Chartered surveyor Michael Brennan and his wife, Orla, moved straight from a maternity ward in the National Maternity Hospital on Holles Street in Georgian Dublin to a homage to that era, a new-build A2 Ber-rated home in Edmondstown, outside Ardee, Co Louth.
The couple, who are both from the northeast, had been living in a two-up, two-down in Ringsend when Michael’s family gave them the opportunity to build on a site.
“We knew we needed family support and space, and a site was the easiest way to get on to the ladder,” he says.
While both grew up in 1980s bungalows, they both really liked the Georgian style. “The big square and adaptable rooms work for modern life. They have a good sense of flow and evoke a kind of warmth. We didn’t want to do a mock Georgian with lower ceilings,” Orla says. Stays at Tankardstown House and Rathmullan House, Co Donegal, as well as visits to offices on Merrion Square, Dublin, also influenced their decision.
They liked the energy-efficiency of new homes and, while viewing various schemes, came across the work of architect Ken Babington, who had done a local project that they admired. He explained how to orientate the build to take advantage of where the sun rose and set, putting the living rooms, sunroom and kitchen on the southern side.
At entrance level they wanted ceiling heights of 12ft (3.66m) and large splayed windows throughout. The fenestrations occupy 65 per cent of that height and, at 2.36m, are almost the height of standard ceilings. Of the five bedrooms, four are dual aspect.
Planning was granted in 2014 and works started in July. They hired Dungannon-based Woodmarque Joinery to do all the doors, timber sash windows, panelling and architraving. Michael estimates that to execute those same works now would now cost three times what they paid the firm.
The two-storey house extends to 403sq m (4,348sq ft), and has a porcelain tile wood-look parquet floor through most of the ground floor, warming the property via its geo-thermal underfloor heating. The property is impressively insulated so much so that utilities for this large home cost €240 a month, excluding broadband, Michael says.
The look of the house was inspired by a reproduction fireplace that is in the drawing room; they bought it from Wilson’s Architectural Salvage before construction had started.
The rest of the decor is a mix of antique and contemporary, many of the former bought at auction. Some pieces have been customised to fit, such as the basin in the guest toilet which features a marble-look top and splashback.
The house has a detached two-storey garage of about 116sq m (1,248sq ft) that could be used as a granny flat, as rooms for a consultant working from the property or as a garage for a petrolhead. Designed to look like a stable, it even has a clock tower and could easily accommodate a pony or two.
Set on 3.3 acres of landscaped grounds that include a paddock, Savills is seeking €1.5 million for the property which is situated about 8km from Ardee and 10km from Carrickmacross. At the end of the road you can catch the bus to the primary school in Tallanstown, a distance of about 4km, where the nearest shop is also located. The bar and restaurant Dooleys of Edmondstown is about 850m away.
