вЂњThe local rabbit population ate our first garden,вЂќ she says, and after that, gardening and planting were geared towards collaborating with the natural world. They learnt a valuable lesson after planting their first garden вЂ“ make peace with the rabbits. The woman of the house knew what she was doing when they bought the 1.1 acre site in the early 1990s, as she is from the wider Inniscarra area. The house is in a sort of hollow, and itвЂ™s lovely and sheltered, with trees everywhere. вЂњYou can go for a lovely walk without having to get into the car to drive there. Her husband, a solicitor, says one of his favourite bits about The Orchard Field is the laneway around the back. вЂњYou can have plenty of people over without really noticing,вЂќ she says. вЂњI love the way the main room can be opened up вЂ“ there's a generous balcony all the way around вЂ“ and there is wonderful circulation in the summer. The woman of the house says one of the things she loves about their 3,400 sq ft Curraleigh home is the abundance of large windows, which allows for lots of passive solar gain.Д«ut her favourite feature is the main living area. Floors throughout are solid oak and maple. The other two bedrooms, (main ensuite) and a bathroom are on the lower floor, which also has underfloor heating. On the top floor are three bedrooms (one ensuite) and a separate bathroom. The middle floor also has a shower room and utility room. The main living area has some great open spaces, including the 6.1ењ†.6m kitchen/dining room (the kitchen is hand-painted solid timber) and a 10ењ†.8m open plan living/dining area, which has patio doors to the south-facing balcony.ДЄ studio on the same floor вЂ“ for the artist - has French doors to a south-facing patio and there are more double doors to the patio from an inner hall. In 2008, the split-level house was extended, with the main living area on the middle floor added to, including the wrap around balcony, and the addition on the ground floor of what is now the main bedroom, ensuite, with separate shower and a door to those glorious gardens. вЂњWe built a timber frame house, because we were trying to keep it as eco-friendly as possible even though at the time, there werenвЂ™t that many eco-products around,' the owners say.

She and I collaborated on the house when I found the site and we have continued to collaborate in one way or another over the years,вЂќ says the woman of the house, who is an artist. вЂњThe house was essentially a collaboration between myself and Margaret, who was a school friend.

This star feature was added in 2008 when the owners extended with the help of Clonakilty-based award-winning architect Margaret Walsh of MSA Architects. Nonetheless, there are plenty of architectural details that you donвЂ™t get in standard homes, such as the fabulous, wrap-around balcony on the middle floor. They didnвЂ™t want a fussy house either, so while the design is high quality, itвЂ™s not a flashy home.

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