Unique style offers break from norm

Although not to everyone’s taste, this house will appeal to those with an eye for difference, says Tommy Barker.

SOME of the big, three-storey houses in Cork’s completed Pembroke Wood scheme veered from the norm when first designed and launched for sale in the early to mid-2000s.

Some people loved them, others couldn’t get their heads around the fact they were quite radically different from the usual, often banal, standard floor plan.

Built on the Cork side of Passage West near Cork harbour, almost with a salt tang in the air, these are three-storey houses, with split levels as well, so there’s lots of stairs and half landings to cope with and work around. But, on the plus side, it does make for some more interesting spaces.

Perhaps that’s what drew the artist owner of No 21 to this property — she viewed it with fresh, unjaundiced eyes.

A trained artist and craft worker who had moved to Ireland from South Africa, she made this 2,000 sq ft house a home of individuality, for a family that was split between Ireland and living/studying overseas.

She also made the house work a bit for its upkeep: her non-EU nationality made it hard for her to get full-time work in Irish schools, so she began to tap into occasional school and adult education classes and ended up bringing groups of children, and keen adults too, to No 21 for specialist classes in her art media, especially fired glass.

To cater for the number, she put on a large ground level extension, a rear-facing sun-room 18’ by 15’, glazed on three sides, with low brick walls and a solid roof, with Velux. It’s a sun-soaker.

With a move back down to the far-sunnier Southern Hemisphere now afoot, No 21 comes up for sale with estate agent James Crowley who sold these houses (built jointly by Manor Park Homes and Barry Supple) first time around. Now, he’s gone out on his own and he says this is one of his more interesting current offerings.

Mr Crowley says it is in immaculate order, and tastefully decorated, with a good back garden, a front balcony, and off-street parking.

A smart feature here is the almost commercial-property sliding glazed doors, effectively stout sheets of glass gliding by on overhead stainless steel runners.

They really do help to maximise internal space, as there’s no need to keep an area clear for hinged doors. They also allow light through even when rooms are ‘closed off’ from landings.

The owner had spent some time working with DSD Interiors in Cork’s Little Island, and the door maker had been a supplier to their clients, so she was able to strike a lucky deal: if not, the cost “would have been thousands of euros”.

Another crafty break came her way when she saw a whole bunch of display stainless steel cupboard handles going a-begging: she used five of them to spell out her house’s No 21 number, in Roman numerals, getting a striking, big ‘XX1 up over the car-port/parking next to the first floor, front-facade balcony.

Gardens front and back meanwhile are all planted up and landscaped, with enough space for a play-house, a trampoline and tiered gardens with restraining timber rail sleepers.

Back inside, rooms include an entry level hall with store off (handy for golf clubs, or, given the harbour’s proximity and with a new marina being installed in Monkstown, sail bags and wet gear) and overhead are a 14’ by 10’ kitchen with a tiled floor and metallic glass mosaic splash-back by the cooker.

The dining room is large, at 24’ by 9’ and there’s also a laundry room and guest WC.

The ground level sun room is south-facing with decking by double doors, and the main living room is, some 23’ by 14’, with a raised gas fireplace on a feature wall, and front balcony access. This room has access via two staircases, one a first floor return, the other off the main stairwell, and this is the room set off by those two sets of sliding glazed doors.

Stairs continue to wind their way up the next few half levels, serving four bedrooms, all with built-ins, and the main family bathroom, with the master bedroom and en suite at the uppermost level. There’s about 2,000 sq ft in all of well-finished space with some quality and individual touches that all work together, and the garden and its rear sunny extension complete a decent package.

VERDICT: These contemporary Hillcrest houses are a welcome break from the mundane, but there’s a price to be paid in the number of levels internally: think of it as your own personal stepping machine, and it’s a bonus.