Designs of different eras but both are comfortable, modern builds

YOU could be forgiven for thinking that a century or more separates the vintages of these two Limerick homes, new market arrivals with price tags of €750,000 apiece. You’d be wrong.

Large-scale Ard na Coille is a 4,600 sq ft, all-en-suite, five-bed near Cratloe, clearly modern, right up to its roof-mounted solar panels — seeming a world apart from its identically-priced country home counterpart at Lismakeery, Askeaton.

For all its Georgian airs and feel, this Askeaton, Co Limerick home, called Cloghermore House is an upstart, a young pretender — it was built in 2004, but to an exacting template and detail. On 12.5 acres and in a farmland setting, at Lismakeery, it is a design suited to its backdrop, with old farm buildings near the shared approach avenue very much rooting it to a genuine past.

Auctioneer Lisa Kearney, of Rooneys, says the owners were painstaking in specifying the look and feel of the place, finished outside with a painted harling dash, and set off by timber sliding-sash windows. Also, externally, the front is graveled, there are lawns and mature trees and established shrubs, all bordered by post and rail fencing, with paddocks behind, and a stream at the boundary.

Inside, meanwhile, the place is period to a tee, with high ceilings, an Aga in the country-style 31’ by 14’ kitchen and there’s an extensive, shelved pantry alongside, as well, for food and accoutrements storage, plus there’s a utility, and laundry room. The kitchen has double aspect, for extra daylight grabbing.

At ground level, also, are a good hall, with extensive book shelves under the stairs and the main reception rooms, a drawing room, almost 20’ by 14’ with wood-burning stove, and, again, this room has a double aspect.

The master bedroom, upstairs, is very larger, very much a suite, with dressing room. Its private en-suite and main bathroom each have a bath and separate quality shower enclosure.

Main rooms have recessed lighting and good ceiling heights.

Likely to be double the size of the take on the Georgian farmhouse — and also €750k with Rooneys — is Ard na Coille, near Cratloe, beyond the Woodcross pub.

Actually built a year or two before the period-looking house, this is unashamedly modern, with a crisply detailed exterior and low-slung shape almost camouflaging its 4,500 sq ft bulk, while things like limestone sills and window surrounds boost the quality feel, from the front facade and low-brick patio surround walls inwards.

Again, rooms sizes here are on the large size, with the owners opting for a smaller number of good-sized rooms rather than a series of boxes.

So, the hall itself is 20’ by 16’, with double doors leading to the 21’ by 19’ living room, and another set of double doors going on to the dining room.

That dining room is part of an open-plan living/dining space with kitchen, and all these linked spaces have recessed lights. Other space includes a family/TV room, a breakfast room, pantry and an office (above the garage), plus there’s an inner hall with guest WC off it.

Upstairs, all five bedrooms have en-suite bathrooms, and two even have baths, as well.

The house has wood-grain, pvc double glazing, oil heating, plus solar panel back-up to help with all the hot water demands, the gardens are well landscaped, there’s a very attractive side patio, and there’s even an organic garden patch as well, to the side.