{"id":345040,"date":"2026-02-19T09:10:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T09:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/345040\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T09:10:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T09:10:15","slug":"heres-how-an-architect-would-renovate-this-two-bed-home-in-dublin-8-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/345040\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s how an architect would renovate this two-bed home in Dublin 8 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">High <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/property\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/property\/\">property<\/a> prices make the task of buying your first home in Ireland ever more challenging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Many prospective <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/first-time-buyer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/first-time-buyer\">first-time buyers<\/a> find their search often limited to these options: <\/p>\n<ul class=\"c-unordered-list paywall\">\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">A new-build house that qualifies for Government financial aid schemes \u2013 often located on the outskirts of towns and cities<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">A fixer-upper in need of renovation, which may be more conveniently located<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The second option is attractive if you have the savings to approach a renovation, but then comes the question of where to start in a home that needs work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">With that question in mind, The Irish Times asked architect John Dobbin of Dobbin + Company Architects to advise how he would suggest renovating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myhome.ie\/residential\/brochure\/22-faulkners-terrace-kilmainham-mount-brown-dublin-8\/4962604\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.myhome.ie\/residential\/brochure\/22-faulkners-terrace-kilmainham-mount-brown-dublin-8\/4962604\">22 Faulkner Terrace<\/a> in Kilmainham, Dublin 8: a two-bedroom midterrace property extending to 63sq m (678sq ft) with a G Ber. It is currently on the market with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/sherry-fitzgerald\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/sherry-fitzgerald\/\">Sherry FitzGerald<\/a>, seeking \u20ac395,000.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Architect John Dobbin\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2ACWKGLBS5CMHN5OVWZPITUYLY.JPEG\"   width=\"400\" height=\"533\"\/>Architect John Dobbin <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The home is walking distance from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/kilmainham\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/kilmainham\/\">Kilmainham<\/a> village and the new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/national-childrens-hospital\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/national-childrens-hospital\/\">national children\u2019s hospital<\/a>, which is reportedly nearing completion. It is also walking distance from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/st-jamess-hospital\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/st-jamess-hospital\/\">St James\u2019s Hospital<\/a> and its red line <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/luas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/luas\">Luas<\/a> stop. From the house, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/dublin-bus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/dublin-bus\/\">Dublin Bus<\/a> brings you as far as College Green in the city centre in about 20 minutes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Dobbin took a two-fold approach: looking first at an initial renovation to improve the flow of the home before moving in, and then at a potential complete makeover you could do further down the line. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Looking at the potential cost, Dobbin says its tricky to define as there are so many variables that come into play, but he references SCSI research that estimates average renovation costs to be in the region of \u20ac1,500-\u20ac2,500 per sq m and new building costs for extensions to be in the region of \u20ac2,500 to \u20ac3,500 per sq m, excluding VAT and professional fees.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Faulkners terrace existing plan\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IJBJQT32XVGVLKCX3HFUDBRCWA.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"646\"\/>Faulkners terrace existing plan First step renovation<img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"First step renovation plan\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/MQI4PGVIG5DYVDLLBB5D6L4PEI.jpeg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"1066\"\/>First step renovation plan <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cThe key issue with this house is that the bathroom and the utility space at the back of the house cut off any connection you would have with the back garden, which is a shame. And it means that the kitchen\/dining space is landlocked in the centre of the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The lack of connection between the kitchen and the garden is compounded by the fact the back garden is north facing, \u201cso we\u2019ve got to do everything we can to capture the sun [coming through the front window in the current livingroom] from the quite busy road\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Existing kitchen in centre of plan\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/V52U5N4XERHF7A5NTMR2NY56TA.JPG\"   width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Existing kitchen in centre of plan <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Existing livingroom to front of the house\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/M7HALAB5KFD7TPYAID7B27T3AE.JPG\"   width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Existing livingroom