A barn with plenty of charm

ALMOST, tantalisingly there — but now someone else’s to finish.

A change of plans in the final barn-storming run up to finishing this large, woodland-set family home sees the nice, final touch work being left to some new owners and occupants to enjoy.

We do trendy takes on barn living and barn conversions differently here than in the Britain. Across the water, barns are creaking old structures with ancient oak beams, shingle or slates, and brick and lime walls. Save for a few examples of that type around the Midlands and Kilkenny, your typical Irish barn is rolled corrugated steel sheeting, on skeletal steel frames, available in choices of one, two or three bay, with the option of a lean-to, and otherwise open to the four winds. Names like Cronin, Duggan et al are the leading ‘brands.’

Picking up on that Irish vernacular is a new breed of Irish barn shapes, with roofs rolled and curved to varying degrees: very much fitting the mould of the perfect half-circle is this Sallybrook, Glanmire Co Cork home built over the past two years, to a high standard, but being put up for sale with the last burst of personal input needed.

Work continuing into this week sees white oak handrails and stairs going in, as well as stainless steel and glass railings on the main first floor balcony. Left to do are floor finishes, whether timber, tile or carpet in bedrooms, kitchen and bedrooms built-ins and units, and sanitary ware, heating boiler etc.

Given that this selection will give the house its final look, the owners are now stopping and putting Silversprings House up for sale for a new owner to make their own distinctive, domestic mark on. Auctioneer Dominic Daly is seeking offers around €1 million for this purchase with all of the hard work and sweat gone into it. In a finished state, and done a year or two ago, it would have walked past €1.5 million, no problem.

Stoutly built, with a dual wall including block-on-flat, and with a concrete floor at first floor level too, this is about as big a domestic take on a barn as you’ll find. With 5,300 sq ft of space, it literally is barn sized, with its roof done in galvanised corrugated steel, coated with oxide paint for extra long life. External finishes include glass, painted render and lots, and lots, of treated cedars sheeting, all on 0.8 of an acre.

It has scope for five bedrooms, at its lower ground floor level, all big rooms, with a bit of extra ceiling height too, and there’s a large, bright side annexe for the staircase and circulation areas, with a glass lantern overhead to flood this space with light. Bar a big family recreation room down at one end with garden access, the main living areas are all overhead, mostly interlinked, and are close to cavernous in size, with ceiling heights of over 25’.

Related to the vendors, who have a young family and who came back to Cork after years working in the Britain, designer Marcella Dunne of Surrey-based Wowhaus design has done images of how it might look inside when finished. “The design is based on a classic contemporary feel. There are distinctive and strong features throughout which, if carried through to its final phase, would complete a very unique and interesting home,” she says.