Elegant, renovated cottage with a smart, Blackrock Village address

THE word bijou (meaning small and elegant) might have been coined to describe Dundanion Cottage. The smart, two-bedroomed house has an equally smart Blackrock Road address, a renovated interior - brightened by a large roof light - and a private, south-facing back garden.

Dundanion Cottage is by the Maple Leaf bar, in Blackrock Village, a mature southside suburb on the River Lee that is undergoing a significant renewal.

That regeneration includes hundreds of new homes in the grounds of the Ursuline Convent. Also, 120 apartments, proposed for the Cork boat club site, are currently in the planning process.

Investment will be made in the village core, and the city council plans a boardwalk down to the refurbished Blackrock Castle.

Dundanion Cottage has already been refurbished. The solid-timber front leads into the 15’ by 13’ living room - which has an archway onto the back of the house - and the re-fitted kitchen.

The look is crisp and contemporary, with neutral colours and wood and tile floors. The kitchen units are maple, Shaker-style. The remainder of the accommodation includes two carpeted bedrooms - neither particularly large - and a bathroom. Light is drawn into the bathroom, hall and living room via Velux windows.

The house is suitable for a single person or a childless couple, and a major selling point is the back garden, which is accessed via the kitchen.

The garden has a small, sunny, whitewashed yard, while a half-dozen steps lead up to a lawn with a Barna shed. The private back garden is planted with mature boundaries, including a stone wall to the western fringe, which gives independent access to a side lane.

The selling agent is Micheal Downy, of ERA Downey McCarthy Murphy, who says the asking price is €310,000 for this city-suburban cottage.