Dedicated follower of (Polish) fashion transforms a €265,000 terraced three-bed in Carrigtwohill
Main living area
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Carrigtwohill, Cork |
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€265,000 |
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Size |
107 sq m (1152 sq ft) |
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Bedrooms |
3 |
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Bathrooms |
2 |
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BER |
C2 |
THE eye-catching designs and clever finishes that abound in 21 Maple Lane owe much to the owners’ connection with Poland which weighed heavily in their favour when it came to fitting out their home with quality products that didn’t cost the earth.
From the wood-burning stove in the living room, to the solid oak staircase, to sparkle wall paint and grey stone chimney breast - all came from their native Poland.
Even the IKEA mirror radiator in the main bathroom came from a Polish branch of the Swedish home furnishings’ store.
They poured heart and soul into their Carrigtwohill home, which they were thrilled to be able to buy in 2013 under a rent-to-buy scheme. The scheme gives renters the option to purchase from the developer at the end of a letting period and Agnieska Szalonika and her husband jumped at the chance of buying No 21 having rented it first for a year.
They’ve done tremendous work, starting by extending the downstairs living room, and then going out overhead, transforming a tiny box room into a decent-sized bedroom, before continuing up into the attic where a conversion gave Agnieska the vital storage space she needed to pursue her passion for fashion, specifically ladies’ fashion.
“I opened an online boutique, called Fab Lady Boutique (on Facebook) in February and I didn’t expect it to grow so quickly. But it has, and now I need more storage space, so although my heart is broken to have to sell our home, I need that extra room,” Agnieska says.
With business booming - the clothes she imports from Poland are in hot demand among members of the Eastern European community in Ireland - Agnieska and family are moving to a home with more room.
Despite her busy work life - mother-of-two as well as fulltime job in pharma which she has no intention of quitting - Agnieska still made time to do the interior design in her own home.
This included some elaborate paintwork, evidenced along the staircase and in the main bedroom, in the form of striking geometric designs.
The original staircase they replaced with solid oak and instead of traditional banisters, they opted for a more modernist look, again using geometric shapes.
First floor doors are clever - each bedroom has a solid oak sliding door which disappears into the frame, a feature the couple decided would be beneficial to maximise the space in each area.
Agnieska put a lot of thought and energy into the design of the main bathroom, which includes a large walk in shower area, floating toilet and sink unit as well as a fitted bath which has tiled alcoves for storage.
James Colbert, selling agent for Colbert & Co, says the mood lighting in this bathroom “is exceptional”.
Downstairs, the kitchen breaks with the Irish tradition of units of a uniform colour - the high wall units are white and the lower units a pale grey, with wooden worktop and splashback area.
Mr Colbert says conduit lighting and underfloor heating give it “a real modern feel”.
The kitchen is open plan to the living room where the extension allows ample space for dining and lounging in front of the inset stove which, thanks to vents on the first floor, also heats the upstairs' rooms.
An extra generous set of sliding doors to a rear patio does not result in heat loss - they are triple glazed, high spec and thermally sensitive, keeping heat in when required and vice versa.
Agnieska says the house is very warm and heating bills are very low during winter. She adds that they put in an extra layer of insulation at the back of the house when they were carrying out the rear extension.
Out beyond the extension is a tiled patio area, shaded by a perspex roof, a nice spot in which to sit on a sunny day and enjoy pizzas from the brick pizza oven at the bottom of the garden.
For anyone keen to avoid mucky floors, the back garden is low maintenance astro turf.
Back indoors, there’s a downstairs guest loo, and upstairs, three bedrooms and main bathroom, and overhead again, that converted attic under the eaves, with four velux windows, and lots of room for storage, but not enough to cater for Agnieska's expanding business.
“It’s a great house, everything is done and there’s lots of heart in this home,” Agnieska says.
Mr Colbert says it’s a very well finished home, in a good location.
“Castlelake estate is one of the most sought after areas in East Cork,” he says, adding that it has “a family friendly feel and a wonderful residents’ committee”.
“It also has easy access to the N25; pharma sites are close by and Cork city is readily accessible via road or train, with the train station just a stone’s throw from the estate,” Mr Colbert.
“At a time when quality properties are hard to find, this home really does offer everything a growing family requires. The extension made a massive difference,” he adds.
There's keen interest in the property: Mr Colbert had a dozen appointments penciled in for the first day of viewings during the week, with plenty more booked in for this week.
First time buyers and relocating couples are predominant, he says.
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