

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