Elegant, architect design still fresh today

IT’S difficult to work out the logic of this house, from first glance – Greenawn is an architect-designed, 1960s structure that’s intriguing and refreshing.

It’s homely, and, with its high, south-facing position, is warm as toast, and it’s not run-of-the-mill. The original, contemporary design is still fresh and the house is well-built, well-maintained, and well-designed.

Greenawn has had the right attention over the years – its perfectly furnished, elegant and cosy – an impressive, but not showy house. With the sun streaming through full-height windows, there’s an implicit invitation to take a chair, sit inside like a cat and gaze at the stunning views outside – this house sits atop a bluff, looking down on the Glanmire estuary as it leads into Cork harbour.

A photograph or written description just won’t do justice to this ancient perspective, taking in views as far as Monkstown over the water, and the reddening oak woodland of Dunkettle, in the foreground.

And there isn’t a sinner to be seen, this house commands its view from a level, lawned height, and neighbours are discreetly dotted below and above in the area’s lush woodland.

Greenawn has been on the market before: in high inflationary times it was tipping the €1.6m mark (including an income-generating gate lodge), but now the entire package is under offer at €850,000, through auctioneer, Don Murphy, of Don Murphy and Co, Glanmire.

And the bullet point rundown is a formal living room, formal dining room, kitchen/dining/living, utility, guest bathroom, five bedrooms, including a huge master suite and a large den/children’s room/nanny space, all on a private, acre site.

However, that fails to conjure up the sublime nature of this property’s location and the quality of the interior.

Each bedroom is subtly themed in muted colours in a fresh, country-house style.

Likewise, bathrooms are luxurious with those extra touches, and Nina Campbell wallpaper is used to great effect.

The kitchen follows the same aesthetic, the units are hand built in Irish, pippy oak and are stand-alone in the top half of a rectangular room that reaches down towards a relaxed living area with a mix of cotton-covered armchairs and lush, leather sofa.

And the real heart is the Aga, in place 20 years and generating warmth from its place at the head of the kitchen.

The lower half has a fireplace that mirrors today’s slot-style openings, while, in the formal living room, there’s a magnificent, Georgian, cast-iron and brass insert surrounded by a white marble fire piece.

Arranged around are chintz armchairs with rich, velvet drapes at the window.

All of the rooms open into each other and face due south, while, at the back, the main artery is a corridor that reaches in half levels from entrance to top floor and is lit by a triple height, box bay window.

At the guide price, this is a knockdown buy – a pristine and private property of 3,700 square feet and a two-bed, detached gate lodge included. Go figure.