Deliciously deceptive

It is deceptive in appearance because while its design is solidly Georgian villa, its construction is both recent and modern to a high standard, which helps underscore the €1.8 million guide price.

It is due for auction on May 27.

Design is along classical lines by architect David Pym who laid out the rooms off a large entrance hall. Horticulturist John Joe Costin worked on the 2.5 acres of now-maturing gardens, which include beautiful water features.

The house is set behind an old estate wall two miles north east of Naas, and so again gets to pick up on enough features to age it a century or two more than its stripling years.

Location is in some of Ireland’s most prosperous countryside, about 20 miles from the capital and six miles from City West business park, the largest of the emerging commercial campuses along the N7/N8.

Important houses of genuine antiquity nearby include Forenaght House and Furness House, the latter dating back to 1740 and used as a base for the filming of the TV Somerville and Ross Stories of an Irish RM.

At the 1.8 million level there’ll be a select flurry of bidders (the house was going to launched last year with a much higher guide, closer to €2.5 million) and the proximity of serious golf courses at the K-Club in Straffan, Druid’s Glen and Powerscourt will all have an appeal (even if Kildare’s smaller courses are all more accessible).

Horse racing is on offer at the Curragh, at Punchestown and Naas, while horse breeding is in the blood with top studs nearby.

Furness Polo is single storey, with Bangor blue slate roof and steel drainpipes and hopers, has bow windows in the kitchen and drawing room, and the country house feel is compounded by taking the best from other countries, including American Marvin sash windows, Italian travitine floors and a large, quintessentially English oil-fired Aga.

Rooms include a generous hall in a U- shape, the main reception dining/drawing rooms have interconnecting double doors, and the dining room itself has three sets of French doors to a patio for al fresco dining options.

This patio overlooks the water features, and has an electronically operated overhead canopy for Summer shower shelter (try shaying that after a few bottles of Shablis.)

A second side patio area has an octagonal patio base laid out, with planning permission for an extension.

The kitchen is large, with a table for informal eating set into a bay window, and the light, bright and largely unfitted kitchen has a large central island room and a cream coloured four-oven Aga, with a utility room off.

The master bedroom en suite is in the east wing; there are two more bedrooms (one en suite) plus a main bathroom in the west wing.

Ceiling height throughout is close to 11’ and skirtings are taller too than the norm. Most floors are oak or travitine and most rooms have decorative cornicing and other plasterwork.

Heating is underfloor, the house is wired throughout for music, and is bristling with other technology, including alarm, and video surveillance for the electronically controlled entrance gates.

Joint selling agents are Colm McEvoy in Naas and HOK Country in Dublin.