Irish Interiors, Spring 2004

Uncommon Grounds

In the Wicklow Hills, Anne Agnew finds a 1950s bungalow which is transformed into a retro 1930s hideaway.

Rat-race urban dwellers are continuing to ditch the city for those rare havens where weekends rule and time stands still. Paddy O'Toole applied this contemporary axiom to the remodeling of a sixty-year-old bungalow on 160 acres, which he and his siblings inherited some years ago.

"We live in a speeded-up world," says Paddy. "For example, in the old days, people heading abroad could afford to spend months relaxing on an ocean liner, savouring novels and taking deep breaths of salt air. Now we can make the same trip in less than a day, and when we get there, we're itching to be first off the plane! My aim was to create a hassle-free hideaway which would be attractive to anyone wanting to get away from the daily grind and recharge their batteries."

Ballybeg house has panoramic views over the surrounding landscape - which changes every hour! So far, writers, musicians and artists have stayed in the house.