Home on the hills has a cottagey feeling

Rose Martin is impressed by this large residence at Weaver’s Lane, Rathcooney.

IT'S an accepted truth that northsiders stay northside whether they be from east or west, and there's always a strong demographic of buyers for any property that comes up on the hills above Cork city.

Keeping it country, but still close to the city is a cleverly made-over cottage at Weaver's Lane, Rathcooney.

New to the market with Valerie Parkes of Sherry FitzGerald, this former humble cottage is now a 2,000 square foot residence, but still has that cottagey feel. Also, it's set at the end of Weaver's Lane where you drive right into a courtyard with room for three to four cars: there are no houses beyond this point.

Immediately, there are those elements that signal the look within: a tiny triangular bay window, a sheeted door with simple square window and a huge bay window showing through to the kitchen.

Entrance is now at the side of the house where there's a new two-storey dormer extension attached to the single-storey cottage, but as the land drops and because it's to the side, there's no glaring contradiction between the two buildings.

And the house has loads of space, not just in room count, but in the size of the rooms.

The main living room is two-thirds of the space of the original cottage and still has cute sash windows with the old doorway facing onto a small front garden, which comes with some paving and chimnea for entertaining.

The living room has wonderful, etched, stained glass double doors and very high, newly sheeted ceilings.

The fireplace is raised and a simple affair, but it's impressive because the breast has been made wide to match the proportions of the room.

A door to the side leads onto what would formerly have been a bedroom but is now a handy study/library.

The hallway connects the new with the old house and is quite impressive with a curved, stone wall and underlit niches for sculptural pieces. A guest loo is off to one side and the pine stairway is at the rear leading up to the dormer. The space is very bright and light.

A further set of stained glass doors, (from a confessional) lead through to the kitchen.

This is a warm, bright and huge family room with hand-painted, buttery units and a solid oak worktop, and, like the rest of the house, has wide plank pine flooring.

A big square, glass block opening sheds light through to the attached utility and gives a practical but designed flourish to the space.

The master bedroom is to the rear of the kitchen and comes en suite and then, on the upper floor, are three more bedrooms, one of which is en suite, and a main bathroom.

Grounds run to one-third of an acre and include two stables, as wells as a vegetable patch and some baby trees which new owners will have the pleasure of selling grow.

Valerie Parkes gives this highly individual property a guide of €340,000.

Just beyond the old graveyard at Rathcooney, the location is convenient to the Lee tunnel and the North and South link roads.