Large detached houses with stables are on offer in an unusual new development at Mullingar, Co Westmeath. Stableford is a small housing estate built by Adrian Hilliard and Brendan O'Shea of Insight Development. The Stableford development was inspired by similar schemes in the US, where Adrian Hilliard and his wife, Geraldine, were involved for several years in the housing construction industry.

Six of the eight detached houses on the six-and-a-half acre site have been sold, and the last two are now on the market. Local agent James B. McDonnell is handling enquiries. A 2,500 sq ft detached four-bedroom house costs £310,000 and a five-bedroom house with 3,000 sq ft of space has an asking price of £390,000.

The location in Kilpatrick, just outside Mullingar, is completely rural. The houses are built on the edge of Cleaboy Stud in Mullingar's equestrian heartland. The Royal Canal meanders through the townland.

The houses are designed along American lines, with unusual circular rooms, Jacuzzi baths and barn-sized kitchens. The builders have left the choice of kitchen to purchasers, with a basic allowance of £5,000 to cover both kitchen and tiling. For £310,000, the 2,500 sq ft four-bedroom house has an octagonal sittingroom, large openplan kitchen/breakfast/family room and a separate diningroom downstairs. There are three double rooms upstairs and a circular main bedroom with a sunken en suite shower-room.

The five-bedroom house has 3,000 sq ft of space and costs £390,000. This has a two-storey circular diningroom overlooked by a minstrel's gallery landing. All five bedrooms fit a double bed and the main bedroom has a large en suite shower room.

Gardens are all about half an acre and enclosed.

A management company will maintain the communal areas, at an annual cost of approximately £800.