House of the Week: 'Musical' kids with drums encouraged adding more quiet space

County home was rebuilt on site of a ruin

Thu, 31 Jul, 2025 - 17:00

Trish Dromey reports

Knockraha Co Cork
€545,000
Size	183 sq m (2,000 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	4
BER	B2

ON coming across a derelict rural ruin displaying a For Sale sign, most people will keep on walking. Some might stop for a look but only a tiny few will, like one of the owners of Stormy Heathers in Knockraha, rush away to tell their spouse that they have found their dream home.

“It was a wreck with no foundation and no running water — but I loved the setting, the views, and the tranquility,” she says, adding that it didn’t take much persuasion to get her husband to agree.

Stormy Heathers is on the site of earlier ruined dwelling

Because the cottage didn’t have a foundation and the walls were collapsing, they had to rebuild completely. “But we were able to use the stones from it to build a garden wall,” reveals the owner, explaining that the cottage-style dormer property they rebuilt in 2009 used the footprint of the original one.

Calling it Stormy Heathers after their daughters (Storm and Heather) — one an active toddler and the other a drum playing teenager — they designed it to suit their needs.

“My daughter played the trumpet, keyboard, and percussion instruments, as well as drums, so we decided to put a little distance between us and her music,” says the owner, explaining that they built a room at the back, separated from the house by a small corridor.

The original plan was to build a spacious kitchen /diner but in the final stages of construction, the couple decided to use the front section as a playroom.

Seven years later, they created the dining space they needed to hold meals for extended family by building on a sunroom/dining room off the kitchen, where they once served Christmas dinner for 18.

With this extension, the property has 183 sq metres of accommodation. The owners say the space has proved wonderfully versatile. “The playroom became a quiet snug and later a home office, while the music room became a teenager’s hang out and during covid was turned into a quiet space for work and study.”

Rooms at the front include a spacious carpeted living room, which because it has a piano, doubles a music room. Alongside it is a guest bedroom and the playroom/snug/ home office.

To the rear there’s a tiled kitchen with walnut style units and stone countertops and a set of double doors opening into dining room which has a vaulted ceiling with painted beams.

Also at the rear is a laundry room, a WC, a bathroom and the corridor to leading to the former music room. The upstairs has three bedrooms including a spacious en suite in one and two that share a Jack and Jill Bathroom.

Set on a site of a third of an acre, Stormy Heathers has extensive gardens with a large patio, gravelled areas, seating areas, lawns, and shrub beds.

“It was once a chaotic stage for playground adventures, teenage tents and birthday marquees but is now a gentler place. We have a section of wild garden which attracts bees and birds and, occasionally, foxes,” the owner says.

Earlier this year, they installed new double-glazed windows which brought the BER rating of their timber framed home up to a cosy B2.

Stormy Heathers is on the market with a guide of €545,000. Louise Mehigan of Joe Organ auctioneers says it is stylish and comfortable and provides excellent space that new owners can adapt to their lifestyle.

Rural, with scenic views of surrounding farmland, the property is located at Ballinaleigh, 2km from Knockraha village and 10km from the Dunkettle Roundabout.

VERDICT: Spacious, well thought-out, and well cared for, it could look especially attractive to buyers with instrument playing offspring.