200 ft garden a focal point at Sigma Homes-renovated €645k Cross Douglas Road home

A remodeled open plan living space with adjoining patio and outdoor kitchen is just the start of the garden that keeps on giving

Fri, 20 Mar, 2026 - 13:00

Catherine Shanahan

Cross Douglas Road, Cork city
€645,000
Size	117sq m (1,259 sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2
BER	B2

DISHEVELLED and in need of a makeover, Clonlea was not the kind of home the Cross Douglas Rd is known for when the current owners bought it in 2019.

A higgledy-piggledy mess — with a video to prove it — it was a hodgepodge of piecemeal rear extensions, with walls “everywhere” and a large oil burner slap bang in the middle of a galley kitchen.

The layout lacked rhyme or reason and the house thumbed its nose at its own best asset — a remarkably long back garden.

The garden that keeps on giving at Clonlea, Cross Douglas Road

Enter the current owners who fell for the garden and hired professionals to ensure it reached its potential.

For them, it meant creating a strong visual connection from the front door right through to the rear, so that the garden was the focal point of their open plan living space.

“When we bought Clonlea, no-one had lived in it for at least five years. Walls were crumbling, the house was damp, there were electrical cables everywhere, and a warren of rooms.

“You couldn’t see the garden from the front door and it was totally disconnected from the house,” the couple say.

The surprisingly deep garden — invisible from the street — is not unique to Clonlea; it’s a feature of homes on the Cross Douglas Rd, which has a long history as a desirable residential area. Garden size is one factor, the other is the pleasing variety of house types, from tall Victorian and Edwardian semi-ds with classic architectural detail, to mid-20th century detached family homes, to renovated standalone period properties, to pretty townhouses at the southern end, near the South Douglas Rd.

One half of the couple was familiar with the road from his childhood, having lived there until the age of five.

Although just across the street from Clonlea, he had no idea that the three-bed semi hid a 200ft garden to the rear.

“After we bought the house, anytime we had friends over, the garden completely surprised them. It was not what they expected in a basic three-bed semi,” the owners say.

‘Basic’ is no longer an accurate description of Clonlea, thanks to the expert input of Sigma Homes. The couple got them on board just ahead of the pandemic - which had a stop-start effect - but the work was still done in about six months in 2020.

“Everything came out. The only thing they didn’t go at was the original roof,” says one of the owners.

The couple’s main brief for Sigma was to create an open-plan family space that connected seamlessly with the garden, with a view straight through from the front door. Sigma delivered with knobs on. Once the front door opens, the garden is on show because the back wall is comprised of full height, sliding glass doors. A huge picture window meets it at a right angle, so it feels like wraparound glazing.

The kitchen area is well lit too: Glazed French doors open outwards to a split-level patio.

Shading the main patio area is a large pergola that matches the height of the extension, blurring the line between inside and out and expanding the entertainment space, with the class addition of an outdoor kitchen.

Deeper into the garden is an above ground swimming pool, sourced from Douglas Forest and Garden centre, with filter pump, ladder, pool cover and chemical dispenser, ensuring hours of good, clean fun for the owners’ two sons.

Beyond it is a bespoke log cabin, insulated to residential standards, and bought at a cost of €40,000 from Hanley’s Garden Centre.

It’s beautifully done, fronted by a small veranda and used in part as a home office, but adaptable for more permanent living with planning permission.

Outdoor kitchen, pool, and log cabin are all part of the sale.

Even with all the garden add-ins, there’s still room for a climbing wall and a tree house, made from recycled wood, and even a garden shed.

Really, it’s the garden that keeps on giving, delivering privacy and sunlight in different zones throughout the day, thanks to its exceptional length.

The main bedroom — extended by previous owners, but re-done by Sigma — overlooks the back garden.

It shares the first floor with two more bedrooms and a stylish bathroom.

Overhead again a converted attic has home office/teen den potential. It was there with a pull down stairs when the current owners moved in, but Sigma created permanent access as part of the overall refurbishment.

Downstairs, Sigma removed a chimney to make way for a guest loo, which faces a well-organised utility across the hallway. At the front of the house is a cosy living room, with bay window and plantation shutters.

The couple say Sigma “did everything” from the electric gate securing the property, to replacing windows and doors, rewiring, replumbing, laying floors, carpets, painting, and fitting the bathrooms and kitchen.

“Once we got the keys, all we had to do was get a bed in and we could sleep there that night,” the couple say.

For sure the house is looking good, from its nicely paved drive with parking for two cars, right through to the patio, and on down to the bottom of that prodigiously long back garden. While the owners paid €295,000 for it in 2019, there’s no doubting they pumped significant money into it, refurbishing the property and bringing it up to a B2 energy rating — making buyers eligible for green mortgage rates.

With a new project on the horizon, the owners are moving on and it falls to Dennis Guerin and Chloe Reidy of Frank V Murphy Auctioneers to find Clonlea’s next owners. It shouldn’t be too difficult given where it is and the robust good health it is in. Douglas village is a short walk away and schools, retail and public transport are plentiful in the neighbourhood. The guide price is €645,000.

Buyer profile will likely include professional couples, well-heeled first-time buyers, young families, or downsizers.

VERDICT: Attractive ready-made home in a well-regarded neighbourhood, with Douglas village and city side convenience. And did we mention the marvellous garden?