Scandi style meets West Cork charm in €475k Schull Main Street apartment

Design-led duplex above a landmark Schull restaurant offers harbour views, Scandi interiors and a rare walk-in town-centre lifestyle

Apartment at Nicos Main Street Schull Hodnett Frrde Irish Rural Homes

Schull, West Cork
€475,000
Size	119 sq m (1,275sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	D1

A Scandi interiors vibe meets Schull heritage at this special, upper-level one-off apartment, part of a major ‘best-in-class’ building renewal in the West Cork coastal hamlet chosen by Hamnet actor Paul Mescal some years back as his holiday home base.

Done top to toe with panache and design élan was Schull’s former and much-loved Adele’s Café and Bakery at the top of Main Street — delivered by chef Nico Runske and his partner Holly Anderson Runske, with his name put up over the door as Nico’s restaurant and wine bar.

The talented Mr Runske cut his culinary teeth at his Swedish mother Katarina Runske’s Grove House, a former Georgian-era house and small hotel on the sought-after Colla Road — typically home to Schull’s highest-value properties, many in the million- and multi-million-euro price range.

Over the past five years, the young couple upgraded the building fabric at Nico’s to the highest standard — from interior finishes to a new roof and rear works. While the restaurant garnered strong reviews and loyal seasonal customers, the decision to sell was taken a few years back — initially with a price tag in excess of €1m, later reduced to the €750,000–€800,000-plus range.

With the restaurant due to reopen in the coming weeks and months with a different food offering and chef, the decision has been taken to offer the building’s overhead private living accommodation as a separate, stand-alone unit.

It is arguably a perfect lock-up-and-leave option for a buyer seeking a walk-in Schull town-centre home finished to a high spec, with harbour and Cape Clear island views to the rear, and a sun terrace/balcony with stainless-steel railings.

For those who see potential in the now on-trend ‘living above the shop’ — or restaurant, in this case — the duplex-style apartment is for sale with estate agents Liam Hodnett of Hodnett Forde and Mary Cotter of Irish Rural Homes, with a guide price of €475,000 for the 1,275sq ft three-bedroom space, which includes extensive attic storage.

To get viewings off to a buzzy start, the joint agents will host an open viewing this Saturday from 1pm to 3pm, describing the accommodation as “luxurious” and the renovation as reflecting the owners’ commitment “to the character of the building whilst simultaneously enhancing the home’s functionality and comfort”.

Entry is via private stairs off a shared street-level hall, leading to a first-floor main living and kitchen area, with birch ply units, open display shelving, and top-brand appliances including Smeg, Schott and Liebherr.

An integrated wood-burning stove sits between display bookshelves. Flooring on both levels is French oak, with natural-grain timber stairs. Windows are new sliding sashes with reclaimed pine shutters, and door handles are brass.

The property has been rewired and replumbed, with a new upstairs family bathroom featuring a freestanding oval bath. The main bedroom suite includes a shower room/WC and a dressing area with built-in storage. Two further bedrooms complete the accommodation, while a pull-down stairs provides access to a floored and insulated attic used for storage.

Auctioneer Liam Hodnett says a management-style agreement will cover common areas and access, adding that the Runskes’ enhancements at the former Adele’s, now Nico’s, “offer both contemporary standards and lasting value for future owners”.

VERDICT: A tasty offering, upstairs and downstairs, on the Main Street of Wild Atlantic Way hub Schull — home to a broad mix of locals, blow-ins, sail-ins and the silver-screen set, from Paul Mescal to Saoirse Ronan at nearby Ballydehob, as well as guests and regulars at the annual Fastnet Film Festival. Roll on summer.