Luxury home sports a sedate exterior

Unassuming from the outside, but pristine and stylish on the inside. Tommy Barker reports

YOU shouldn’t judge a book by its cover - though we often do. And, in the very same way, house façades are often no guide at all as to what’s on the insides of their walls.

Well, if the walls of 11 Melbourne Mews could talk, they’d whisper — it’s that calming, quiet sort of place, perhaps interrupted just a tad by the crackle of logs on the hearty open fire, with the timber scent mixing with that of wax candles. Yep, this is an immaculate house, in which a woman who knew her mind ruled the roost.

No 11, off the Melbourne Road and Rossa Road in Cork’s Bishopstown, was bought by its current owner back in 2007 when she traded down after rearing a family in a larger, six-bed Bishopstown home on a corner site.

She might have made a sensible compromise on size, but she upped the quality of her purchase to match her standards. It comes up for sale now better even than when it was built, perhaps 25 years ago.

Before moving in, she took out the strip of hallway and gave that space over to her new 13’ by 13’ living room, shielded from the front door by a small glazed alcove. French doors now link this warm front room (new, simple marble open fireplace) to the full-width kitchen/dining behind, a total new kit-out, with oak work tops, painted units, French ceramic sink and a half-sink, with porcelain tiled floor.

Floors, walls, everything is fresh, with French doors to a west facing patio and easy-keep back garden and with a large shed at its back boundary.

Up the carpeted stairs are three feminine bedrooms, plus a freshly-tiled bathroom.

The house has been re-wired, upgraded, has a new heating system, boiler and glazing, with off-street parking in the cul-de-sac. Nearby are the CIT, CUH, Technology Park, etc.

Selling agent is Jeremy Murphy, who says that No 11 couldn’t be more presentable and attractive, fit for a single buyer, couple, or trader down.

VERDICT: Spotless interior.