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Sleek four-bed home in Furbo is within easy reach of the beach and Galway city
Across the drystone wall in the garden outside is the glinting Atlantic Ocean, which appears aquamarine in parts, and has seagulls wheeling above it. In the distance on one side are therising majestically out of the water, and on the other the powerful forms of the Aran Islands which seem to float in the haze.
Stepping outside on to the south-facing raised terrace at the back of the house, you can hear the sound of a skylark as you inhale the salty air. You can almost touch the swaying sea grass, yards from where you stand. Yet you’re protected from the heat of the day by the overhang on the extension’s sloping roof. It’s on glorious summer days like this that the owners of Stripe Cottage are reminded of why they bought it in 2020.
Then a four-bedroom house on 0.85 acres of land, they planned to make the most of its breathtaking Galway Bay vista, not just on the rare occasion when there is good weather, but all year round. The views are equally as impressive in winter, when dark clouds race across the sky, the sea is choppy and the wind is howling.
Monkstown villa with sleek, modern interior set for auction The original whitewashed cottage, built in 1908, was previously owned by an American couple who added bedrooms and a conservatory, and used it as a holiday home. The current owners renovated and reconfigured it after 14 months of living here. They did away with the conservatory, had the walls rebuilt and insulated and installed underfloor heating and a heat pump.
They sought to retain sections of the original wall where possible, and the old fireplaces. Stripe Cottage now has an A3 Ber rating, making it a cosy refuge in the winter months. But it’s the award-winning one-storey pavilion extension that makes the biggest impact. Rather than attempting to recreate the period style of the original house, the architects, Arigho Larmour Wheeler, designed an unashamedly modern building which connects to the old building through a wide timber-lined hallway.
You could say it’s a marriage of the old and the new. Designed to weather the elements of the exposed site, which is reached from the Spiddal Road via a quiet boreen, they wanted the sleek extension to blend into the windswept landscape. It was therefore clad with charred larch wood and a corrugated metal roof was installed, reminiscent of those used in cattle sheds.
The completed 233sq m home now has four double bedrooms with built-in wardrobes, shelving and desks; two bathrooms; an office; a library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves; a spacious open-plan kitchen/dining/livingroom; a utility room and a cosy sittingroom. The interior is just as sleek and modern as the exterior. Its pristine white walls and bespoke joinery are offset by pops of colour in the furnishings.
Engineered oak floors can be found in three of the bedrooms, the hallway and the library. The other rooms have polished concrete floors that create an industrial feel, save for the shower room which has porcelain tiles underfoot. Slimline aluminium windows, which not only let in the light, but frame the outside scenery, have been used in all of the rooms.
The entire project has been recognised, winning Best House Extension and Refurbishment in Ireland at the Building and Architect of the Year Awards this year and receiving two commendations at the IDI Awards 2026, one for Residential Architecture and one for Residential Design: Interiors. , Stripe Cottage is a just four-minute drive from Furbo village and 20-30 minutes from Galway city centre. It’s also a mere 12-minute walk from Furbo Beach, a picturesque cove with white powdery sand.
The property is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald Galway seeking €2.2 million. Boston Scientific lays groundwork to shift $15bn from Irish operationWalking past the decaying industrial plant, I swore I heard a Soviet ghostOur weekly personal finance digest will provide you with the insight you need to save money and make smart spending decisions
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