To the manor barn ...

ALL the hard work has been done here in delivering a “Grand Designs” type of one-off house, in a great woodland and stream-side setting.

But, now the family who’ve delivered this barn-storming design to its final, close-to-finishing stage have yet other, unexpected plans come along. Hence, the chance for another occupant to take on the last, and most pleasurable, final stages of work for just a bit of extra spending.

A brand new market arrival is Silversprings House, a dramatic and large take on the barn-shape and outline, beside the Glashaboy river above Glanmire and by Sallybrook, just east of Cork city.

The couple behind it had bought a rundown period house, backed into a woodland escarpment on a couple of overgrown acres back in the late 1990s. They had hoped to save the original house, but its damp and decay overcame the practicalities of restoration — even given their prior experience in a couple of renovations in Co Clare, and Britain

So, they came around to a new, grand plan, full of excitement for a contemporary new-build, in a sunnier and more open part of a pretty special site which was steeped in history and had once been part of a starch mill, and enjoyed it every step of the way.

They used a Dublin architects’ firm for the basic design, and then worked more closely from there with a family member, London-based interiors specialist Marcella Dunne of Wowhaus, while Midleton engineer Sean Corcoran came on board to oversee the actual build.

What is now at a very advanced stage is a 5,300 sq ft, five-bedroomed “upside down” house with extraordinary first floor living spaces, with arched or barreled ceilings over 25’ in height: the main interconnecting, great open-plan living spaces run to perhaps 50’ or 60’ in length alone, with a series of French doors opening to a raised balcony with Glashaboy stream views.

The roof, an exact half circle, is a tight curve and needed specialist rolling attention for the treated galvanised steel sheet as its exterior layer: earlier plans for a copper roof were switched after a €120,000 quote for materials would have overstretched the budget. The corrugated steel is more authentic in an Irish rural setting in any case, point out the owners, who’ve finished it in a dark grey oxide paint.

Other finishes include treated cedar sheeted sections and painted render, done in a Farrow and Ball off-white shade, while glazing is a new range of high-performance e-glass and composite frames from Munster Joinery.

Heating is underfloor, at both levels, there’ll be a lot of solar gain while a roof lantern above the flat-roofed entrance hall and lobby floods the circulation areas with light. Huge attention to detail has gone into wiring for a mix of flood lighting, wash lighting, task and feature lighting, etc.

Seeking offers around €1 million, estate agent Dominic Daly lists this high-spec, spacious five-bed barn with attitude, on a site of about 0.8 of an acre, with its own separate access just created from a woodland lane, a 15-minute drive from Cork city but a world removed from its bustle.