Here comes the sun
The period home with a modern take, and award-winning extension, is on Wellington Road at St Luke’s Cross overlooking Cork city, the Lee and the Marina, but is screened behind high walls and private entrances.
In every sense, it is a hidden treasure, deserving of superlatives and accolades. There’s little doubt it is one of the very finest houses around, and it can compared with its rivals in any other Irish city. So its €1.8 million guide price may, in reality, only be a starting point when the really big guns come out all bids ablaze.
Sunville has immense appeal and its architectural integrity was respected and enhanced during renovations and extension. The result is a large family home of contrasts.
Those contrasts include a very sizeable and impeccable Georgian block at its centre, with period features in abundance, with a clearly differentiated modern extension with contemporary finishes: there’s around 7,000 sq ft of living space over three floors.
The other contrast is its urban setting, but almost country house feel, seclusion and character.
St Patrick’s Bridge and the city centre is a 10-15 minute walk, the few minutes’ difference in strolling time is accounted for by the elevated setting.
It has up to a third of an acre of private grounds, with formal parterre gardens with box hedging, lavender and sentinel yews separating it from Wellington Road and giving it breathing distance.
It has mature and clearly cared for terraced lawns and a patio to the south: a two-tiered cedarlan deck has been carefully slotted in around the branches of an old weeping ash beyond the kitchen, for example, and this deck and steps help to link the main living areas with the converted series of basement rooms - which include thoroughly contemporary home office rooms, snooker and games room, and study.
Sunville hits the market this week with Woodward auctioneers, and agent Tom Woodward extols its charm, location, condition and space - and describes the e1.8 million guide as “fair”.
Buyers will include the likely suspects of affluent professionals, the medics and lawyers, but, in truth, the net will be cast very wide here: chances to buy homes of this calibre, with all the work done and finished to an admirable standard, are rare.
There’s scope for professional office use at the lower level, with separate access. There’s garage parking for two cars off the street, and this garage has mews conversion potential.
The main reception rooms are all south-facing, with tall sash windows and views beyond, and take in a 25’ by 16’ drawing room, a dining room with a sunroom off it, a large 23’ by 19’ kitchen and dining room with Wishbone kitchen.
The hall, staircase and landing overlook the parterre garden, and the first floor has four bedrooms, master with en suite and dressing room, plus main bathroom.
