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Irish Independent
13-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Irish Independent
With a cantilevered extension, antique parquet floors and seamless flow, tardis-like Glasthule home is a lesson in design
Asking price: €995,000 Agent: DNG (01) 2301616 That old estate agents' chestnut 'deceptively spacious' usually represents brochure bait to make us wary. But at No 9 St Paul's Terrace – a terraced three-bedroom in a quiet cul de sac in Glasthule, Co Dublin – there's a lot packed in behind its narrow frontage, thanks to clever flow and an unusual extension, which takes the floor space up to one-and-a-half times that of a traditional semi-detached family home. 'It's been described as a tardis,' says owner Nora Lynch, a project manager from Co Fermanagh. 'It looks quite small from the outside, but once you enter, you see how spacious it is. It's also a calming house with a lovely flow.' Lynch bought the 1,507 sq ft home, built in 1936, in 2013. 'It wasn't habitable at the time, as no work had been carried out since the original build. But I could see its potential because it faces south-west at the rear, and its location in Glasthule is amazing.' First, the downstairs of the house was completely gutted. It was then extended at the front and back. Upstairs, a new cantilevered room was added over the back garden, and finally, the attic was converted. External insulation was added to the walls and all of the windows were triple-glazed, contributing to its now B1 rating. Nora was fortunate to have two friends, Tamara Jaradat and Mariam Allawerdi, who are architects and were willing to help with the design and advise on a structural engineer and a carpenter. 'I deliberately opted for a minimalist style to make the most of the space,' she says. Downstairs is open-plan, which means you walk through the porch into a light and airy sitting room. There's a grey L-shaped couch here, pops of colour in the artwork, and a multi-fuel gas stove from Belgium. A stand-out feature is the wooden window seat, which has storage underneath and overlooks the front, and a curved wooden bookcase that fits snugly under the glass window box. Something most Irish homes certainly won't have is an antique Rhodesian teak herringbone parquet floor, which came from a university in Leicester. 'Wood is a living thing which expands and contracts,' says Lynch. 'You have to let it acclimatise before it's laid because of the humidity in the air. In fact, I kept it under a bed in the spare room of my old house for six months before I moved in here. Looking after it was a lot of work, but worth it in the end.' She employed a specialist to design the lighting throughout the house, so the LED spotlights in all the rooms, including the garden, can be dimmed. In the kitchen, Lynch had solid wooden presses, and an island with an induction hob, made by Timbercraft in Dun Laoghaire. 'I had very particular ideas about the symmetry and the lines in the kitchen, and every detail has been carefully thought out,' she says. The dishwasher has been elevated, for example, so there's no need to bend. There's also a wall which hides doors to a utility room, a laundry area with a slide-out table for clothes, and a scented airing cupboard which runs on solar power. 'I love the fact that they're hidden, as it doesn't take away from the aesthetic of the room,' Lynch says. 'In addition, there's a little niche at the bottom of the island counter which holds paperwork, so my 15-year-old daughter, Lara, can sit there and do her homework whilst I'm making dinner.' The frameless lift-and-slide doors which access the back garden can be pulled back when necessary. 'I wanted to create a seamless flow into the garden, and the design works very well,' she says. 'It's a great house for parties. I've entertained 60 or 70 people at a time.' Outside, she repeated the herringbone pattern from the parquet floor with pieces of decked wood. There's no saddle board, so the inside floor flows into the outside. 'I have a niece who uses a wheelchair, so I designed it with her in mind,' she says. 'It's also future-proofed for the elderly.' In the back garden, Lynch added garden furniture, a water feature, and flower beds with a Virginia creeper and an Amelanchier tree. 'The garden is a real suntrap because of its south-westerly orientation, and we spend a lot of time there.' The kitchen presses with their hidden compartments have been continued visually outdoors in the white wall, which contains a hidden shed that's used for storage. Upstairs, the attention to detail has been continued. Lynch turned the cantilevered room over the garden into a home office, and had a curved wooden bookcase made for the landing. She also added a glass balcony with a glass window in the floor that looks down into the kitchen. 'From upstairs, I can look down and see my daughter, and it adds light to the kitchen,' she says. There's a family bathroom, two double bedrooms and an unofficial single room in the attic, currently used as a guest bedroom. 'There's a wardrobe in the attic and storage in the eaves, and everything is on castors making it easy to access.' The newly opened Hudson Road Park is adjacent to the house. It's also a stone's throw from the village of Glasthule and the Dart station, and about 50 metres from the seafront. 'There's a real community feel in the locality,' says Lynch. 'We have wonderful neighbours. We look out for each other and we hold great street parties.' Given her daughter's love of horses, Lynch has decided to move to Co Wicklow. 'Lara rides in a couple of different stables there, and we both find being in the countryside calming. But it won't be easy saying goodbye to the house. There's really nowhere like it.' DNG is asking €995,000.
Newsweek
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Traveler Rents Airbnb, Unprepared for What It Comes With: '10/10 Host'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A woman's quiet getaway took an adorable turn when an unexpected visitor showed up at her Airbnb, claiming a spot-on her sunbed by the pool. In a viral TikTok clip shared on Saturday, she captured the moment a golden retriever walked up to her and started chilling, sitting at the other end of her sunbed, like they had known each other forever. "I'm in a rented Airbnb and this dog just came out of nowhere and sat on my sunbed," the poster wrote in the caption. Golden retrievers are known for being loving and friendly, even with strangers; that's why they aren't typically listed as the best guard dogs. But which breeds are best for protection? The experts at Georgia Veterinary Associates say that the breeds that are best suited for guard jobs include Belgian Malinois, who are highly intelligent and can be trained to do nearly anything; German shepherds, known for being loyal, protective and eager to please their owners; and rottweilers, notoriously wary of strangers. Other breeds that also perform well as guard dogs include Doberman pinschers, very versatile pups who known how to defend their family; bullmastiffs, known for their intense protection instincts and physical strength; and giant schnauzers. Rhodesian ridgebacks, cane corsos, and Great Danes also make fine guard dogs when trained properly. While some golden retrievers may be able to learn how to protect a home with training, they usually won't make good guard dogs due to their loving and docile nature, and their lack of aggressive tendencies. Golden retrievers can, however, become watchdogs, alerting their owners of potential dangers as soon as they spot them, instead of dealing with the problem themselves. Stock image: A woman lays chilling on a sunbed by a pool. Stock image: A woman lays chilling on a sunbed by a pool. getty images The video quickly went viral on social media and has so far received over 615,000 views and almost 155,000 likes on the platform. One user, Stellastrange, commented: "That's the owner, he wants to know if you're enjoying your stay." Airbnb's official TikTok account said: "Looks like a 10/10 host to us." Another user, Oliwia Jankowiak, wrote: "Whatever amount of money [you] paid for this Airbnb is not enough [you] should tip like 100% and give him a pack of snacks and a kiss." Laleliiana added: "OMG [oh my God] I had this experience but with a cat, he stayed with me for 3 days (he came at noon and left in the night) it was amazing." Newsweek reached out to the original poster for comment via TikTok comments. We could not verify the details of the case. Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@ with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
