Out from behind the rock a hidden gem was hewn
SHEER determination created a path through solid rock to create this sublime, waterside home at Toormore, near Schull, west Cork.
And the rock breaking was followed by alignment of rights of way, drawing up of plans, consultations with planners, elucidation with an engineer and booking the builder — all taken in his stride by interior designer and self-builder, Terry O’Driscoll.
His vision of the completed house saw him through two years of hurdles, (even though it was a part-time project), but it helped that a slew of neighbours were on hand for the job.
His other saving grace was that local status gave him a head start for planning and that he pitched his house, literally, at the right level.
In this sensitive, coastal area, laying low and not proclaiming your existence is the path to a positive response from the planning department of Cork County Council, he says, and supports them in their rigour.
“This house wasn’t meant to be seen and if you look at the slope of the roofs, they follow the contours of the land — the roof matches the fall of the ground.”
And, as designer, architect, contractor and general labourer, O’Driscoll says that if you give the planners what they want, dot the Is and cross the Ts, then the process is easy.
He received permission on the first go — but it did help that the design he proposed would not be visible from land or sea.
Set at the top of a private road, the house is only visible when you turn the last corner. It’s clean, unfussy but striking.
And that’s before the true nature of the site is revealed — iat the rear where the house runs onto a large, inland lake.
The front is still stunning, nonetheless, with its massed planting of dogwoods in grey and rust and simple but architectural entrance, (the paving is humble concrete).
It’s remarkable how well hidden the house is, considering it’s on one of the highest points for miles around. It can be glimpsed just slightly from the Durrus to Goleen road if you know where to look.
Only the true, instinctive eye of O’Driscoll saw the potential of the site. It was a windswept, unremarkable lump of rock and bog when first viewed, he said, but it excited him immediately.
It was all about the water and the finished product has more than vindicated his vision.
“You could replicate the house anywhere, but a site like this? You’d never get this again.”
It isn’t a big project either, nor is it a show-off build, just a home that’s very private.
The site was snapped up reasonably for a Tiger build, he says, (small wonder when it was so unpromising and had so many rights of way attached), but even then he realised the lough could be a major focal point.
The highest point on the site has 360 degree views over some of the most beautiful countryside in west Cork and the reach is as far as the Fastnet in good weather. At night, the light beam hits the house obliquely.
With one build behind him and a London townhouse conversion to his credit, O’Driscoll got stuck in at Toormore and in true, west Cork fashion, got his cousin Bernard O’Driscoll in as main contractor. Another relative, Denny O’Donoghue from Goleen was the digger driver who reclaimed the lake.
The house partly sits atop the water — which is now no longer a peaty sink hole, but a clean, clear mass that’s home to families of mallards and water hens — their soap opera keeps O’Driscoll amused throughout the year, but particularly now at nesting time.
And the glittering water doesn’t tell the full story: how the old peaty mire was drained, how the bottom was scooped clean and how tons of concrete were poured into place, bedding in the deck, wharf and pier.
The fear at the time was that the lake would ‘puncture’ says O’Driscoll, and the water would find a way underground instead.
But, the days passed, the concrete cured, the clearing and widening process finished and the dams were breached.
Water flooded in and lo, it held. The lake is now the focus of the dwelling, the point that all the rooms survey and in particular, the large, living room.
In an area where sea frontage is like gold, O’Driscoll saw the potential of turning to inland water when buying by the sea was impossible.
So it’s hard to believe that this Greek-style white property with its bank of solar panels and massed planting is Irish — there’s the touch of the Hamptons, or somewhere abroad about it — maybe it’s the lack of faux vernacular touches or the combination of low white house and water.
The soaring roofs and the full height glazing of the living room are there to maximise on the aspect. A simple armchair by a set of sliding doors is a cat-napping spot for the afternoon’s sun and it’s bathed in gold at evening time.
The living room is part of a single-depth, mono pitch wing that runs perpendicular to the bedroom wing and is linked by the entrance hall and study.
The room is finished classically with clever design and there’s O’Driscoll’s trademark log assembly at the side of the fireplace which is simply raised and defined by a stucco frame. Cheap but oh so clever.
The recesses on either side of the firebreast are boxed in to give the impression of deep shelving and the dimensions are very generous. The room rises all the way and there’s a rough plaster finish on the walls, (it works) but a smooth finish on the ceiling.
A set of double doors divide the living from dining space, but these aren’t standard — they’re one frame with two glazing units apiece that mirror the dimensions of the other double doors in the house. They slide away to open up a huge circulation space.
Likewise, with colour, O’Driscoll has stuck to four main blocks and has used them in various rooms to different effect. White, however, is predominant and flooring is wide plank walnut, while plain cream tiles are used in the kitchen and bathrooms.
The kitchen units are off-the-peg, high gloss from Cash and Carry Cork and are used simply along one wall, with cantilevered shelves overhead and a wall of units in one corner for the fridge and pantry. Less is more.
Off the connecting hallway which is lit by a clerestory window, there’s a light-filled study, (with drift wood chair) to the right and a corridor bisecting the bedroom wing, with two double rooms facing south, one en suite room facing north, a main bathroom and the master bedroom running along the end of the wing.
Completed to five star standard, the room isn’t huge or overdone, but it does have its own fireplace and firebreast, a door to the rear terrace and a reading/study space.
Again, O’Driscoll uses stacked logs to the side and manages to fit white painted, louvre wardrobes in the corner.
The attached bathroom uses a clever dividing panel for the shower area, (in one side dirty, out the other clean, he says) while all the piping is boxed in, unseen and provides hanging space for the hand basin.
A bath tub fits neatly along the opposite wall and the entire area is finished in a mixture of mosaic and rectangular tiles.
The other bedrooms follow a similar theme, (one had an integral headboard in painted brick) with simple wardrobes, neutral carpets and cantilevered shelving. Most have doors outside where a terrace runs up to a raised, barbeque space with fitted seating and cooking area.
The bathroom has clever storage details with quality, but mainstream fittings, save for the bespoke mirrors from his own design range and clever storage solutions.
For all the comfort of the house, however, there is one area that exerts the strongest pull — the deck.
Leading off the main living room and connecting to the grass planted ‘back garden’, it has an asymmetrical layout, is trimmed with rope and connects the house directly to the water.
Stretching out to the south-west, it’s a place of stillness and relaxation from where there isn’t a sinner to be seen, just the occasional water fowl and the water set against the sheltering hills. Folded safely into this bowl, the wind from the sea is softened and acres of untamed land stretches as far as the eye can see.
Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.
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