More fort than cottage

Rose Martin finds a bungalow with lots of cachet near an Iron Age site.

THE bog-standard bungalow is a loose term applied to most one-off homes in this country.

And while its vaguely insulting, and utterly elitist, it denies the rootedness of this dwelling form, the direct descendant of the old Irish cottage, only bigger.

Which, in a roundabout way leads on to this bungalow near Staigue Fort in Co Kerry. This is smashing.

Light, airy and open, it has done away with a run of rooms, instead using part of the ground floor as one fluid living space.

And the cottagey look is evident, but subtle. The exposed ceiling beams are painted white, lifting the room up a notch.

Underneath, glossy wooden floors and funky furniture help bring the vernacular into the 21st century.

A mile from Castlecove village and a walk to one of the most impressive Iron Age cashels in the south, Staigue Fort, the house stands on three-quarters of an acre of newly planted grounds. At a guide price of €475,000, it could make a very luxurious holiday home, considering it’s just five minutes’ walk from White Strand. Waterville and its links golf course is just a short drive away, as is Ballinskelligs and its artist village.

From the postbox red door inwards, there’s a strong sense of colour in this house — yes it has safe neutrals on the walls, but the furniture is designer bright and very colourful.

There’s a nice harmony between the organic tone of the wood, the slate and cast iron fireplace and the lipstick red chairs and sofa. An added touch is the original art work on the walls.

The dining room is sandwiched between kitchen and living areas and is simply furnished with a natural wood table, offset with pink dining chairs. Elegant sideboards complete the look.

The kitchen has free-standing, duck-egg blue units in a little niche off the living space with windows that look out to the mountains.

It follows standard design with an attached utility, but then goes off-piste again with a cellar — a hatch leads from the utility to this underground room.

Meanwhile, the utility comes with a pressurised system, a door to the north-facing yard and units that work in tandem with the kitchen which is tiled and comes with underfloor heating. The rest of the ground floor is laid in larch. The house’s three bedrooms are on the ground floor, although the attic, with a space of 50’ by 12’ could be converted once planning permission was secured.

It has east and west facing windows in the gables and is floored and ready to go.

Two of the existing three bedrooms are en suite with a full bathroom attached to the master. This is finished with the same flair as the rest of the house and comes with underfloor heating.

The third bedroom is in use as an office and the house comes with broadband, has mains water and oil heating.

Located at Skehanagh, Castlecove, it is on the market with Suzanne Teahan of Sherry FitzGerald Daly Kenmare.