Imagine that you are an overnight stay in number 1 of higher O'Connell Street, Town plots, Kinsale, Co Cork.
They sail in the sparkling harbor late at night, make their way to their quarters in the city center, are shown their berth on the first floor of the renovation at the end of the terrace and fall into an exhausted sleep after their journey.
This means that only when you look out of the window during the first light do you see the portrait that is one of the most famous pirate queens in the story outside. “There is a fantastic view of the window in the guest room. It looks at the” Stoney Steps “, the Anne Bonny Tribute pay, with the steps with the line” Well -raised women rarely make history “, says Kinsale Architect Lizette Conney.
The city is accepted by many scholars as the birthplace of Bonny, to which this artistic tribute was unveiled in 2021.
Born in Co -Cork Anne, Née Cormac, three hundred years ago during the “Golden Age of Piracy” with an Irish sailor, James Bonny, released Bahamas. Her name was immortalized in escapades of looting and looting. (You can find more information in Robert Hume's feature on the Irish Examiner website: The fact and fiction of the Cork Pirate captain Anne Bonny.)
From the Smashbuckling queens of the Hohen Lake to well-made houses that are located in history, No. 1 aroused the higher O'Connell Street, which was on the top of the stairs at the top of its American owners when they visited Kinsale. “You fell in love with the property, even though it was dated, with poorly constructed extensions,” says Lizette, co -founder and director of Conneely Wessels Architects.
The couple immediately bought and it was about Lizettes award -winning practice that the look of the new owners fell next when they prompted the team to create and deliver a design solution that modernized their acquisition and made the best of its potential.
The attitude informed the vision, says Lizette. Since the residence is in a nature reserve in the heart of Kinsale, the renovation and expansion aimed to keep as much character of the original house as possible, but also to introduce contemporary elements in order to maximize natural daylight. “The original character was retained by replacing the sash windows of the old terrace and adding a new sharpen window at the end of the gable to offer more daylight and view in the Master bedroom suite,” says the architect.
The accommodation on the renovated ground floor comprises a new guest bath, living room and moving cabinet, while the new expansion offers a kitchen/dining room and a “hidden” utility/plant room.
The accommodation on the ground floor also includes a narrow space, an open kitchen/dining area, a household room, a powder room and a hillside cabinet, while the accommodation on the first floor includes a high-suite and another guest room with storage on the landing. “The renovation of the existing intervention on the first floor enabled a guest room and a main bedroom with adjacent EN suite and a linen cabinet at the upper landing of the stairs,” says Lizette.
Customers bought the property in 2019 and started this summer. The renovation lasted two years and it was Shiphape until the summer of 2021.
Conneely Wessels Architects was the main architect and interior design with Cedarwood Construction as a building contractor and Mark Salter Engineering, Kinsale, on board as an engineer and Synnott Scallan as a volume.
The original house was 79 square meters. Now the footprint of the property, including the new expansion, is around 84 square meters. “The scope of the project comprises changes to the existing apartment, the demolition of existing one-story extensions on the back of the existing apartment, the construction of a new one-story expansion of the existing apartment as well as changes to the surveys and a new clockwork of the kitchen/dining room,” says Lizette.
“Our purpose was to tear off old extensions, to renovate existing property at the end of the terrace and to expand it to maximize the available footprint.”
The owners and the architect strive to improve and celebrate the historical properties of the original apartment by mixing the original “Irish house aesthetics” with a contemporary approach, adds Lizette.
How exactly did Conneely Wessel's architects do this, which also coordinated the interior designer? “The selection, color and texture of the materials react to the aesthetic” Irish hut “, such as:
The ambience inside and outdoors is the key to the charm of the house, and light floods the entire living space. “The design concept was a new one -story expansion with an increased ceiling height in the back of the existing house, which was illuminated by a linear maker and brings natural daylight deep into the plan,” says Lizette. “The new expansion offers the possibility that the kitchen/dining area connects directly to the terrace on the outside, in particular with the introduction of a sliding door with full width.
“As soon as the sliding door is in the open position, the interior and external crossing merge due to the selection of the same floor and usable space almost doubles in size, and so it is a very successful design approach. The increased ceiling height, floor and cover window and the clock flooding the room with light and creates a wonderful space to spend time.”
And whatever was on pirates' legendary treasure chests for their prey curve was a clever use of space in this design, according to the architect. “The house even comprises a utility room and a cladding cabinet and maximizes the memory with a linen cabinet on the landing on the top of the stairs,” says Lizette.
Anne Bonny and her crew members would certainly agree.
The most important suppliers included Junckers for hardwood floors, Delforno tiles and wood, Head of Cork, Irish International Trading Corporation for Sanitaryware, Culleview Interiors Limited and Hickeys Stenwork.
Has the task made challenges? “The biggest challenge of this project was that the construction began shortly before pandemic,” says Lizette. “Since customers and owners from Seattle, Washington, come, this meant that they could not travel to Ireland due to the imposed international travel restrictions.
“We [Conneely Wessels Architects] During this difficult time, the project delivered and followed the strict state guidelines that were imposed on construction sites.
“The next time the customers were able to visit, the house was completed because we provided complete service, including architecture and interior design services.
Conneely Wessels also has the award-winning “Peek-A-Boo!” Delivers! in Kinsale (as on these pages in the Irish Examiner Home Glossy Magazine in 2021). “This was another transformation project that appeals to the renovation and expansion of an existing bungalow from the 1970s,” says Lizette.
Main architect and interior design: Conneely Wessels Architects Limited
Quantity Surveyor: Synnott Scallan
Engineer: Mark Salter Engineering Limited
Treaty: Cedarwood Construction Limited
Floor coverings: Junckers
Tiles: Delforno tiles and wood
Luminaire equipment: Head, cork
Sanitary goods: Irish International Trading Corporation
Adaptation furniture: Cullenview Interiors LTD and Hickey's masonry
Photography: Jed Niezgoda Photography (Jedniezgoda.com)