to front of the house <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cAt the front of the house, one of the issues is that you\u2019re using the living space as a corridor to get through to the back of the house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Here\u2019s what he proposes: <\/p>\n<p>Rearrange and extend the ground-floor layout<\/p>\n<ul class=\"c-unordered-list paywall\">\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">Keep the staircase to the first floor where it is and widen the front hallway by taking space from the existing livingroom<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">Turn the existing livingroom into the main bedroom at the front of the house with triple-glazed windows to help block out road noise. Along with the two bedrooms upstairs, this would create a three-bedroom home<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">Beyond that, add the bathroom and the utility room in the centre of the plan<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">The widened front hallway would lead to a modern kitchen\/dining\/living space to the back of the house<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">The new kitchen\/living space will be created by extending the existing footprint into the side garden space to meet the boundary wall.<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">This allows the living space to connect to the good-sized garden, where you could plant trees for aesthetic purposes and for privacy<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">Because the rear is north-facing, you could add roof lights to the new living space to get light into that part of the house<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Back garden\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/KA2KTV5ABVGC5NIVCTD4QW3VTM.JPG\"   width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Back garden Maximise space and add bathroom upstairs<\/p>\n<ul class=\"c-unordered-list paywall\">\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">Upstairs, maximise the space in both bedrooms by removing dated built-in storage<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">Potentially add a rear window to the larger bedroom to make it double aspect<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">Add a new bathroom to the back of the house sitting over the new ground-floor extension<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cI think that\u2019s a simple way of looking at extending the house from its 63sq m to about 90sq m,\u201d says Dobbin.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Main bedroom\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PIGY3E3IPJCC5DW7C7DNOEM2VA.JPG\"   width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Main bedroom <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Second bedroom\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/QZLHEVN2VZAORGAAGHYC36OPPQ.JPG\"   width=\"800\" height=\"533\"\/>Second bedroom <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">For illustrative purposes only, a rough estimate of the cost using the metric of \u20ac2,000 per sq m for the renovation of the existing 63sq m footprint and \u20ac3,000 per sq m for the building cost of the 27sq m extension, would amount to \u20ac207,000.<\/p>\n<p>Complete makeover option<img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Makeover: plan for option 2\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/VVX36GTJFRAZ5DUOJNWAU3JSSA.jpeg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"1066\"\/>Makeover: plan for option 2 <\/p>\n<ul class=\"c-unordered-list paywall\">\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">Like in the first plan, widen the entrance hallway and turn the existing livingroom at the front of the house into the main bedroom<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">Similarly, add the bathroom and utility room to the centre of the plan<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">However, at the back, add a single-storey extension all the way out to the rear boundary wall, creating separate kitchen and living spaces around a central courtyard<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">The living space to the rear of the plan will be spacious and get plenty of natural light from its now south-facing aspect. You could install a clerestory glazing facing south in the living space. Raising the roof height on this portion of the extension would further maximise the amount of natural light coming through<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-list-item paywall\">You could also add the bathroom extension to the first floor as in the first plan<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cThis would create a fantastic three-bedroom family home of about 100sq m,\u201d Dobbin says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">For illustrative purposes only, a rough estimate of the cost \u2013 using the metric of \u20ac2,000 per sq m for the renovation of the existing 63sq m footprint and \u20ac3,000 per sq m for the building cost of the 47sq m extension \u2013 would amount to \u20ac267,000.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">These proposals are preliminary in nature, based on limited site data, and remain subject to detailed design development, technical surveys, and statutory planning processes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"High property prices make the task of buying your first home in Ireland ever more challenging. Many prospective&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345041,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,366,52,18,117,24078,2215,19,17,12919,22736,1658,1266],"class_list":{"0":"post-345040","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-dublin","14":"tag-eire","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-first-time-buyer","17":"tag-for-you","18":"tag-ie","19":"tag-ireland","20":"tag-kilmainham","21":"tag-new-to-the-market","22":"tag-property","23":"tag-sherry-fitzgerald"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116096521043929611","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}