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See the light. Clever use of glass can provide a spectacular extension to an otherwise plan home. Karen Hesse looks at house in Milltown and Portobello that are perfect examples

The Sunday Times (Ireland Home Section), December 1, 2002

There is house in New Orleans they call the Rising Sun. There's another one by the same name in Dublin 6, the antithesis of the property in the Animals' song that ruined poor boys, and a good example of making the most of what you've got.

The 1930s house in a mature estate in Milltown in typical of many three-bed semis in Ireland, built on a Victorian model, complete with red brick and rendered façade. Like many neighbours, the owners, Charles and Alice Sheehan, have converted the garage into living space. The extension continues to the full roof height and to all intents and purposes the house appears as if it has always been double-fronted.

To the front it looks like many others on the road. But that's where the similarities end. Behind the hall door there is a glimpse of light from the back of the house that is key to the transformation. "It's all about the light," says Gary Mongey of Box Architecture, Dublin 8, who was drafted to deliver the Sheehans' vision. They made their house their dream home and in the process scooped a design award for Box Architecture.

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