Imitation is the highest form of flattery

Tommy Barker finds himself back in time in a 'modern' Victorian lodge.

IF imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the humble-enough Victorian lodge has been flattered to the point of veneration at this Lissarda home.

Set off the main Cork to Macroom road, in the Lee Valley region, Finbarr's Lodge is old before its time - in the nicest possible way.

Only recently built, it pays homage to and harks back to an earlier time, but does it in a full-blooded way: it is so successful a reproduction that visitors are left wondering what bits are old and what's new, and who knitted it all so well together.

So, first up, it is new, all new, but has some small bits of salvage material like a re-enamelled antique roll top bath and an Edwardian loo seat, but what impresses most is the commitment to detail and proportion.

Example? The owner, now the vendor, was keen to keep the upper floor windows in strict proportion to the original sizes seen in similar Victorian lodges. But fire regulations posed problems: how to get safe access to or from an upper floor? His remedy was simple, but expensive: build the staircase not in timber but in solid, indestructible stone.

So, the steps here have the heft of a very old home indeed, and limestone peeks out too in the window sills and door steps, and the entire lodge is faced in sandstone.

Slate is used for the roof, timber for the sash windows, painted in a rich blue-green turquoise colour.

Building this four-bed home has clearly been a labour of love for a couple who were relocating from Hong Kong to Ireland, and there's more than a hint of the Orient in the interior decoration and furnishings and silks, again all very appropriately Victorian, reflecting that era's age of colonisation and enthusiastic travel.

Finbarr's Lodge, off the Cork/Killarney road at Carrigdarrery, Lissarda, is on a rural roadside site of a half acre with a few other one-offs being built nearby. It is near the woods and lake at Warrenscourt as well as services at Kilmurray village and Macroom.

Estate agent John Gaffney of GVM auctioneers in Cork city sings its praises: "it is as good a place as I've seen for its attention to detail, character and charm. It is going to appeal to anyone who wants a rural base, a fresh air lifestyle, yet close to amenities.

He guides the c1,700 sq ft home with four first floor bedrooms at €750,000, and says visitors can see and feel the quality, materials and finishes for this sort of sum. "Essentially, you'll be getting a house with a unique mix of old world features with modern comforts and no worries about damp, rot or hidden unforseen surprises," Mr Gaffney points out.

A theme used in many of the rooms is a grid of timber laths creating panels on ceilings, while floors in the porch, hall and kitchen are Valentia slate, some with carpet laid over. Doors are in mahogany, some with beveled glass, and door knobs are crystal glass.

Accommodation encompasses formal dining room with cast iron and mahogany fireplace, living room with antique cast iron fireplace and both these rooms are good sized, and a 11' by 11' sun room with high panelled ceilings and marble-meets-mahogany floor finishes.

The kitchen has slick, streamlined units with beech worktops and curved enamel sink, there's a guest bathroom at ground floor level with shower and there's a utility room with half-door to the back yard.

The first floor bedrooms have sloping, painted panelled ceilings and mahogany floors, the main bedroom has a good bathroom suite, and the main bathroom has a Victorian bath, and papered walls and painted ceiling and the furniture currently in situ shows the house to very best effect.

The grounds are part-walled, part hedge and part old boundary shrub, and services include mains water, septic tank and heating is via oil, while the modern day-give-away is the TV satellite dish on the side wall - and the large telly which has found its resting place in the living room fireplace.