Versatility proves popular

A bungalow on a ‘beautifully proportioned site’ is too good to miss, says Tommy Barker

This Ballycurnane bungalow home will be a good bet and buy for a family needing space — because it has it all, inside and outside, as well as alongside in an attached 600 sq ft granny flat.

Just a few weeks on the market with estate agent James G Coughlan is this 14-year-old long and low home, with an acre of gardens and seemingly acres of space inside as well, about 3,300 sq ft in total.

According to Jim Coughlan, “it’s rare that a home offering as much accommodation and a beautifully proportioned site come to market.” He guides it at €590,000 and is, he says, open to offers.

It’s gone down well in viewings so far among those who really want all their accommodation on the one level — the only steps in the house are the couple down to the sunken 22’ by 18’ lounge from the reception/hall, as well as a matching pair down from the dining room. It’s all quite open and airy, with rooms interconnecting, as, for example, with the south-west-facing conservatory off the dining room via an arch.

That arch motif is repeated in a series of arched windows around the large lounge, which has a slight Spanish feel to it as a result, abetted by a pair of timber chandeliers, and by the extensively tiled floor. In fact, another surprise underfoot is the sheer amount and variety of tiles, with just about every room in the house having tiled floors, with some in areas like the dining room and bedrooms aping wooden floor boards in size and pattern. More tiling choice comes in the kitchen’s splashbacks and the bathrooms.

Other rooms in this spacious family home are a 16’ by 12’ family room off the kitchen, and this room — like the main lounge — has a cast-iron fireplace.

The main section of the home has five bedrooms, with one en-suite as well, and the attached but independent 600 sq ft granny flat has a living room, kitchen, and bedroom with its own access, as well as a door back into the main house. It really is a very adaptable space, notes Mr Coughlan, either for an older relative, a live-at home young adult, or an independent-minded teen, and could also have home office/home-working use.

In kitchen terms, the many capacious units are in solid pine with black granite tops. The room is bright and has ornate plaster coving, with a feature tiled wall by the dining table and patio doors — one of about six entry/access points in all. The gardens of about an acre have maturing boundaries with open, rural views in evidence beyond, and the approach avenue is planted up with trees, while the vendors — keen on the area and setting above Maryborough Hill/Garrduff — are building again nearby.

VERDICT: A lot of bungalow bang for your buck, and its adaptability thanks to its granny flat is making it popular with house-hunters with space and/or access needs.