A home in a tranquil setting selling for €275,000

GATE LODGE is a small estate of four-bedroomed houses, close to the harbour at Blackrock, Cork.

Beyond the landmark Blackrock Castle, (which looks as if it has been wrapped by the conceptual artist, Christo, but is undergoing a facelift), Gate Lodge will have the Mahon Point retail park on its doorstep.

According to the pundits, property prices along this coastal strip will rise with the opening of O’Callaghan Developments’ new centre, while houses in Jacob’s Island, on the other side of the harbour, are selling well since its launch.

Gate Lodge’s distance from the city ensures this is a safe, private, peaceful estate, and perfect for a couple or a young family.

Number 77 is a sleek, modern home that combines fittings from Habitat and Mimo with an off-standard layout, thereby creating a house with an extra sense of style.

For instance, the original double doors, from the kitchen to the dining room, were replaced with a wide arch, while the units were upgraded.

The walls are painted a cool white, and the lighting is recessed. The living room and dining room open into one another, but can be separated by closing the double doors. Also, sliding doors open onto a simple, square deck, where the potted bamboo plant adds a Japanese touch.

The dining room has a maple and opaque glass suite, with sideboard: birch flooring is in place in both rooms and the kitchen is tiled in porcelain.

A focal point is the charcoal grey flannel suite, from Habitat, brought from Dublin, and this is offset with two leather armchairs.

The walls in the dining room are white, but the chimney breast is painted in a pale khaki colour, part of the Dulux Georgian range.

The hall stairs, landing and two of the bedrooms are finished in sisal flooring, and the smallest of the bedrooms is a bottle green.

There is a also double guest room, while the master bedroom has annexed the fourth bedroom as a dressing room.

Here, the look is blond wood - on the floor and in the frame of the bedroom suite, creating a clean, bright space.

The main bathroom, (there’s also a guest toilet under the stairs), uses a pale, antique plum colour, while the fittings are modern with a nifty, mirrored, splashback cupboard from Mimo. An organic looking curve in brushed steel, on the opposite wall, turns out to be a central opening medicine cabinet, also from Mimo.

Gardens are low maintenance, and the back garden faces south and west, with mature trees at the back, giving a sense of privacy and tranquility.

Number 77, Gate Lodge, is for sale through Paul Reid, of Sherry FitzGerald, for 275,000.