Sunroom is crowning glory at €1.05m House of Tudor in Ballincollig
40 Fernwalk, Ballincollig
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Ballincollig, Cork |
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€1.05m |
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Size |
300 sq m (3,231 sq ft) |
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Bedrooms |
4 |
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Bathrooms |
6 |
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BER |
C2 |
HOMES in Ballincollig’s Fernwalk are unabashedly large properties, built by people who seized the opportunity to build their dream home, after buying sites from developers the O’Flynns back in the late 1990s. At the time, Ballincollig was still countryside and didn’t yet have a bypass.
The owners of No 40 Fernwalk bought their site in the last release within the development and paid top dollar for it. While the owners of No 11, which featured in these pages last April, paid €42,300 in 1999 for their site, the owners of No 40 paid €93,000, before stamp duty. At the time of buying, prices had jumped “as there was a lot of bidding” they say.
They hired Bandon-based architect Pat Cullinane to design No 40. Shakespearean-era fans will love its unique nod to medieval architecture. The look is mock-Tudor, reflected in the decorative timber framing of the upper storey, and in the multi-pane leaded glass windows and in the front-facing gables.
The house took two years to build and the owners moved in in the first year of the new millennium.
They were rigorous about doing things right from the get-go. Fixtures and fittings weren’t scrimped on. All of the finishes are to a very exacting standard, as the professional background of the man of the house is in building/carpentry. It meant he could fit the impressive, bifurcated teak staircase, after it was delivered by the joiners.
The design leaves plenty of room for under-stairs storage, not that you’d ever guess it, thanks to some terrific panelling.
The man of the house did all of the wall panelling, including in the main reception room and in the double-height hallway, where he also laid solid oak floors.
The main reception room, with large marble fireplace, is a bright and graceful space, easily able to accommodate a dining table and sofas and other standalone furniture.
Entry is down two steps from the hallway, via double doors, or from the open plan kitchen. A second, smaller reception room across the hallway has a solid oak floor too. It’s as snug-looking as they come.
Through a lobby off the hallway is an elegant guest loo, and beyond it, the showstopper.
A sunroom added about 10 years ago transformed the open plan kitchen/dining room into a fabulous entertainment space.
Glazed on three sides, it has French doors to a hefty raised deck above the south-facing rear garden. An apex window above the French doors rises into a vaulted ceiling. Natural light floods through.
The owner says it took two attempts to get it right.
“We made a mistake with the first sunroom. The ceiling was too low and the window height was wrong. It was also too small and the door off it opened to the side,” she says.
When they re-did it, they made sure to address the shortcomings.
Now the windows run from floor to ceiling and the French doors are centred along the rear glass wall. It’s twice the size of its more modest predecessor.
The kitchen is country-style with fitted Smeg oven and large kitchen island.
Countertops are black granite. A utility off the kitchen provides more storage, as does a cloakroom off the hallway.
Upstairs, a large gallery landing can easily accommodate a home-office set-up.
“Some people think it’s a waste of space but it’s a lovely spot to have a desk in,” the owner says.
It’s brightly lit, thanks to a series of tall, narrow, multi-pane windows either side of a bigger central window, above the round-arched front door.
The main bedroom of four is like a hotel suite, with a walk-in wardrobe, en suite, four poster bed and sumptuous drapes, made by Jenny, the mother of one of the owners.
She was a talented seamstress in her day and also made the curtains for both reception rooms.
“I ended up taking down the curtains in the main living room and giving them back to her, because she loved them so much,” her daughter says.
Each of the three remaining bedrooms has an en suite, albeit one needs sanitary ware fitted. The main bathroom has just been re-modelled with a new standalone bath and a sink unit.
Nothing was left to chance at the Fernwalk home, including the gardens.
Ronan Nangle of Nangles Nurseries is a neighbour, and he did the front-of-house landscaping. Outback, he planted palm trees, now fully mature. They form a giant green screen, blocking out any view of the Ballincollig bypass and ensuring privacy. The rear lawn is well maintained and includes a lovely water feature (small pond).
A large garage done at the time of the main house also has an ornamental timbered mock-Tudor finish. It’s a generous size, with potential for use as a workshop or gym or independent home office.
“It was a push to do the shed at the time, but we were glad we did it in the end,” the owner says.
The overwhelming impression at No 40 Fernwalk is of owners who did such a good job first day, that, with the exception of the new sunroom, maintenance rather than major change, is all that’s been required since.
A family trading up will love it, says Norma Healy of Sherry FitzGerald, who has gone sale agreed on No 11 Fernwalk at slightly below €900,000, (asking price was €950,000). If No 40 makes its €1.05m guide price, it will set a record for the development.
Ms Healy says the demand for high-end trade-up homes shows no sign of abating, with plenty of activity at the upper end of the residential market.
“Homes like No 40 Fernwalk are always in demand, not just because they are quality homes, but because of their convenience, with instant access to the Ballincollig bypass, for anyone making the less than 10 minute car journey into Cork University Hospital or UCC or MTU.
“Ballincollig is really just an extension of the Model Farm Road now and it has every amenity for families, from schools to sport and recreation (Ballincollig Regional Park) to retail,” Ms Healy says.
Very high quality trade up home on a generous site, convenient to bypass. Sunroom is a stunner.
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