Inherit a 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 detail, and 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.

Take the main staircase, for instance: utterly Georgian and with mahogany handrails, this was made by a local master joiner.

However, the work was so particular and the project management so exacting, he's unlikely to take on a commission of that size again.

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 where better to find stone than Kilkenny?) and windows throughout the house are hand-made sashes, with flat-panelled doors 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 average out at around 16ft by 17ft.

Not too big, but big enough, they come with antique fireplaces and are painted in heritage colours with understated soft furnishings and antique pieces.

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 wide 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 placed 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. Both rooms have fireplaces.

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 an en-suite bedroom.

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

Both ground and first floors have underfloor heating with the second storey being heated by radiators.

The house is so warm, however, that it hardly needs anything, says John Slyne who along with Karen Beere of Property Partners Fogarty are in charge of this sale.

They give a guide price of €1 million for this highly unusual house.