Pick of the family home bunch at €495,000 Montenotte's The Orchards 

Fetching interior design flourishes and a converted attic are part of package at No 12 

12 The Orchards, Montenotte

Montenotte, Cork
€495,000
Size	153 sq m (1647 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	2
BER	C2

CLASSICAL mansions, formal gardens and extensive orchards were once all the rage on the south-facing hills of Tivoli and Montenotte, and while many of the mansions remain intact, some lands were gradually sold off.

Over time, housing estates evolved where once merchant princes strolled, and the only throwback to the glory days is in the placenames. Take The Orchards, in Montenotte, off Middle Glanmire Road, built on the walled grounds of- a former orchard.

That same ancient orchard wall runs down the side of the house featured here and forms the boundary between it and homes on Clifton Avenue.

“We repaired that wall meticulously,” says the owner of No 12, who appreciated its beauty and its history.

It’s a gorgeous backdrop to their enclosed and private rear garden, which is essentially a tasty playground for biodiversity and the owners deliberately made it so.

 Lush with mature trees and shrubs, it’s a haven for birds and wildlife, and attracts back blue tits who nest there every year. Humans have room too – there’s a west-facing raised patio along the orchard wall, and a second patio adjoining the house.

The ownersbought their 153 sq m home in 1980 – it was built by long-gone Anjon Builders in the 1970s - and changes had already been made to the layout when they arrived. An attached garage had been converted into a TV room and the kitchen had been extended to the rear. 

They converted the attic themselves, which serves as a home office/ home gym, but really it’s fit for a multitude of uses.

Converted attic

The woman of the house is into interior design and there’s oodles of stylish flourishes throughout.

inviting porch

  While they stayed faithful to some striking retro features – warm brickwork in the porch interior, large teak windows, external pergola (installed by Anjon) and a serving hatch between kitchen diner and living room – they also regularly modernised, replacing the kitchen, not just once, but twice. The downstairs loo recently underwent a refurb too.

Flooring is quality - the TV room has timber wall panelling and Junkers solid timber flooring, which is also in the living room, where the glazed rear wall, with sliding door to the patio, leaves in lots of natural light.

Overhead, two of four bedrooms are doubles, with plenty Sliderobe storage.

 Overhead again is the home office/gym.

No 12 is at the back of The Orchards, in a cul-de-sac of a dozen 4-bed semis, and it’s been a terrific family home, the owner says.

“I can’t emphasise enough how great the location is,” she adds. “We had two kids going to school in the city and they could walk into town.” Moreover, bustling St Lukes is a stroll down the road, and the Dunkettle Interchange is easily reached via the North Ring Road.

Seán McCarthy of ERA Downey is selling No 12, and he has set a guide price of €495,000 for what he describes as “an ideal family  home”.

VERDICT: Great location, good neighbourhood, very well-presented family home.