A large detached house in the Co Kildare countryside, built in 2008, was designed to be both smart and energy efficient: Meadowlands, a 353sq m (3,800sq ft) five-bed, has geothermal heating, solar panels, triple-glazed windows, a heat recovery system, zoned heating and a B2 energy rating.

It’s also a bright, very modern home, with a double-height entrance hall and floor-to-ceiling windows and doors in downstairs rooms that open out to a wraparound patio.

Five years ago owners Laurence and Ruth Hill put the home they'd built up for sale in 2013 for €850,000: they were moving to Cork, and had intended to sell – but in the end, says Laurence, they decided to rent in case they wanted to move back. They did return in 2015 but now, with adult children and grandchildren living in Dublin, they plan to move nearer to the city. The house – unchanged since 2013 – is back on the market through Coonans for €1.15 million.

Standing on two acres outside the village of Straffan, lecturer and garden designer Monica Alvarez – a judge on RTÉ's Super Garden series – designed the gardens and she returns every year with students who are learning to prune trees, says Laurence.

The north-facing front of the house has small windows, which conceal how bright the property is inside. A large sittingroom with a double-height ceiling and two seating areas – one next to a fireplace, the other next to French windows out to the patio – opens off the front hall. The diningroom has floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides; the cream kitchen has an oak-topped island unit, a double Aga and a utility room off it.

Downstairs accommodation also includes a fully-tiled bathroom, family room and a games/music room with a pull-down cinema screen.

Two of the five bedrooms are also downstairs. Upstairs are three bedrooms and a study. The main bedroom has a walk-in dressingroom and a large en suite with jacuzzi bath and a walk-in shower.

There’s a separate garage.