Let there be light!

House Beautiful feature - July 2013: The Ranelagh home of Artist and former Architect Ciaran McCoy and his wife Enid Bebbington

Check out this feature in House Beautiful Magazine about the renovation of my home, where I live with my wife Enid Bebbington and our dog Dr Bones McCoy

Designed by Ciaran McCoy (ODKM Architects)

Constructed by: MSVI Building Construction

Kitchen Designer: Dean Cooper

Home Profile

A two bed, mid-terrace Victorian House that was in a state of disrepair. It was rebuilt completely with a concrete floor, glass staircase and indoor/outdoor courtyard was added.

Living Area to the front of the house

Influenced by my favorite architect Frank Lloyd Wright, I built a sunken conversation pit style seating area with pull out storage drawers built in under the seating area. The television is housed in a wooden unit that was handmade by Dean Cooper

Lighting

I worked with Patrick Kerr of Shadowlight to design lighting schemes controlled by Lutron switches with dimming functions by Bang & Olufson.

Living Room (to the rear)

To define the different parts of the living area, the chimney breast was painted a Dulex Dark Grey with a paler shase of Dulex Grey used in the rest of the house.

A colored concrete floor runs throughout the rest of the living areas and kitchen. Underfloor heating with thermostatic controls keeps the space cosy as does the bright Jan Kath rug.

Dining Area

The floating oak bench was designed by me and it seats 10 people. It was constructed on site by MSVI Construction.

Behind the bench is a seamless angled glass window which is a nod to John Lautner’s Chemosphere House (another of my favourite arcchitects).. My concept was to use the frameless glass in order to create a picture of the stone boundary wall. This window proved to be one of the most challenging elements of the build as access to the site was limited with the use of a crane being out of the question. It took 12 men, 8 hours, to install the half-ton panel panel of glass.

Home Art Studio

A floating glass stairs lead to my home art studio which has a glass roof and glass floor (a lot of light!). The internal walls are clad in birch plywoof and the external walls open in to the room to let light and air throughout the house.

Bathroom

Mini steel i-beams support the bathroom’s glass ceiling. The industrial feel is emphasised by the coloured concrete floor and Subway Tiles from Caesar Tiles. The glass ceiling “borrows” light from the studio’s glass roof above, while opaque white film between the sheets of toughened glass provides privacy

House Beautiful UK Renovation of the Year

It was an honour for me to have my house selected as a finalist for the House Beautiful UK Renovation of the Year Awards 2013, and thanks also to House Beautiful for the excellent showcase of my home. It was great to share photos of my home along with design and architecture tips. Thank you!