Bolton Coach House in Dublin by Kingston Lafferty Design

When is a renovation of a 200-year-old coach house and paper mill ever going to look, you know – unfortunate? One would hope never. Although, I’m pretty sure we’ve all seen examples of people getting it wrong many a time before. Not so the case with this heritage gem in Dublin, recently transformed by the local interior design practice Kingston Lafferty Design (KLD) into a rather spectacular modern residence.

KLD were engaged early on in the project, working alongside Ferreira Architects on fundamental decisions from the materials to the layout. Their involvement extended beyond the interior architecture of the existing building, incorporating a new contemporary extension and exterior terraces and the garden. “The new design needed to combine and juxtapose the old and new buildings as one interesting and exciting multi-level, unique space,” explains KLD founder, Róisín Lafferty.

The existing coach house was brimming with character, charm and original detail, and KLD were keen on the new extension to complement and contrast the older structure all at once. “We set about deliberately creating interesting spaces, nooks and crannies with the minimal and streamlined extension design,” says Lafferty.

The four-bedroom house focuses on the layout first and foremost, achieving a sense of seamlessness that maximises the flow between spaces, providing an engaging visual conversation between light, colour and materials throughout the house.

The overall aesthetic is difficult to pinpoint – there is a certain irreverence evident in every room, from the 1980s-inspired built-in pink banquette seating, the formal living room exuding a very Milanese kind of rock-n-roll attitude, while the indoor/ outdoor cantilevered bar, wrapped in navy zellige tiles, feels like a nod to contemporary Moroccan style. Lafferty’s playful approach to colour and material choices paint the interior with a distinct and irreverent sense of elegance. One that feels serious yet doesn’t take itself too seriously.

KLD lined the stone archways and portals between the different spaces in polished plaster, framing views and elevating the simple ritual of passing from one room to another into an event. Material palette fuses the original industrial and raw features with highly sophisticated polished marble, walnut and brass.

In the kitchen, the old mill’s preserved stone barrel vaults meet the impressive three-metre-high ceilings. Instead of walls, KLD employed elements such as an island bench in Nero Marquina marble, and steel frame doors with custom ribbed glass – their shapes echoing the vaulted ceilings. These smart interventions help divide the large open area into specific zones, eliminating to need to separate them with partitions.

Furniture and furnishing choices were carefully considered too. “To soften the steel, marble and polished plaster elements, we opted for the sensual curves of classic mid-century furniture pieces such as Eero Saarinen’s tulip table as well as playful and sculptural lighting with the bright red Maison Dada ceiling lamps in the sitting nook. Also, there are the large scale of the Edizioni Design circular pendants hanging above the dining table,” says Lafferty.

Overall, Bolton Coach House is a study in balance and contrast between the rustic and the refined, the old and the new, the masculine and the feminine. By putting the human element at the heart of their design peppered with unexpected touches, KLD created a home where everyday life feels like an experience.