Starter home: Wellington Road, Cork City €185,000

Although dwarfed in scale by its grandly sized neighbours this mews conversion comes with lots of quirky charm, writes Tommy Barker.

Size: 61 sq m (660 sq ft)

Bedrooms: 1

Bathrooms: 1

BER: E1

THANKS to all the wood, and the quirks and curves, there’s almost a touch of being in a boat at 18A Wellington Road, a mews conversion for those who want compact city living convenience, with their own front door to the world.

Sort of apartment-sized, No 18A is a mews or 19th century coach-house conversion, amid the grandly-sized terraced homes overlooking Summerhill North, a five minute hike from Cork city’s St Patrick’s Bridge and MacCurtain Street.

Done up by architect Huw O’Toole, and now with a raised roof above its main, double aspect first floor living room, it’s a two-storey home full of quirks and corners and curves and carpentry.

It opens directly on to Wellington Road, by Griffith College and has a slender upper level decked roof garden for southerly River Lee and docklands glimpses, though only gets direct sun for a portion of each day because of the high neighbours.

Entry level has a galley kitchen/breakfast section, with salvaged wood-panelled walls interspersed with rows of wine corks in place of ship’s caulking, a novel take on the recycling/upcycling theme.

There’s good storage by the bedroom, which isn’t fully enclosed with a wall partly cut-out hall for light, some exposed old stone walls and the walk-in shower’s large, but its slender twin access points might be a challenge to the more portly of carriage.

Overhead is a linked living/dining room, with arched ceilings and two shuttered sash windows overlooking Wellington Road, while the roof terrace on the other side is an outdoor bonus.

VERDICT: Quirk city. Guiding €185,000, selling agent Andrew Moore rightly bills No 18 A as “a most unique town-house, superior to apartment living”.