Architect Eva Byrne went about inventing a whole new profession so that she could spend more time at home with her children.
Mary O’Sullivan met the house consultant who is not slow to take her own advice. Photographs by Tony Gavin. Sunday Independent, January 27 2008. Read the original article here…
What to do when you like your work, yet want to spend more time with your children, but your profession offers no ideal way of working part-time? Architect Eva Byrne devised the perfect solution: she invented a whole new profession — that of house consultant.
“When my first child, Oscar, arrived, I kept going for a while, but I found a child and builders don’t mix when you’re running an architectural practice. There are always crises with builders and they’ll call you any time of the day. It was just not compatible with looking after a child.
“I took two years off and thought about it. People were always asking me about problems in their homes and I was inspired when I heard about the job of wardrobe consultant. I thought: ‘Why not a house consultant?’ So, what I do is visit a client’s home for a two-hour consultation. I listen to what they think their problems are and assess the house. I come up with ideas, give them drawings, and equip them with names of suitable architects, builders, suppliers,” she explains.
Eva couldn’t have been better placed to begin such a business — the practice she had shared, with architect Michael Wall, specialised in quality residential work.
Her first job after qualifying (she started her studies in UCD, then changed to Bolton Street) was with top firm Murray O’Laoire. Then, she went to Seville where she was joined by her now-husband Gerard Carty, who is also an architect. He works with Grafton Architects. They stayed three years.
“The Expo was on there at the time and it attracted architects from all over the world, so it was very exciting,” Eva says.
Architecturally, Eva’s main concerns have always been storage, space and light and these are the things people constantly have problems with.
“People come to me at all different stages. They could be about to embark on a job in the house; they could be in the middle of one; or even at the end. Sometimes, they’ve talked themselves into a frenzy, or they’ve become addled with advice from family and friends and they just need an experienced, detailed eye to get them back on track.
“During my two hours with them, I don’t try to impose anything. I work with them — there are no battles to fight.
“It’s about giving them specialist input. If the work is going to involve an architect, I give them the names of reputable professionals. If it’s without an architect, I figure out ways of doing it.
“It’s all very low-tech. The office is the client’s table. I don’t even use a laptop, I use carbon paper. I write a report as I go, draw the house as it is and then how it might be with the changes I suggest,” Eva explains.
“Obviously,” she adds, “a lot of people consult me who are thinking of extending. As Jim Pike of the RIAI said once, we have an over-inflated house-extension business in this country and the reality is, because of stamp duty, we’re not as mobile as we’d like to be.”
Eva and Gerard were lucky enough to be able to build from scratch, four years ago, on a site they bought in 2001.
“There was a hiccup in the market at the time and we bought it with Michael Wall, who was our best man, and his partner,” she says. Though there were three architects involved, it was decided that Gerard would be the architect for the two houses built on the site.
For their home, Gerard and Eva wanted a robust, flexible house. The house has four rooms upstairs — an en-suite bedroom, which is Eva and Gerard’s, a bedroom each for the children, Oscar, 9, and Vita, 7, and a fourth room that doubles as a family/guest room.
Downstairs is large and open-plan with the kitchen to the back, a study-cum-dining area in the middle and a living area to the front — with large sliding panels. The kitchen can be cut off completely from the rest of the space.
The original plan had the kitchen in the middle.
“I didn’t visit the site much, then came over to see how things were going one day and, when I thought about the kitchen, suddenly realised: ‘No! It’s going to take over the house,'” Eva says.
uckily, they had also plumbed the back of the house, so it wasn’t a major problem to change tack and put the kitchen at the back.
The colour scheme is quite neutral — white walls everywhere and terrazzo flooring throughout the ground floor. It provides a perfect backdrop for the couple’s collection of modern art by artists such as Sean McSweeney, William Scott and Callum Innes. There are other, less abstract works that are especially dear to Eva. These were painted by her aunt, Una Waters, who died young, just as she was about to make a name for herself.
Another feature piece is the light over the dining table. Designed by Ingo Maurer, it is made up of different quotations about love.
The furnishings consist of sofas and armchairs mainly from Habitat and lots of wooden units, most of which were custom-made by craftsman Olly Walsh, in iroko or birch ply.
These units are found in every part of the ground floor and are used in the dining-cum-study area to store art supplies belonging to the highly creative Vita. Elsewhere, they house books, and are also in place in the kitchen, alongside the Bulthaup kitchen units.
Olly Walsh put nearly all the units on casters, which makes them very adaptable. Everything is thought through. The tables — one in the kitchen and one in the dining area — were designed and made to the same height so they fit together seamlessly when pushed together for large gatherings.
As you may imagine with a pair of architects, every inch of space is brilliantly used — even the under-the-stairs where the laundry appliances are plumbed. There is even space for storage behind the bathroom mirror.
Even though the house is not particularly large — 142 sqm — there is a fantastic feeling of space. There isn’t a wasted inch — there are no corridors, for instance.
The house is designed to maximise use of the outside space too. Large expanses of glass downstairs look out to the very-private garden in the back and to the enclosed courtyard to the front.
Upstairs, the front windows open onto expansive balconies, which Eva and Gerard fitted with awnings. They provide extra living space: “It’s south-facing, so without the awning you’d be scalded.”
Nonetheless, the family’s changing needs recently demanded a house re-think. You see, everyone has opted to study bulky musical instruments with Eva playing the piano, Vita the harp and Oscar the double bass. “We had to give ourselves a consultation recently when we realised we needed more space ourselves,” Eva laughs.
The outcome was good. They applied for and were granted planning permission to add a new master bedroom upstairs — but then, Eva’s consultations generally do end well.
A two-hour consultation with Eva Byrne costs €300 + VAT @ 23% in the Dublin city area. www.evabyrne.com
