Well, you have to see this place in person to believe it.  This is not your typical restored Georgian mansion.  It’s a light-hearted interpretation of the old theme, designed for good times.

The middle part of the current house dates from 1700.  Two wings were added later.  One early owner, a well-known artist of the time, painted several murals that remain today on the house's walls.  The current owners have completely renovated the building borrowing from their time lived in the Far East and Australia.  It’s an eclectic interpretation and that’s part of the charm.

It’s not easy to describe this house.  We could just list the rooms, but, instead, come with us as we wander through the house.  If you get lost, we’ll come back for you.

The west wing is to the left of the center front entrance hall.  The first room on the left is a wood-paneled sitting room.  It contains the throne of a former Bishop of Sligo, lithographs of some pages of the Book of Kells, green leather sofas and wing chairs, a fireplace, an ornate chandelier.

Go through this room to the smaller of two dining rooms.  It has two tables, beige suede chairs, stone steps up to the old hay loft.  The owner cooked breakfast for us and served it here: delicate crepes filled with scrambled eggs and salmon, perfect rolls and muffins, fresh orange juice.  It’s one of those breakfasts that one remembers.

From there, stairs go up to the Japanese bedroom, the only bedroom up this stairway.  It is a smallish room with a standard double bed and a distressed wood headboard, a campaign chest, a TV on a chest, small windows looking out over the lawns, a door to a small balcony.  The en suite tiled bathroom has a shower and a Japanese-style tub that is recessed in the floor.

Back down to the main floor, a long corridor leads to the Indian themed Kandy Suite decorated in green and red.  The king bed with a leather headboard can be converted to twin beds.  A single bed is used as a sofa, but a small child would be comfortable here.  The separate sitting area has two divans, a large coffee table that was once a bed in India, cupboards, a TV, good lighting.  French doors lead to the side of the property.  The en suite bathroom, fully tiled with blue-green mosaic tiles, has a tub, and a shower behind a glass block wall.

Back to the stairs that come up from the “news room”: there’s a sitting area on a landing, wood furniture and wood floors - a nice little quiet space.

Back to the stairs and the landing, a corridor leads to a bedroom with a Thai theme.  The king bed can convert to twin beds; its headboard is a tall antique rattan screen.  There is a dressing table that has a subtle stained design on the top, other antiques, wood floors.  The en suite bathroom has a tub and a shower.

Next door, a bedroom with a Balinese theme has a half-tester queen bed with gauzy fabric and a leather headboard, wood floor, an impressionistic statue of a praying woman.  The wood paneled en suite bathroom has a tub and shower.

Now go back to the front entry way and turn right, into the west wing of the mansion. This is the “party wing”.

The dramatic long reception room has faux leather walls, Chinese red furniture, art, plants, good lighting, windows facing the courtyard and a double-fronted fireplace with a wood stove insert which divides the room into two seating areas.

The kitchen is gorgeous.  Located just off the reception room, it has a big granite and wood island with tall chairs, an Aga with a gas 6-burner cook top, a Belfast sink and a small round sink, a gigantic dresser with white china, a large refrigerator.  A door leads to a butler’s pantry that has a sink and espresso machine, shelves of serving  items, a wine rack and much more.  Adjacent to this kitchen is a small professional kitchen that is used by caterers.

Go back through the reception room into a hallway.  Up some stairs there is a sitting room with leather furniture and a red wood mantle in the stone wall.  Two hallways lead off this room to more bedrooms. 

At the end of a long hall is the Italian bedroom.  It has a graceful black iron double bed, a fireplace, chest of drawers.  The separate seating area has two dark green leather easy chairs.  The en suite bathroom has grayish walls, marble floors, a tub and a shower. 

The Tudor room has a king bed that can convert to twin beds, an antique leather sofa, a large carved fireplace mantle, great views over the grounds.  The en suite bathroom has a tub and a shower.