Great buy for trader-uppers

THERE’s a broad sweep of lawn between the road and this lovely two-storey on Maryborough Hill. Almost at the top and looking onto the groomed greens of Cork’s Douglas Golf Club, Garvarnie is one of four hillside houses on large sites in this high-demand residential area.

And it’s a great buy for trader-uppers: it has the minimum four bedrooms, lots of living space, a good aspect and great gardens.

But best of all, it has an unusual porte-cochere connecting the house to the garage/store room area which would be ideal as a granny, or nanny, flat. Or even somewhere to stick the ‘Kippers’ while waiting out the recession?

That entrance also means you can drive up to the house without getting wet, which makes the humdrum task of the weekly shop a little less trying.

The house presents its gable to the road, which is covered in well-kept cedar shingles and gives an indication of the level of commitment and care that’s been made to the property. It’s been well tended since is was built by the Lane family of builders, for themselves, in the 1970s.

The present owner took over in the ‘80s and there have been additions, and a well-laid and well-designed patio at the rear, but the 1970s style remains unchanged. And perhaps, new owners might feel the same, especially with fashion-forward interiors now including Ercol pieces as revival standards.

The tie-in piece is the staircase, a timepiece design and a main feature of the house.

An accompanying element is the full length glass wall at the back dividing the hallway from the dining room and giving views straight through to an internal courtyard on the south western side of the house.

The effect brings in plenty of light, but also a sense of transparency, and as the hallway is also lit by two landing windows it’s a bright hub of the home. Right around it are the main lounge, dining room, kitchen/living and family room, with the latter taking up a snug position into the garden.

This new addition has double doors to the rear patio and captures early morning sun until midday: it’s used as a television room in the evening, when the sun moves to the front of the house where the lounge is well-placed for afternoon and evening sunshine. The internal courtyard, with access from dining room and kitchen/diner, is a great and unexpected addition and it’s a sun trap, with full length walls on two sides and access to the front via a doorway

The lounge, meanwhile, runs full length across the front of the house and comes with a stunning, firebreast in off-white, Yorkshire brick.

With a simple mantel, (and integrated lighting), it’s the main feature of a generously proportioned room that’s ideal for entertaining.

The layout sees four bedrooms upstairs off a central landing, and room sizes are good with both en suite and main bathroom upgraded recently. Fittings are Jacuzzi and there’s a separate WC with vanity unit, also redone.

The grounds of Gavarnie must run to half an acre with lots of mature planting and a rear boundary of tall trees.

This is a house that’s nicely settled in its site: sheltered and private, yet minutes from Douglas and right on the Ring Road. It’s also a warm, lovely family home and would make a good long-term investment, says TJ Cronin of Irish and European, who’s asking €735,000 for the 1974-built, 2,000 square foot home.