Home and away: How Australia inspired dream house in Kinsale
An Imola chair allows you enjoy the view from the upper-floor living area in The Dockhouse.
Is it possible to build an Australian-inspired dream house in Ireland?

The laidback lifestyle Down Under informs so much of this Cork residence inside and out — a property conceived of long before the pandemic prompted every homeowner to embark on odysseys to discover the perfect indoor-outdoor sweet spot.

The residence was built to passive house standards and its structure is a timber frame wrapped in zinc cladding on an insulated concrete slab which includes underfloor heating.

“With a small site, there is a temptation to fill every square foot but the goal here was to make the dwelling and its environs feel spacious and light-filled within the restricted site.

“The build was set to the front of the site as it was essential that light would flow around the property and every opportunity taken to infuse light into the rooms to offset the large elevated stone wall at the rear.”

Floating walls add to the sense of spaciousness.

The kitchen and living area makes the most of the panoramic ocean vista day and night. “Colette and I created the interior design based on our taste and having the open-plan aspect is very much inspired by Australian beach-house style,” says Éamon who has a background in civil engineering and construction and whose father was a builder.

A floating birch-ply panelled ceiling also gives a wonderfully airy feel to the upper floor living area, as do the cantilevered stairs that tempt you upwards are soon as you step inside the front door.

Of course, Kinsale is a gourmet capital and while The Dockhouse’s kitchen looks sleek and spartan, behind those gleaming black cupboard doors lie all you need to cook up a storm — from a Kenwood mixer to Le Creuset ware.




