This new house on the Woodstock estate in Co Kilkenny is hidden in the trees and yet just minutes from Inistioge village
THERE’S NO escaping “telephone tyranny”. Even air travel, one of the few surviving refuges, is increasingly vulnerable as airlines boast of on-board mobile connectivity.
But surely certain spaces and activities should be sacrosanct? Like, say, the bathroom? Well, not any more. The latest must-have, high-tech gadget, which elevates state-of-the-art into the preposterously post-modern, is a device which allows users to answer the telephone – and chat – while taking a shower. A wall-mounted, water-proof panel also offers touch-button access to a CD player and radio.
Who, other than a Russian oligarch, could possibly need such a gizmo? It’s the type of advanced, domestic technology you might expect to find in a Manhattan penthouse or a new development in Dubai but hardly in rural Co Kilkenny.
Yet the talk-in shower is a feature of luxury bathrooms in this stylish rustic retreat which is on the market for €950,000 through Colliers Jackson-Stops.
The Boat House is deep within Woodstock, a former Anglo-Irish estate near the postcard-pretty village of Inistioge.
Here, the splendid Victorian gardens have been beautifully restored (and opened to the public) but the big house itself is now just a burnt-out shell and a stark reminder of the War of Independence.
Hubert Butler, the travel writer and essayist, once noted that: “There is scarcely in all Ireland a more charming walk than that which runs below the ruins along the Nore.”
This secluded, heavily wooded stretch of riverside is the unlikely setting for an ultra-modern house. The new architect-designed Boat House is being sold by Dublin businessman Cyril Forbes who also owns a lavishly restored, neighbouring Victorian cottage.
The 371.6sq m (4,000sq ft) house is reached via an unpaved road through bluebell-filled woods – preferably by SUV. Exterior walls are partially clad with a mix of traditional stone and slate but the interior style is defiantly contemporary. Accommodation is spread over three floors and includes six bedrooms – five of which are en suite.
A geothermal system provides under-floor heating on the ground and first floors and there’s also back-up, oil-fired central heating. The house has its own well and a pressurised water system. There is a burglar alarm, security lights and automated gates.
The entrance hall is dominated by a hand-blown Murano glass chandelier by Rocco Borghese, a London-based Italian designer who creates “art-light” pieces at his Crouch End studio. A bespoke walnut kitchen is complemented by Brazilian granite worktops and Gorenje appliances.
The spacious, open-plan drawingroom/dining area is filled with light through floor-to-ceiling triple-glazed windows and doors leading out to a timber balcony. It’s the perfect observation deck from which to enjoy the quite remarkable views of a river teeming with wildlife. Swans glide by, otters bask, kingfishers flit between trees and salmon still swim freely.
Outside, a private jetty is large enough for tying up two or three boats. The Nore is navigable – and tidal – at this point, enabling sailing downriver to the Waterford Estuary and the sea.
The Boat House is a very smart weekend or holiday home that wouldn’t look out of place on a lakeshore in outer-suburban Stockholm or at Henley-on-Thames.
Despite its deceptively isolated location, the village of Inistioge is just minutes away; Mount Juliet is seven miles, Kilkenny city 18 miles and Dublin 85 miles.
