Feature: Skibbereen €350,000

Size: Sq m 185 (2,000 sq ft)

DO YOU find the images of the converted Lassnaroe Cottage and the adjoining small barn hopelessly romantic? If so, you’re not unique. Not, at least, until you buy it. This quite spectacular West Cork, stone built make-over was done by skilled and serial renovators Peter and Anna Warburton. They started rescuing old and sometimes ruined cottages back in 1994, in and around Skibbereen, and have ten rescues to their credit of which Lassnaroe was the last. It was finished in 2010 and was brought back from a quite parlous state.

They run a very successful business, www.cottagesforcouples.ie, from their own home at Grove House near Skibbereen, promoting romance and accommodation offering guest-night, home-comforts with bells on, like jacuzzis in bedrooms, hottubs under the stars, satellite TV, free bottles of fizz on arrival, petal-strewn beds — and, after that, privacy.

The Warburton’s love-nests get massive Tripadvisor reviews, and Lassnaroe gets lots of favourable online mention too — one of the very few criticisms was that it was a little hard to find, three miles out the Bantry road from Skib; that’s a bonus in any case for those seeking a hideaway.

Auctioneer Pat Maguire in Skibbereen had one of the Warburtons’ smaller cottages on offer briefly before it was taken off the market, and now he describes this fully finished house renovation and linked barn totalling about 2,000 sq ft as “a labour of love.” He guides Lassnaroe at €350,000 for the entire, with four bedrooms, an airy living space and with bold, striking decor flourishes, all on 0.75 of an acre.

Mr Maguire reckons it is the best of the couples’ cottage collection, due to its setting and size and quite contemporary character, and there’s an option to buy it pretty much as it stands, furnished and decorated as well — minus their trademark scattered rose petals on the beds, presumably. (There mustn’t be an intact rose bush west of Skibb at Bank Holiday and Valentine’s Weekends.)

Design features include lofted main living space, with glass balustered mezzanine and soaring heights to roof apex with feature exposed beams, lots of exposed stone, stoves for extra heating oomph, and each house/barn section has two bedrooms, and each section has a double Jacuzzi bath as a prominent feature in one bedroom.

The plumbing and hot-water abundance spills over to a sheltered outdoor deck space by the barn, where there’s a hot tub for outdoor soaks.

Commenting on the scale of the rescue and renovation, owner Peter Warburton quips that “as it was the last of our ‘portfolio of ruins’, we decided to push the boat out and create something special — and we are happy with the result”.

As for buying interest, auctioneer Pat Maguire says the mix of house and barn is very useful both for holiday home and full-time occupation, as well as for welcoming guests. There’s even an option to buy and continue to rent via the Warburtons when not being occupied by its next, smitten owners.

VERDICT: Calling all West Cork lovers.