Central Perk living at €745k Instagrammable Inis on Victoria Road

A chef's kitchen and two patios are just some of the attractions at this smartly-presented cityside home

In the thick of it at Inis on Victoria Road

Victoria Road, Cork city
€745,000
Size	133 sq m (1432 sq ft)
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	3
BER	B3

SKILLFUL architectural input and a chef’s eye for kitchen design ensured things were already motoring along nicely at Inis by the time the current owners snapped it up a decade ago.

Chef's kitchen

They shifted it up several more gears, and today it’s living its best life, as anyone in the neighbourhood for the past 15 or so years can attest to.

The neighbourhood in question is Victoria Rd/Blackrock Rd, a pivotal spot for all that’s planned for the docklands. The house itself could legitimately identify with either address as it’s precisely where the two roads meet.

Although built as part of the mid-1900s Marina Park scheme, it’s more of a loner, facing directly onto the main road, a trait that may well have inspired the house name ‘Inis’ meaning ‘island’, as it’s adrift from the wider development.

 Its detached status is another advantage, as most of the rest of the park to the rear is comprised of semi-ds.

Looks-wise, it clearly shares Marina Park DNA, and several of its original details remain among the current owners’ favourites.

“My favourite part of the house is the hall with original terrazzo floor and painted staircase,” the woman of the house says.

For sure, the staircase is a piece of craftsmanship and even though the house has been thoroughly modernised, what was good about the original in the first place has been retained.

When the four-bed last changed hands in 2015, it had been re-worked with the help of architect Louise Sliney, who oversaw a rear box extension that didn’t need planning, but was cleverly conceived to support a second storey, should future owners want one.

Louise Sliney rear extension

Maximising light was central to the design, so a northerly rear aspect barely registers.

 A roof lantern draws sunlight down from above; the rear wall is heavily glazed, featuring a full-height sliding door to the rear patio and garden; two tall picture windows rise from the ground on the side elevation, catching the evening sun.

 To make even more of that light, the current owners went a step further and had a chimney removed to accommodate an additional sliding door, which opens to a side patio, that faces south-west.

The net effect of the changes is a bright and spacious open-plan living space that includes kitchen, dining, and sun room, all flooded with light.

 The front sitting room, with bay window, can be incorporated too thanks to sliding pocket doors that neatly divide the spaces.

 It’s ideal for those who enjoy closing things off for cosy winter evenings by an open fire. 

Inis is a warm house at any rate — with a B3 BER, suitable for a green mortgage — helped by solar gain through the different windows and by good insulation.

The main bathroom has been renovated and insulated, and a water tank was moved to the attic to make more space. A new hot water system with water pump was installed in 2019, and the house was rewired the same year.

The current owners inherited a ‘chef’s kitchen’; the previous owner was a professional chef, whose ‘big gigs’ included catering for Aiken Promotions and MCD. 

They chose to update the colour scheme, hiring mother and daughter duo LM Decors, who transformed the kitchen units from a deep inky shade to a vibrant blue-green. Otherwise, the former show unit, adapted by high-end supplier, David Kiely in Carrigaline, remains the same,retaining its Silestone quartz countertops, recessed sink and classic white metro-tile splashback.

“It was really well designed, so we didn’t want to change the layout, but we did want to refresh the colour,” the owner says.

“LM Decor were an absolute pleasure to deal with, we were delighted with the transformation,” she adds.

She was equally pleased with the shutters fitted upstairs by Fastnet Blinds and the ground floor drapery from Paul & Co Interiors on nearby Monaghan Rd. 

The couple also upgraded all the downstairs flooring and switched out the old front door for a new hardwood version, crafted to match the original.

Outside, new electric gates front a gravel drive with off-street parking for three cars, and there’s a detached garage, for storage, to the rear.

 The rear has its own patio, along with attractive raised planters and flower beds.

Rear patio

 The front lawn faces south and is screened from the main road by hedging and a high wall, raised a few blocks by previous owners.

Side patio

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 A combination of mature hedging and fencing enclosures the entire wedge-shaped site and the result is that it feels remarkably private, despite its location on a busy route, well served by public transport.

The owners — who are taking on another project — said nearby Kennedy Park was a godsend, a playground for the kids and a safe place to learn how to cycle.

Inis is near Kennedy Park

 Since they moved into Inis, additional playgrounds have sprung up on the nearby Marina walkway, fast becoming one of Cork City’s most prized green corridors. The area is also rich in schools, walkable to the city centre in under 10 minutes, and at the heart of the emerging docklands district. Salt, a popular eatery for brunch, is about 200m away.

Selling Inis is Gretchen Kelleher of Barry Auctioneers and she says the 133sq m extended home is “as good as it gets”.

“It’s a beautiful family home in show house condition and in an excellent location,” the agent says. Young couples are leading the charge to viewings, including some relocating from Dublin and others returning from abroad. Also in contention are local families looking to upsize from three-bed homes in housing estates to a detached four-bed. The guide price for Inis is €745,000.

VERDICT: Everything is done at Inis, unless new owners wanted to turn the single storey rear extension into a double. Exemplary family home with modern comforts and smart design in a much sought-after setting