A house made to last, and last

Tommy Barker says Villa Sol was the pride and joy of German owner.

THE days of getting to a nunnery are in decline, but there’s still a scramble to get to a monastery, well to Rochestown Monastery at least.

Right beside the monastery in Cork’s Rochestown (where the latest house site sale came in at over €600,000) is Villa Sol, a huge family home with a €2.5 million price guide, and a bit of Continental swagger....a la the 1980s.

Villa Sol was the pride and joy of a German businessman who came to Ireland to open up the Hele window company: the business is still going as strong as the immensely well-made windows which grace this 6,000 sq ft 25-year-old home, built in three sections, and with an indoor swimming pool pressed into daily service.

The German owner of Villa Sol not only built this big house, he built two others in previous decades on the same stretch of Rochestown hillside, reckoning he got it right third time around.

He sold up after a decade or so, and the local Cork buyers who swooped on its purchase then have been in occupation for 14 years; they, too, are now trading down, with their family all grown up.

It’s not too likely that the same cohort of buyers will be still house-hunting and around for viewings in 2006, but if they are it will be like a bit of a flashback. Simply put, not a lot has changed; the house still has that plush, Dallas era feel. Despite its sweep of split level spaces, many patterned carpets and expensive swags and drapes, with serried rows of crystal and china, it gleams like a new and highly polished pin.

Everything works, the pool sparkles, and there’s not a speck of dust or dirt to be seen... and therein lies a challenge for the next generation of owners, whose tastes most likely will be more towards the contemporary and light-hued end of the decor spectrum. There’s just no reason other than changing tastes to throw anything out.

Villa Sol is price guided at €2.5 million by Ann O’Mahony and Sheila O’Flynn of Sherry FitzGerald estate agents, and though the sum isn’t to be sneezed at, there’s a huge amount of house built to exacting standards and security provisions, on pristine grounds of 1.6 acres with a stream at its roadside boundary.

So, when it changes hands, up will come the carpets which were fashioned for a lifetime, the wallpapers ditto, and the curtains which could last for generations more, creating a skip-full of dilemmas. Makes you wonder about the wisdom of buying quality for the house, when built for a lifetime becomes a liability.

The house is on several levels, with a bedroom block to the right of the central hallway, with steps up to two bedrooms, and more steps down to further bedrooms and to the swimming pool and leisure area with conservatory.

The pool comes with a counter-current/wave generator, a sauna, a bar and changing rooms with showers, and has a wall of windows overlooking the south-facing, sloping lawns. Run a length of decking across the outside of the pool building, and the linking conservatory, and you’ve an al fresco spot for the very best of summer days and balmy evenings.

The far side of the house provides suitable opposition as a party location - it is where the elevated large drawing room, dining room, den, kitchen, and more are all located - and beyond that there’s a family living room, with utility rooms/laundry off: this end could be easily split off for use as a granny flat, student den, or au pair’s quarters, as there’s just so much space here to play around with.

Glazing is top-drawer, with many rooms having wide picture windows, with an unusual mid-section tilt and turn action for ease of cleaning, while all of the ground floor windows will please the security conscious. Many come with decorative wrought iron screens, while others have electronic roller shutters. The main gates are electronically controlled, and video security cameras were fitted day one.

This is a house where rigour was applied in the build and the best of materials have been used, including mahogany, oak, marble, cedar, rosewood and ash, and workmanship levels are high.