Finished with a flourish

No 12 The Pinnacles is a masterclass in style and substance — both inside and out, writes Tommy Barker

IT might be one of 17 detached houses in The Pinnacles, but house No 12 is very much a one-off, and on a double-sized site to boot. Bought in a shell state as a personal project from its builder eight years ago, the woman who took on this project really gave it holly, inside and out. She’s moulded and planted it to exceptionally high standards, having drafted in various garden designers (and trailers of farmyard manure as well) along the way for extra horticultural flourishes.

That garden and soil improvement investment is now paying dividends, in spades, with a private, bird-thronged oasis created on the yet-manageable quarter-acre corner site.

Selling agent for the four-bed, 2,100 sq ft high-end, three-storey Midleton home is Shay Cronin of Property Partners Cronin Wall, who bills it as exceptional and who says no corners have been cut — quite the opposite, he adds. The owner’s gone the extra bit on every level.

Houses at the Pinnacles, near Broomfield and within a walk of the commuter train station and a slightly longer haul of the bustling East Cork town’s shops and services are pretty varied, says Mr Cronin. Some have five or even six bedrooms fitted in, but, at No 12, with its attic converted to an en-suite bedroom, the choice was for larger rooms, and more luxury.

So, there’s central vacuum, alarm and fire alarm in all rooms, sprung solid timber doors, three en suite bedrooms out of four beds in all, the master bedroom’s 17’ by 15’ with bay window, its bathroom has a Jacuzzi bath and a power, rain shower, and there’s also a 10’ by 5’ walk-in-wardrobe.

All bathrooms have good tiling and marble sink surrounds, plus power showers, while down at ground level wide plant walnut flooring sourced from Northern Ireland is a feature, especially in the 22’ by 16’ main lounge, with a white marble fireplace. It’s all in showhouse condition, with the character of an older house all in a very comfortable modern build, says auctioneer Mr Cronin.

Out in the country-style kitchen, there’s a Stanley gas range, plus electric oven, American double fridge and extra thick black granite worktops, ideal for baking and pastry-making, while solid timber double doors lead to the dining room, and French doors continue the flow to the gardens and immaculate, shrub-fringed patio beyond and behind.

Good and all as the house is, the garden almost leaves it in the shade, after eight years of fruitful feeding and planting for year-round colour, with masses of bulbs, hard and soft landscaping, pond and softening drifts of beds in arching curves.

The generous double site’s concrete block boundary walls were white-washed day one, and fitted with trellising for clematis, wisteria and other climbers, and now there’s hardly a patch of wall to be seen thanks to nature’s march, while beyond the boundary are mature trees to continue the greenery into the distance.

The garden-proud owner has drafted in the services of several landscape designers at different periods, including one Chelsea Flower Show competitor and tens of thousands of euro have been spent in bedding the place down for all-year pleasure and visual interest.

VERDICT: New owners just have to walk in — and the owner’s moving on to a bigger, bolder challenge, taking on a period house renovation, clearly having run out of things to do at No 12.