Portlaoise/from €185,000: Anyone in the market for a three-bedroom house in the Portlaoise area should take a look at ultra-modern Hepburn Court, where Darjohn Developments is selling the last three houses in the current phase through P F S Property & Financial Services.

Prices are from €185,000 for these very unusual partly cedar-clad homes, located off the Ballyfin Road on the Tullamore Road side of Portlaoise. The presence of a train station with a regular service to Dublin is a huge advantage.

The houses are a good size, offering 115 sq m (1,240 sq ft) of living space and their design is strikingly contemporary.

Tall two-storey square-paned windows are an unusual feature and some internal walls are curved. The front door opens to a wide hallway with the sittingroom off to the left. This benefits from the full-height window and the fireplace has a coal-effect electric fire. The wall separating the sittingroom from the kitchen/diningroom curves slightly.

Opening off the end of the hall, the kitchen/diningroom is a spacious room opening to the back garden. Units are Shaker-style pale wood and there is an overall tiling allowance of €300. A utility is shelved and plumbed for laundry use.

Upstairs, all three bedrooms could fit a double bed, although the smallest room will probably be designated as a single room. The main bedroom is a good size, with an en suite shower room and walk-in wardrobe. Glass blocks border the tall window extending from the ground floor.

Standard features include gas central heating and tongue and groove upstairs floors. Back gardens will be levelled and seeded, while fronts provide car-parking for two cars. General landscaping promises to be good and there is a fitness centre next door to the Hepburn Court site.

Previous schemes by developer Darjohn include Lodge Court in Borris, Co Carlow and Loch Abhainn in Graiguecullen, Co Carlow. Viewing is this Saturday and Sunday.