Escape to Wicklow and lose yourself in a labyrinth for €395k

When vendors Sheila and Patricia bought their Killamoat Lower home 15 years ago it was a ruined 19th-century farmhouse. But it was a ruin with views that made it – and its acre site – irresistible.

“We bought, pooled our ideas, and started small, building on the footprint of the original house, then kept going over the years,” Sheila says. “We’re delighted with what we’ve created.”

Though it has been a difficult decision to leave the house, their need to be closer to an urban setting means they are selling through Nugent Auctioneers, with an asking price of €395,000.

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Designed by architect Aisling Quinn, the home they've created during their 15 years in Killamoat Lower is highly original. Filled with light and with Lugnaquilla and Keadeen mountain views, the house, according to Sheila, "explodes to the rear to make a two-storeyed kitchen/dining area" – an atrium-like space with a cathedral window and "270 degree views". Imagination and work in relation to the surrounding acre (0.4 hectare) has been equally lively. A labyrinth was planted by Sheila using 300 hornbeam plants that are now 6ft high. The two owners also made a pond because they "fancied it reflecting the mountains – which it does, beautifully, and reflects the house too". They planted plum and apple trees, blackcurrants and gooseberries.

When they’d finished they had a three-bed house with a 171sq m (1,840sq ft) floor area, including the open kitchen/dining area, utility and sittingroom. In 2010 they converted an old barn on their grounds, again building on the footprint. They gave it two storeys, with a studio at ground level, three offices on the first floor and bathrooms on both levels.

Replica façade

The front, traditional part of the house, where the original façade is replicated and the windows are Marvin sash, has a large hallway and good-sized rooms. The quarry-tiled ground floor has underfloor heating. Floors on the first level are polished timber. The sittingroom has a wood-burning stove (as does the kitchen) and dramatic, all-encompassing corner windows. A bedroom, with tiled floor, is in use as a study. The kitchen/dining area, with an integrated fridge and freezer, is in the soaring, 40sq m (430.5sq ft) rear addition.

First-floor bedrooms include the main, which has low windows and built-in storage, and a second smaller bedroom.