Ard na Greine revamp proves a work of art

KEEPING it looking simple can be a hard job: the west Cork house called Ard na Greine in Roaringwater Bay is an example of a challenging build, where the art is and was in concealing the art.

This new 3,000 sq ft home, on a spectacular island site, only came to pass because of persistence from afar on behalf of the owners, who were living in the Far East when it was being built, and their diligent Waterford-based design team, backed up with a builder who lived a mile from the site, and came garlanded with recommendations. Key, especially, to its eventual grant of permission was the fact it was going to replace or morph out of an existing dwelling.

It has replaced a 1970s bungalow holiday/retirement home which, most probably, was kept modest in its own scope five decades ago because, even then, the site was seen as quite sacrosanct thanks to its visibility.