House of the Week: Charming features at off-the-beaten track €445k northside home

Vibrant orange window frames, exposed red brick, and a roll-top bath are some of the eye-catching aspects of this St Lukes end-of-terrace house

11 Woodland Villas, Alexandra Road

St Lukes, Cork
€445,000
Size	87.5 sq m [942 sq ft]
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	1
BER	C3

When you’ve got an older property with quirks and a few off-beat features it can be more refreshing to lean into them rather than try erase or ignore them.

That’s exactly the case with 11 Woodland Villas, Alexandra Road. Built in the late 1800s, the current owners chose to celebrate the older elements of the house. So you’ve got original floor tiles in the hall, you’ve got original fireplaces enhanced with modern decor, and you’ve got a cast-iron bath upstairs.

Bought by the current owners just over 23 years ago, it was their family home until the family expanded and they moved more rurally.

“It had been derelict before we bought in 2002, but these houses were built by the barracks up the road for lieutenants in the army so they’re good and solid,” the owner notes.

“We insulated everything possible and the house now has a C3 BER and it does really hold the heat well. We stripped and rewired, we replumbed the bathroom, updated the kitchen, replaced the doors, there were custom Marvin windows installed at the front.”

Those windows are now a zingy orange with the garden gate and garage door done to match.

Some of the less visible work included insulating the attic, adding a new gas boiler in 2020, capping the chimney and adding a water filtration system.

The owners — and their children — took on a fair bit of the work themselves: “The back room was quite dark and we started chipping down the plaster work and saw that it was lovely red brick underneath. As it’s an adjoining wall we knew it wouldn’t be cold so we worked away at exposing all that section of brick. We’re talking blood, sweat, and tears there! It looked so nice when it was done though that we added a window and a little seat in that corner then.”

A key change was making good, modern-day use of the across-the-road garden. “We took the top part of the garden and turned it into parking for two or even three cars — or a helipad as some of the neighbours have joked — and that’s been a gamechanger. The old streets here can be quite tight so to be able to get two cars in right outside your house is ideal.”

And just beyond the garage, which new owners could look at converting into a kids’ play den, gaming zone or home office, is a tidy-sized garden, giving this city-convenient house a bit of everything.

The wall between the two downstairs rooms was opened up, giving good light and flow through the ground floor. And a nifty little breakfast bar/work station in the kitchen, right by a vertical radiator, helps create different zones for at-home workers or a quick cuppa. Upstairs there’s the bathroom and three bedrooms — two doubles and a single.

“That old bath is literally one of the reasons I bought this house in the first place. It’s fabulous. When we had the builder in he added reinforced supports underneath so the weight isn’t an issue now even when it’s full.”

Other individualistic touches include repurposing wooden venetian blinds to make a modern-looking dining room chimney facade: “Myself and my 19 year old did that job — and they’re easy to remove too if new owners want.”

“People are really liking the location here — a quiet cul de sac but you’ve got great proximity to the city and to St Lukes with all it has to offer, from Goodhood pizza restaurant, to wine bars and a butcher’s and shops,” says Áine McLoughlin of AML Property Services.

VERDICT: Tucked away at the top of a quiet cul-de-sac, 11 Woodland Villas is literally off the beaten track, offering a sense of privacy that is perfectly mirrored by its off-beat and artistic interior.