Small But Perfectly Formed

With hard graft and ingenuity, Julie O’Brien and Julian Palmer revamped a tiny cottage, with striking results

- Barbara Egan

Spiraling house prices in Dublin meant that Julie O’Brien, an artist and photographer, and her boyfriend Julian Palmer, a photographer, despaired of ever being able to afford to move out of their parents’ homes. ‘There was very little even to rent in Dublin,’ says Julie. Then her father, property scout and designer Wesley O’Brien, spotted this tiny rundown cottage as an investment project. ‘It was very small,’ she says, ‘but Dad was sure he could make something of it, and he’s really good at renovations.’