Trading up: Ballineen, West Cork, €325,000

Almost half of the main ground floor section of this detached, comfortable country home is taken up by an open-plan kitchen/living/dining room.

Size: 214sq m (2,300sq ft) 

Bathrooms: 3 

Bedrooms: 4 

BER: B3

It measures 26’ by 22’, with a tiled floor and is made cosy with a solid fuel stove on a tiled plinth under a pine mantle.

Most of the balance is taken up with a separate, carpeted sitting room and carpeted large hall, cloakroom, and guest WC, while jutting on to one side is a study, and sticking out behind is a sun room, to add to the sense of space.

The two-storey property with matching front window bays and immaculate interiors is at Kilvurra, on the Clonakilty side of Ballineen, and is on an acre, which includes a garage/workshop off to the side/rear.

Overhead it has four bedrooms (one’s en suite), all with varnished pine floors, as is the landing.

Selling agent is Ray O’Neill of Sherry FitzGerald O’Neill in Clonakilty, who guides at €345,000.

He adds it’s of traditional construction, well insulated, and has B3 BER, and the gardens include vegetable and shrub beds.

Cork City is 30 miles away, and Bandon and Clonakilty are within a 15 minute drive.

VERDICT: Good balance of accommodation, on an acre.