The art of home renovation

Trish Dromey reports on a Skibbereen home that’s rustic and charming

Sat, 05 May, 2018 - 01:00

Trish Dromey reports on a Skibbereen home that’s rustic and charming

THE artist who renovated Ilen Valley House near Skibbereen didn’t just make it rustic and charming she also hand carved her own kitchen using individual pieces of kiln dried wood.

Born in Hong Kong to an Irish Chinese couple, she settled at this property in 2008 to paint, grow vegetables, and give art and photography classes in a studio which she converted from a barn.

When she moved into the hundred-plus-year-old farmhouse, much of the ‘heavy lifting’ had been done by a previous owner.

“It had been rerendered with lime plaster on the outside and also reroofed and insulated and fitted with double glazing but the inside was quite basic and didn’t have a proper kitchen.”

Rather than take a quick fix approach to doing it up, she turned it into a 10-year project, renovating one section at a time. She started by creating her studio and then gutting the first floor, knocking some walls and reconfiguring the space. It wasn’t until last year that she got around to designing and created her own unique kitchen.

“I worked on it all summer using individual pieces of kiln dried wood — I had them cut and worked with the grain and shape,” says the owner who did a lot of the timber work in the house herself, but not the stairs.

The aim was to keep it traditional and rustic looking. To enhance existing features she added more ceiling beams and put in a stove, keeping the décor simple with white rough plastered walls in every room. Much of the colour is introduced by her paintings, which are found throughout the house, but there are a few pale blue doors in the kitchen while the white walls with blue sills and doors on the outside make it look a little Mediterranean.

Although she did a lot of the work and all the painting herself, the owner did bring in a builder who was probably quite surprised to find a female owner doing the timber work and making her own kitchen.

With the addition of a studio, Ilen Valley House now has 1,550sq ft of living space. Selling agent Sean Carmodyy of Charles P McCarthy say sit has immense charm and character, in a scenic setting close to the Ilen River.

The main room is a long living dining room with multiple ceiling beams, a now unused inglenook fireplace at one end and a multifuel stove at the other. To the rear there’s a tiled kitchen with a hand crafted kitchen with a Belfast sink and kiln-dried macrocarpa pine worktops as well a traditional dresser. In a section that used to be an outhouse there’s a store room and alongside it a timber floored studio, both with separate entrances. The ground floor also has a utility room and a bathroom while upstairs there are four bedrooms. Two of the bedrooms are in the original farmhouse and have vaulted ceilings with timber beams. There’s also one above the store room and another above the studio, both with separate staircases.

Located within earshot of the Ilen River, the farmhouse is on a 1.4-acre site which is sheltered by mature trees and has a vegetable and herb plot, beds with flowering shrubs and wild gardens with stone walls and pathways. Out in front there’s a stone patio planted with Wisteria and Sweet William.

Situated on a private roadway, Ilen Valley house is located 10km from Skibbereen and around 20km from Bantry.

On the market with a guide of €325,000, the property is already getting viewings from overseas buyers. Auctioneer Sean Carmody says the store room and studio could be put to a variety of uses and might even attract another artist.

“With its charm and scenic location is would make an idea; holiday home but it also offers great space for a young family.”

VERDICT: has all the rustic charm a West Cork property should have