Versace-style glamour on the plains of Kildare

No expense was spared and no relevant paint shade left untested by the family who built this luxurious, marble- floored home for their parents. Now it’s for sale for €1.75 million

IF DONATELLA VERSACE ever wants a bolthole in Ireland she need look no further than Hill Cottage outside Straffan, Co Kildare.

The grey field-stone front gives the impression of a modest enough bungalow – one that she might drive by without a second glance – but inside there’s more than 585sq m (6,296sq ft) of mesmerising opulence spanning three levels with acres of marble floors, lashings of antique gilt and a surfeit of chandeliers – there’s even one in the little powder room.

While it’s relatively restrained by usual Versace standards, there’s more than a passing resemblance to the interiors on versacehome.com (click on Interior Design), from the wall panelling in every room to the lavishly set dinner table and the positioning of the massive cream leather sofas .

Colliers International is asking €1.75 million for Hill Cottage, which sits on an acre and took nearly four years to build – partly because of the near-obsessive quest for perfection by its architect.

The house stands on the site of the old servant’s cottage that was on the grounds of Iona Park Stud farm. The family who have lived in it since the 1990s got planning permission in 2005 for a dream house for their retired parents, who wanted lots of bedrooms for their grandchildren.

The family got behind the project with gusto, with one son – an architect based in Toronto, Canada – overseeing the entire build. Despite being over 3,000 miles away, he vetted every fixture and fitting for its old-world luxury credentials.

It took 10 attempts to get the right shade of off-white for the Georgian-style wall panelling that runs throughout the house before Crown Paint pastel base 9001 was chosen. The panelling was carved by hand in the traditional way and spray painted three times to give a hard-wearing finish.

The sash windows are triple compressed and temperature resistant and the light bulbs had to be halogen not CFL, so you can see the honeycomb fleck detail in the honed marble floors. Sadly, the mother died in 2008, before the house was finished and the father now finds the place too big on his own.

A lot of the furniture is opulent and antique – and may be included in the sale if a buyer wants it, subject to negotiation. The open-plan living/dining/kitchen is a sight to behold. A long room in off-whites, creams, golds and honey tones, it is luxury on a grand scale. In one corner, a grand piano sits beside a huge porthole window overlooking the grounds of the neighbouring stud farm.

Considering the house was built to accommodate grandchildren, the scope for sticky fingers to leave marks on pristine surfaces is mind-bending. The bells-and-whistles kitchen is, of course, cream and bespoke, with Perrin and Row taps that are satin nickel to match the specially sourced toggle light switches and door knobs.

The house has a central vacuum system, underfloor heating, cold drinking water in all five ensuites, and every room is wired for TV, computers and sound and there is sound proofing between floors.

Off the livingroom there’s an impressive 1,000sq ft elevated limestone patio with views of the countryside, a barbecue, and expensive-looking loungers.

A room accessed through double doors off the living area is currently being used as a bedroom and has a freestanding wall of wardrobes which can be removed. The main bedroom is also on the ground floor and has an extra-high ceiling, a walk-in dressing room and a lavish bathroom with his and hers sinks and a wet room.

A corridor off the living area has a pantry that was originally designed as a lift shaft and has the relevant electrics, and a girly powder room. Secret panels along this corridor mask storage compartments.

There’s an enormous basement with another four bedrooms, all en suite, two with dressing rooms and all with have access to the garden. You can only enter the basement from the garden because the internal stairwell was blocked at ground floor level so the elderly occupant wouldn’t be bothered by construction noise.

Workmen are currently finishing off the fourth bedroom and will unblock the stairs if a new owner requires it. There are several other big rooms that a future owner would have to finish themselves and there’s scope to extend the basement kitchen into yet another storage room.

At the uppermost level, there’s an office and a home cinema with a screen and projector and an adjoining bathroom.

Incidentally Hill Cottage has its own website, the very slickly produced hillcottage.ie