Windmill road has the style to put your head in a spin

Tommy Barker says no 39 Windmill Road, Cork, is a terraced home that packs quite a few surprises once you get inside the door.

FANCY a tilt at a windmill? How about Windmill Road, in Cork city - a southside and hillside hideway that is home to the knowing few.

It’s a narrow street running off Summerhill South towards High Street (and on then towards Douglas), and as little as five or 10 minutes walking will get you into the city centre.

Newly up for sale here is no 39 Windmill Road, a terraced home packing quite a few surprises once you get inside the door.

“It’s like stepping into some place abroad like Spain, because it so bright. It has got light ceramic tiles on the floor, white walls and the artwork is a blaze of colour,” enthuses Jennifer Bermingham of Noelle Morrison auctioneers.

She’s dead right, the quality is spot on and the feel is warm, but she could also mention as a second pleasant surprise the bonus of quantity: there’s a good feeling of space, and it is not just an illusion - the house has three first floor bedrooms plus an upstairs bathroom.

The surprising amount of overhead space was created by the large box dormers used here and on more than a few such older style city homes.

The vendor, who has lived here for eight years, is a clothing designer, which helps explain the discrete or subtle visual impact of no 39 and the tasty interior finish.

She has been the second ‘improving’ owner this place has had. The previous owner undertook the structural work, opening up the ground floor rooms with an arch, putting in the hardwood windows and gas heating, for example - and now in a second burst of input, there’s little left for a new owner to do but move on in.

Noelle Morrison Properties guides it at a modest €285,000-plus, and it certainly should make handsomely over this once the viewings lead on to bidding.

It will have an immediate appeal for owner-occupiers, especially singles and couples (through previous owners did live here with three children) and the fact of three bedrooms is also likely to catch the eye of investors.

The house is south-facing, with on-street parking available on the one-way street, and the front faces south. Light gets through the house easily as the ground floor is so open plan.

The living room measures 13’ by 10’ with a very simple plastered and white-painted fireplace with elm mantle, and the kitchen/dining area is L-shaped with a maximum measurement of 20’ by 17’ (it wraps around the living room, in effect.)

The floor is done with large, almost flagstone-sized and light-hued ceramic tiles from Tile Style, HomeGrown Kitchens did the hardwood units and worktops wrapping around the Belfast sink, and the rest of the kitchen is largely unfitted with old presses.

There’s bits and bobs from the Habitat interiors shop, gathered over a decade or more at home and abroad, such as the wall-mounted utensil holder, lights, patio furniture and sofa, but Dunnes Stores too came up trumps with some matching goods and furniture.

Artwork comes from friends, such as some sculpture and the kitchen ceiling-hung pots and pans frame by Liz Morrissey, and exuberant paintings by Maeve O’Beirne, now hitting headlines as a textile/Hawaiian shirt designer.

To the back of the house there’s a sheltered courtyard, with high stone walls, and it has wooden decking, assorted planters, BBQ area, and the walls are painted white for brightness and haves some climbing ivies and clematis for colour.

On the market its owner has gone scouting for a larger home and another challenge, No 39 is a house that packs a punch above its weight - the only question is who will get to land it?