Plenty room at the inn at extended €825k Bishopstown home

No 45 Allendale Avenue is a harmonious blend of practicality, functionality and style

Patio living at extended Allendale home

Bishopstown, Cork
€825,000
Size	207 sq m (2228 sq ft)
Bedrooms	5
Bathrooms	3
BER	B3

THE ball of logistical complexities, emotional upheaval, and physical effort that accompanies a house move can scupper attempts to hit the ground running. When an entire family is involved, stress increases exponentially: What if the neighbourhood schools are no good? Is the house on a bus route? How long will the commute take? How close is the nearest hospital/university? Will you spend half your life behind the wheel driving the kids... everywhere?

The couple that bought No 45 Allendale Avenue had to tease out all of these questions before making the decision to relocate from the countryside to Bishopstown in 2018.

“A west-facing back garden and proximity to a bus stop were the key criteria for us,” says the woman of the house.

Evening sunlight to the rear of No 45

They were also guided by the desire to reduce their work commutes and get closer to third-level education as their kids approached that stage.

“We looked at several properties and we landed on this one. The area had appeal because we were going to be able to get the kids into good schools and just as important, they were going to be able to walk to school,” the owner says. Her husband could make it to work in MTU “on foot in seven minutes” and her own hospital-based job was walkable.

“Allendale allowed us to live together longer as a family, because it was easier for everyone to get to where they needed to be.

“For myself and my husband, it cut down on our work commute, and it meant we could actually get to school events on time,” the owner says.

After buying the two-storey semi-d — in a cul-de-sac set behind Melbourn Road — they sought planning permission for a single-storey side and rear extension in 2019 and got consent — just as covid hit. “We lived in squalor during the pandemic, but the minute restrictions lifted, we got stuck in.”

An architect helped with the design, with a big focus on sustainability and future proofing. Two downstairs bedrooms were added; one is plumbed and wired for easy conversion to a kitchen. There’s a downstairs bathroom (wetroom) and all three rooms could be used to create a granny flat with its own entrance.

Upstairs, one bedroom was commandeered for use as a walk-in wardrobe and en suite.

Walk in wardrobe

 There are five bedrooms in total.

The owner says the extension “more or less” doubled the ground-floor footprint of the original house, which has an American flavour to it, explained by the training of the original architect, Denis Higgins, who spent four years in Boston in the 1960s. If you ever wondered where the names of some Bishopstown estates came from — Woburn and Beverly, for example — they are cities in Massachusetts.

Higgins was also behind Janeville on the Blackrock Road and Barnstead Drive, off Church Road. His look is described as “mid-century modernist” in Cork City Council’s
assessment of areas of architectural conservation.

Inside the semi-d, the look is a combination of modern and vintage. 

The kitchen — a mix of rust and brown and dark charcoal — has an industrial look, while the furniture has a retro edge.

 

A huge Munster Joinery sliding door fills the back wall. 

An expansive roof lantern channels light in above the Dekton-topped kitchen island, where expansive drawers act as a storage alternative to mounted wall units. There’s great storage too in a walk-in pantry and more again in what the owner calls the “entry kitchen” which is where the original kitchen used to be. 

'Entry kitchen'

Wal-in pantry

It’s now home to some stylish units and a worktop/desk. It could be a home office, except there already is one, in the doubly insulated garage, and another home office/study in a downstairs room.

 There’s a utility too, and a boiler room.

There’s also a great big sitting room/lounge, which used to be two reception rooms, but which previous owners knocked into one.

Cosy double room

 You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to entertaining at No 45 — hanging out in the supersize kitchen or on the tiered limestone patio watching the sun go down, or cosying up in the inviting lounge. The whole house is cosy, thanks to underfloor heating.

The owners knocked great enjoyment out of the patio — which has a hidden storage nook — and the west-facing rear garden, where they have planted trees — some native, some ornamental.

“There are two very big rear gardens in the estate, and ours is one of them,” the owner says. All told, the property is set on about 0.3 acres.

Whoever buys No 45 will hit the ground running because it’s been redesigned with practicality, style, and family in mind and it’s in a prime location.

You can literally see MTU over the back garden wall; UCC and Cork University Hospital are walkable, and schools are plentiful in the western suburb.

With two kids now fled the nest and the other two driving, the couple’s living requirements have changed once again, and the plan is to return to the countryside, closer to family.

“They say you get it right on the third house. This will be our fourth,” laughs the owner.

Families are likely to agree they got it right on the third house. So does selling agent Johnny O’Connor of Barry Auctioneers, who is guiding the 207sq m home at €825,000. “It’s an exceptional home, with a terrific B3 energy rating, in a prime location.”

He expects strong interest from families trading up, including medics, because of ease of access to hospitals in the western suburbs, and from people relocating back to Cork.

VERDICT: You’ll hit the ground running at this expansive home, which is commendably geared towards modern family living.