Nestling on three acres of beautiful, well-maintained gardens, the imposing white country mansion with the purple doors is used by locals as a guide to travellers seeking the way to neighbouring counties.

"Lilac, " owner Leo Harris says with a gentle smile. "It goes beautifully with the local stone. It is an unusual colour . . . I suppose you would have to be courageous to paint a door that colour, but we are that way inclined."

Leo and his wife Brigid, who is an artist, did in fact change the colour once when they bought new solid new mahogany doors for their home. But they were besieged with telephone calls . . . even the Automobile Association rang to say that they always directed travellers by the white house with the purple doors.

So they gave the new mahogany doors a lick of lilac.

"It will make the doors last longer, " says Leo, who embraces the ancient Chinese Falun Gong religion which, he says, always puts other people first.

The couple are leaving their much-loved home after 17 years. Leo is a wheelchair user due to polio from childhood.

"Glosna House is big, [2,200sqft] and needs to be maintained. The gardens need looking after."

The couple have their eye on a bungalow not too far away, where Leo is looking forward to whizzing around on the same level in his new electric wheelchair.

"We've loved it here, it's a beautiful place, very peaceful, in its own valley. We are close to Ballylynam, Carlow, Kilkenny and Athy and just an hour from M50. There is lots of wild life and birdsong. The swallows come every year. We've spent a lot of time developing it. We brought in professional designers, put the best quality everything, inside and outside."

A feature in the entrance hall is the two windows designed by renowned stainedglass artist Graham Pentats.

The 'Return from Aran' images cast beautiful colours into the space.

Glosna House nestles on three acres close to the towns of Athy, Carlow and Portlaoise and boasts exceptional views of the surrounding countryside.

Agent Sean Ryan has put an AMV of over 800,000 on the property, which goes to auction on 20 June.

Approached through electric gates, the house stands at the top of a large gravelled parking area. Accommodation includes three reception rooms, kitchen, four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The kitchen, diningroom and main reception room have fossilised Cliffs of Moher slate floors, long windows and solid oakbeamed ceilings.

A wooden staircase leads from the main reception room to the first-floor landing. The lounge is a light-filled space with four long windows, a Victorian cast-iron fireplace, slate flooring and ceiling beams giving a real country charm to the room. There is also a separate entrance hall which leads directly to the kitchen, livingroom and upstairs landing.

The cosy livingroom is also known as the green room and boasts a feature marble fireplace with solid-fuel burning stove and wooden floor. The two deep windows look over the back garden and driveway.

An extra bonus is the three weavers' cottages (900sq ft) in natural stone at the side of the property. Currently they are presented as a garage, a fuel shed and an artist's studio with pot-belly stove where Brigid Harris works at her black-ink Chinese painting.

"Brigid used to paint in oils but now uses this art form which is more spiritual; it comes from the spirit rather than the eye. The brush does the work, " says Leo.

"We have records for this house from the census going back to 1820 . This is how we discovered that this area was where there was a weavers' community."

For most of the 19th century, Glosna House was part of the extensive Carter Estate and included lands in counties Wicklow, Galway and Laois. Occupied by the Mooney Family, who built the house, the nearest crossroads is still described as "Mooney's" crossroads.

"An American lived here in the '70s before us and it was he who added the wing and put in the fossilised slate floors. It is all very well done. They really suit the house, especially with our rugs."

The gardens surrounding the property are laid out mainly in lawn, with beautiful shrubs and trees and are relatively low-maintenance.

There is also a patio to the rear, ideal for outside entertaining.

Beyond the 'weaver's cottages', the garden extends to the river Douglas, accessible via a beautiful sleeper-clad stairs onto a decking area at the river's edge. Additional steps lead down to the river bank where you can pass under the bridge to access the acre of woodland which comes with the property.

Agent Sinead Ryan points out that the property makes an ideal country residence, with massive potential for further development. "There is plenty of space to the right of the weavers' cottages. There is also the option with this building of changing it to two residences if required."

Price: AMV 800,000 at auction 20 June Agent: Sean Ryan Auctioneers, Athy; 059 8633054