Beau House

The brief

Open to the north.

The Beau House owners had an underutilised rear yard and a house that turned its back on the pool. The brief was simple: connect them. We extended the ground floor at the rear in an open-plan configuration that brings kitchen, dining and living directly onto the pool deck.

The extension was designed to face north, making the most of winter sun and prevailing breezes. A large sliding glass wall dissolves the boundary between inside and outside, while the kitchen bench runs right to the glass — keeping the cook in the middle of it all.

The backyard transformation completed the picture: new landscaping and pool surrounds that read as an extension of the interior material palette.

Architect designed to make use of north aspect and existing pool by extending the house at the back with open plan configuration.

Design story

Poolside living, properly done.

Having a pool in Clontarf should mean something. At Beau House, the existing pool was largely invisible from inside — the house had grown inward over decades rather than outward. Our extension reversed that logic entirely.

The open plan rear addition created a single generous space where family life happens across the threshold of inside and out. The north orientation means warm winter sun floods in from mid-morning, while deep eaves protect from the high summer sun.