Something old, something new in this labour of love

OAKWOOD HOUSE looks as if it has withstood, insurrection, confiscation and famine. But, incredibly, it’s only two years old, and it’s been entirely designed and built by a woman - with direct labour.

Sparing no expense and with an absolute obsession with the vernacular, the vendor has achieved an amazing blend of the period and the modern.

Lying five miles outside of Kilkenny city and set on 18 acres under Mount Leinster, the property would suit a family looking for a country home with land, comfort and some really exquisite touches, like the main staircase, for instance, made in the Georgian style by a local master joiner.

The look of Oakwood is that of a gentleman farmer’s residence: it’s low key and modest, but has 4,000 square feet of internal space and a courtyard with detached garage outside.

The main entrance is framed with a simple, granite portico and the windows throughout the house are hand-made sashes. Flat-panelled doors were commissioned for all rooms. Joinery is painted white, with mahogany, parquet floors and the stairs has painted risers and banisters.

Laid out in a large T-shape, the main reception rooms flank either side of the hallway and both rooms, averaging out at around 16x17ft, have antique fireplaces.

The kitchen is to the back of the house and links into the conservatory. Fitted with country-style units in cream, it has a fire breast with stainless steel range cooker and a dresser on the third wall.

The wide-flagged limestone floors laid in both rooms are just one of the many nice touches in this house. The conservatory is bespoke with a lean-to glass roof, Georgian windows and double doors leading to the patio, while a back hallway gives access to the utility room and ground-floor bathroom.

The first-floor landing splits from left to right with a bedroom and bathroom over the kitchen wing and three bedrooms situated at the front of the house.

The master is en-suite and bedroom two is equally large and has the use of a main bathroom.

Up another flight of stairs are three more rooms; two are bedrooms with a bathroom in between and the third is used for storage but could convert to another en-suite bedroom.

It’s unusual, but also sort of fitting that Oakwood House has geothermal heating: it’s part of the attention to detail evident in this house and was probably more expensive to fit. But like so many of Oakwood’s features it will more than pay for itself in the long term.

Both ground and first floors have underfloor heating while the second storey is heated by radiators.

John Slyne and Karen Beere of Property Partners Fogarty are in charge of this sale. They give a guide price of €1 million.