Taking down internal walls transformed €575k Ballincollig House of the Week

From boxed-in living to dynamic open plan at €575,000 Woodberry home

36 Woodberry, Greenfields, Ballincollig

Ballincollig, Cork
€575,000
Size	134 sq m (1442 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3
BER	C1

THE owners of 36 Woodberry put much thought into their accommodation during their short three year stint there, and they had brainstormed about its future too.

Now however it will be down to new owners to decide what lies in store for this tasty Ballincollig home, as an unexpected opportunity sees the vendors moving on.

Realistically, buyers need do very little, if anything, as No 36, in Greenfield, has been thoroughly overhauled since it last sold almost exactly three years ago, having operated for a time as a rental. The sale price back then was €350,000, according to the Property Price Register.

“When we bought it, we gutted it,” say the current owners.

“We tore down walls and completely changed the downstairs layout. It went from very boxed-in living -a bad set up for pretty much any family - to a bright, airy, open-plan kitchen/dining/living experience. It transformed the house.” 

A local carpenter did the honours, taking down two internal walls either side of what was a fairly dark hallway, with a galley kitchen running down one side and a living room on the other and a separate room to the rear. While the owners retained the separate room (mainly used now as a playroom) they eliminated the hallway and merged it with the galley kitchen and living room into one great airy, triple-aspect, light-filled space, where style and functionality are nicely matched. 

“In the old kitchen, there was barely room for two chairs at a small breakfast table. It’s where the kids’ toy kitchen is now,” the woman of the house says. The remodelling made room for both a dining table and a separate breakfast counter at the kitchen island, which creates a natural divide between the new, contemporary kitchen and the stylish living space. 

Two doors off the kitchen lead to a utility room and a guest WC. A nice feature in the living area is a new fireplace, comprised of eye-catching Delforno tiles and a wood-burning stove.

The separate sitting room/playroom overlooks the rear garden and it too is tastefully done, with dusky pink wood-panelling on two walls (Colourtrend Lowland) and double doors to patio/garden.

The back garden, says the owner, “is gigantic”. They had advanced plans for it, such as to create a seating area at the far end, as they hadn’t ruled out extending the house further into the garden in the longterm, as many of the neighbouring homes have done.

“What we didn’t want to do was build on to the rear and then find that we weren’t using the rooms behind the extension, as neighbours of ours have found,” the owner says.

At any rate, as the site measures about one fifth of an acre, new owners will be able to extend if they want to, subject to planning permission.

There’s no great need to do so though, as the house is almost 1500 sq ft and comes with four bedrooms and three bathrooms.

 Its energy rating is reasonable too, a C1, not bad for a late 1990s build.

The guide price for the Woodberry home is €575,000 and the auctioneer is Der O’Riordan of Barry Auctioneers.

He says the detached home is “in excellent condition throughout” and is ready for new owners, who need only “unpack, and get on with living”.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to acquire an ideally located family home, in great decorative condition, close to all the amenities and conveniences of Ballincollig town centre and with great commuting access via the nearby South City Link road network,” Mr O’Riordan says.

Schools, retail, sports and outdoor leisure are all well-catered for in Ballincollig, which is home to the excellent regional park.

Woodberry, off the Greenfields Road, south of the town centre, is an upmarket development of about five dozen detached homes, on decent sites, with off-street parking.

VERDICT: Thoughtfully remodelled home designed for family living. Great location, near vis-à-vis road networks and the town centre.