One of the greatest risks in trying to emulate a period house is that the end result often turns out to be mere pastiche. Michael and Rosemary Fitzpatrick's love of Georgian jewel Townley Hall in Drogheda was the inspiration for their family home in Rathmichael, and the result, completed in 1999, pays full homage to the graceful styles of the Georgian era.
Under the guidance of architect Shelly Barrett, Providence is built around an enclosed courtyard, and successfully combines period details with modern living. Michael, a civil engineer, designed the elliptical hallway which is mirrored in an overhead skylight and further echoed in a water feature in the rear garden.
The house comprises three reception rooms, two conservatories, a study, library, kitchen-breakfast room and six bedrooms, bringing the total floor area to 320sq m (3,444sq ft).
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The livingroom is the focal point of the house and features a large fanlight window overlooking the rear garden.
Flanked on either side by symmetrical Amdega conservatories which open out onto the rear garden, the wide door architraves and ceiling details create a feeling of relaxed splendour.
The shaker style kitchen has underfloor heating but also features a heated ceiling. “We didn’t want radiators, as it was not in keeping with true Georgian style,” explains Michael, “so we installed heating both underfloor and in the ceilings”.
The gardens were created by award-winning designer Prof Martin Hallinan, who also designed St Fiachra's garden at the National Stud in Kildare and the Bicentenary Garden in Maynooth. Taking centre stage is a rare Japanese Cloud Tree in the courtyard surrounded by towering bamboo and walls of Virginia creeper.
The rear garden features formal clipped box hedging and one distinct digression from the faithful Georgian design palette – a sunken hot tub.
The Fitzpatricks now find themselves with more room than they require and they're in the process of designing a smaller passive house to be constructed on a nearby site. They have placed Providence, a modern tribute to Georgian architecture, on the market with estate agent Ganly Walters for auction on October 1st with an AMV of €1.25 million.
