Shoparound: Cast-iron and enamel stoves dating from Europe's golden age of stove casting between 1850 and 1950 have become objects of desire for owners of modern, as well as period, homes who want something that looks different.

Cork-based Ovne Antique Stoves has been supplying architects, interior designers and ordinary punters with antique solid-fuel stoves since 1990. Ovne is Danish for stoves, and the company specialises in finding, restoring and supplying antique stoves from Scandinavia, mainland Europe and the US.

Proprietor Tom Keane originally set up shop in Dublin's Temple Bar and later Bachelor's Walk but decamped to Leap in west Cork five years ago. From his showrooms in a converted mill, roughly half way between Clonakilty and Skibbereen, Keane has a stock of between 30 and 40 stoves of varying shapes and sizes.

For a flavour of their stock, check out Ovne's website on www.ovnestoves.com. Prices start at around €1,400.

All of the stoves burn solid fuel - either a mixture of wood, coal, turf or briquettes, or wood exclusively - and are fully guaranteed for two years.

Between 1870 and 1930, a great variety of stoves were produced throughout Scandinavia, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France and mainland Europe, Keane explains. The designs and castings of this period are so superior that, even a century later, the stoves look and function as if they have just left the foundry.

What really sets these stoves apart from others currently on the market is their aesthetic appeal, according to Tom Keane. "They have been described as functional art. People who want something just that little bit different as opposed to a generic new stove will go for them," he said. They can look just as good in new homes as in older houses, he added. In addition to stoves, Ovne Antique Stoves also stock a selection of antique and reclaimed furniture, fireside accessories, Italian and French glass, continental ceramics and enamelware.

Ovne Antique Stoves, Millside, Connonagh, Leap, Co Cork. Tel: 028-34917.