Colour me beautiful: designer pad in Rathmichael for €2.75m

“I didn’t want to buy a house,” says the owner of Kildarick, gesturing towards the building that changed his mind. All the while the family’s exuberant dog is bouncing around while we explore the grounds. “I wanted a site. I had never even been up this road before, but we turned in the gates, and the cherry blossom was out, and I thought: we have to buy it . . . ”

His wife takes up the story, she had seen the five-bedroom contemporary pad in the 2007 issue of the glossy style bible that was the Book of Interiors. The feature on the house, noting that it was for sale, also described its brave design by architect Kilian Skay: "in these pastoral surroundings, suffice to say, that when Kildarick emerged, standing brazenly tall [. . .] with one wall entirely glazed, it prompted some discussion amongst the locals". It also prompted a certain young couple to visit, and opened the next chapter in the house's history.

Kildarick’s new owners had big plans. “I took a year off work to do it,” the owner, who is in the auto business, says. “We took the roof off, added a glass box extension, reinsulated, changed the windows. We basically just left the walls standing,” he concludes. “I thought we were just adding a new kitchen,” his wife adds, though it’s clear they’re both absolutely delighted with what they’ve created.

“I think I have a disorder – let’s call it relentless perfectionism,” the owner says. He spent a period of intensive research to ensure everything was exactly right: from the zinc roof, to the sandstone window surrounds which came from the nearby Murphy Stone quarry in Sandyford. The window design, which brings the eye around the different faces of the house, was borrowed from a style seen by the couple in Stockholm.

Permanent holiday

“We had been planning to buy a holiday home, perhaps in Portugal,” the owner says. “But then we thought, why do that? We feel as if we’re on holidays here.” And there is something fun and escapist about the house. Outside there’s a dramatic patio, complete with built-in barbecue and bar area, and lots of fancy colourful lighting. Astroturf and blue glass chip strips have been cut in at diagonals to break up the grey stone surface.

“It’s irrigated, so they could be filled with water too,” the owner says, though he begins to worry about how that might collect fallen leaves. It’s that perfectionism again, which means, at €2.75 million with Knight Frank, you’re buying a house where nothing has been left to chance. There’s even a clever system of brushes to prevent the hidden guttering from clogging up.

Still outside, there's a European Tour putting green with its own sand bunker. "They did McIlroy and Garcia's," says the owner, as the dog decides the space would be better used by us for throwing tennis balls at this particular moment. In all, the gardens stretch to 1.13 acres, landscaped by Hugh Ryan, and bounded on one side by a small stream, and on another by a field where deer graze.

Inside the front door – designed by Urban Front, with solid steel behind that nice timber exterior – is just as exciting. A hallway leads to a series of spaces that are bright, fun and funky. A lime-green wall accents one space, while another is picked out by a hot pink fire surround. The 320sq m (3,500 sq ft) of space is taken up with a living room, dining area, lounge/entertainment space, and vast open-plan kitchen on the ground floor, plus five bedrooms leading off an internal balcony above. The master has a balcony, dressing room and en suite with mosaic detailing by Laura O’Hagan.

Blackout blinds

There are lots of surprises along the way: lights in the downstairs loo that come on with a wave of the hand; hidden blackout blinds; the kind of kitchen in which you could imagine indulging in molecular gastronomy for breakfast, and all sorts of ambient lighting to back up the integrated sound system.

So why leave all this? “I know what I can do now,” says the owner. “So we’re going to go for it again. We put around €1.6 million into this place,but I could draw you the new place in a second,” he adds, with a distant look in his eyes. “Even the things you can’t see. They make such a difference.” To the delight of the dog, who has been concerned we may spend all afternoon chatting in the kitchen, we go back outside. “See these little points? They’re to anchor a marquee. We can convert this whole space into a party room in moments.”

With or without the parties, there’s no doubt that living here would be pretty entertaining, even on the dullest of days. Rathmichael is handy for the M50 and Luas, and is in the foothills of some seriously stunning countryside. This house, full of light, playfulness and adventurous touches, would be a very nice base from which to make the most of it all.