Island Lodge is a smart dormer

ISLAND LODGE, on the way to Waterford Castle’s island golf club and river ferry, is the sort of house design that gives dormers a redeeming lifeline.

The smart, architect-designed home is about 15 years old, and manages to punch a visual strength into the typical ‘house and a half’ dormer layout that planners allow as a compromise between low-impact bungalows and more dominant two-storey houses.

With its crisply detailed dormers and triangular shapes and gables, Island Lodge, located by the entrance to the large Ballinakill area of Waterford near the Dunmore Road, is one of a dozen or more large individual houses on Island Lane, while much of the rest of Ballinakill is taken up with more regular large-scale residential development. With about 2,500 sq ft of quality internal space, on a site of about a quarter of an acre, it is an ideal trading up house, says Des O’Shea of O’Shea and O’Toole auctioneers, who guides it at about €650,000.

Because of its location near the regional hospital, it may attract doctors as likely buyers and the fact of a homeoffice/games room/garage space opens up possibility for a surgery or consulting rooms for a range of practitioners.

Also nearby are the Ardkeen shopping centre, a new Tescos, and golf across the river at the castle.

Rooms at Island Lodge include entrance hall with maple floor, a kitchen with striking hardwood units and Stanley oil range as well as a brick fireplace, a breakfast room with unusual circular window, utility, large 20’ by 10’ lounge with fireplace and a slightly larger again sitting room with patio doors and fireplace.

There’s also a formal dining rom with bay window, ground floor bedroom, and three overhead bedrooms plus main bathroom. Decor standard is high, with good attention to soft finishes and the sale includes a number of the elaborate curtain fit-outs as well as carpets.