Ivydene: Big, beautiful and very well established

“THEY just don’t build them like they used to,” is a familiar enough complaint, close to a truism.

But, even if they did, any new-build won’t have the charm and character that comes with 100 years and more of graceful ageing.

With new-builds, you get energy-efficiency, slick finishes and low maintenance, but you don’t get the patina of age, the sheen of a century of polished brasses, the lived-in feel of a nurturing family home.

Ivydene is a case in point, a big semi-detached Edwardian house on Cork’s main Douglas Road, a future-proofed, suburban location immune to commuting burdens.

One of a row of big proud houses, it was built with a generosity of spirit back in the tail end of the 1800s, and the family of the original owners still own one of the others nearby.

Not only is it large enough for most families, punching in at 2,750 sq ft of accommodation, it also has cubic space on its side. There isn’t a small room in the whole house: circulation areas like halls, stairs and landing are big, and ceilings are high, at least 10’ at ground level.

Edwardian in stature, it is part of a limited enough housing stock of this quality in Cork city: there are a few comparable houses on the Well Road, the Marina, the Lee Road and around St Luke’s Cross.

Ivydene’s quality begins at the front door, with leaded glass and surround soft arch, in a glazed brick.

The front reception room (18’ by 17’) has a slate fireplace and wide bay window, which carries on to the master bedroom above.

Behind, there’s a grand 22’ by 14’ living room/dining room, with white marble fireplace and original French doors to the rear patio.

Alongside is a family room, with Aga stove/cooker, and a quite basic kitchen/breakfast room beyond, which also leads to the back garden, patio and lobby/yard.

The main reception rooms and hall have corniced ceilings, and the stairs has a half landing or return with a bay window on the side gable to draw in the light.

The first-floor property has a big main bedroom, next to a spacious main bathroom: as there are no en-suite bathrooms, a new owner hung up on the notion of a private suite might split this room into two washrooms. The first floor has two other bedrooms, and overhead the top floor has three more bedrooms, with great character to the spaces.

The next owner might want to put an ‘owner’s suite’ up here in this apartment-sized floor, where privacy is assured and garden views are best.

Ivydene has all the signs of a home that has been well cared for, with essential maintenance kept up. The original wood windows are still in situ and look like they’d accommodate double glazed panes: this would help maintain authenticity while improving energy performance. There’s a side garage, which could be extended to provide bright accommodation, oil central heating and a very deep site, up to 280’ long and about 40’ wide, with a mature pine tree in the front garden screening the house from the road. The back garden is long enough to yield sunny spots beyond the house’s shadow. As the selling agent Dennis Guerin of Frank V Murphy & Co says, it is a classic. Everybody should have one. Now, for that pesky matter of a €1.6 million plus selling price…