House of the week

YOU know that old chestnut that sits on the end of brochures?

The one that says, ‘must be viewed’? Well, it means something: no really, it’s auctioneering shorthand for ‘this is worth your while/ I’ll probably get my fee’.

In the case of No 5 Carrig Aoil it’s true on both counts.

This green build at Cloughduv, Co Cork, comes with a superb A3 energy rating and more besides and is a four bed, detached that’s well worth a visit, especially if you’re shopping for a big house, in a country location, but accessible to Ballincollig and the western suburbs

And it really is top quality — from the moment you walk in the door there’s that gleaming porcelain floor lighting up the hall and a good quality, carved oak staircase wending its way to the galleried landing above.

Nothing too flash, just an extremely well executed build with solid good taste in the fixtures and fittings. It’s modest, but really luxurious — a contradiction really, but it’s only after a walk around that you realise that expense wasn’t stinted on, even where some of the built-in units are Ikea they’re quality Ikea.

Internal joinery is modern, veneered oak, with sleek steel ironmongery and there’s solid skirting and architrave too. Even the heft of the front door gives an indication of the level of investment here — it’s a considerable amount and goes way above standard. It’s good quality, low impact stuff, no flash, just like the house, which is plain, simple, but also very big and very accommodating. And very attractive.

Women with children dream of such houses — houses where there’s a refuge for the adults and a place for the teenagers and a kitchen that’s big enough for homework and cooking — at the same time.

You have it here in one package — open to offers around €490,000 through Frank Walsh of O’Mahony Walsh Auctioneers.

For that money you get 2,800 sq ft of space and a private, roadside site of a third of an acre within a walk of the village centre, (which is, admittedly, quite a small place).

Clougduv is five minutes from the main Cork/ Macroom/ Killarney road and is a zip into Ballincollig and the south ring — so accessibility is not an issue. There’s a good local national school and if the lease is signed, a new, purpose-built, childcare facility will open directly across the road.

One of the major selling points of No 5 will have to be the kitchen — a really impressive mix of walnut, granite and cream composed by Stylecraft in Ballincollig and including every element of a wishlist.

It runs along two walls, with huge island in the middle finished in cafe/cream granite and ending with an occasional table/serving area in solid walnut.

The vanilla units have walnut edging and the main cooking area is recessed into a firebreast surround. There’s a double Belfast sink under the garden window and in the centre of the island there’s another sink — invaluable, says the vendor.

This large kitchen fits in easily into a room that runs the full, south-facing length of the house with double doors out to the garden and access at one end to a really big, really functional, joy-to-behold, utility.

The boiler house, meanwhile, is outside, with its own door, (ideal for drying football boots and other mucky paraphernalia) and the heating in the house is underfloor, run on oil, with two zones.

And that’s this house’s secret weapon — the air-tightness, solar panels, high-end plumbing and underfloor heating all add up to a property that will cost a lot less to run than others — it may even pay for itself over time, compared to other, less well specified houses

VERDICT: Four bedrooms, a range of living rooms and a green spec — worth a punt. And the village setting means playmates for kids — and parents.