Walls came down, big windows went in, views opened up at this €650k Curraghbinny head turner

Close to the coast, but not remote, Underwood has been skillfully reconditioned

Underwood, Currabinny

Curraghbinny, Co Cork
€650,000
Size	180sq m (1,937sq ft)
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3
BER	B

Fortunately for Curraghbinny, its location on a narrow, wooded peninsula with a prominent hill at its centre spared it from the heavy industry that came to dominate nearby parts of Cork Harbour.

If the terrain worked in its favour, so did its picturesque setting: it’s proved a magnet for wealthy Cork merchants and professional elite for donkey’s years. The coastal location lures lovers of recreational sailing, whose boats can be moored close to home.

A mere nautical mile separates Curraghbinny from the Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC). Directly across the water in Crosshaven village, it’s a quick trip, with the wind in your sails, to the oldest yacht club in the world.

The oh-so-scenic backdrop is a tonic: Curraghbinny dips its toes to the coast, rises up to ancient woodland, and offers views that would do your heart good. To cap it all, it’s not remote — often the trade-off in settings as blessed as this one.

The owner of Underwood, the very stylish bungalow featured here, has this to say: “About 33 years ago, I drove up the driveway on a miserable wet Wednesday. The setting was so magnificent, I didn’t need to look inside the house.”

“When I bought it, it was your typical 1970s bungalow, with a long, narrow corridor and small rooms.

“After about 10 years, we brought in interiors architect Keith Spillane and he re-jigged it into what it is today: a beautiful, bright house with spacious rooms and magnificent views.”

Builder David Lane did the physical work, and after three months of living out-of-home, the owner and his other half returned to a house now fully embracing its superb south-facing aspect, while harbouring seaviews from all of the main living spaces.

No less than five sets of french doors open to patio and gardens: two sets each from the large living room and the formal dining room, one set from the kitchen. A sixth set opens to a tiny suntrap patio, that faces east, off the main bedroom.

“We essentially blew out all of the walls and put in glazing wherever we could,” the owner says.

The long, dark corridor is gone and in its place is a wide, bright hallway, that runs directly to the dining room, and it’s all pretty open plan at that point, with the option to close off rooms by closing double doors.

Accommodation is flexible. There are currently two large double bedrooms, both en suite, one with a walk-in-wardrobe, but adding a third is easily done given the high tally of reception rooms (three, not including kitchen or dining).

As everything is on the level and in immaculate condition, you’d have to think downsizers will be in the zone of interest. Families will love it too — especially watersports fanatics — perhaps those keen to get out of an estate in Carrigaline, and desiring greater privacy.

“It’s a very private site,” the owner says of the 0.35-acre gently sloping gardens, with carefully curated outdoor spaces and terraces, overseen by a man with a very precise eye and a talent for clipping and trimming.

He enjoyed the walking trails through the nearby woods too, managed by Coillte and still with traces of the early gentry who settled in Curraghbinny and installed carriage paths and an ornamental summerhouse at the woodland summit.

Eileen Neville of Lisney SIR brings Underwood to market with an AMV of €650,000 and she predicts interest from traders-up, downsizers, and some first-timers.

“It’s an exceptional detached bungalow in a wonderful, elevated setting and it will really suit buyers who want to be a bit coastal, but who also want to be close to Cork City.

“It’s a lovely site too, south facing, with tremendous views, and while it’s in a cul-de-sac and remarkably tranquil, it’s exceptionally accessible: just 10 minutes by car from Carrigaline, 20 minutes to Douglas village, and a half hour from Cork Airport,” Ms Neville says.

The view from Underwood, Currabinny

For fans of the outdoors, she notes that boating enthusiasts “are particularly well catered for, with Crosshaven just a five-minute trip by water — or, for the more adventurous, a swim across the harbour”.

Of the house itself, Ms Neville says the “wealth of entertainment space” is a standout feature, “with the principal rooms all enjoying a spectacular, south-facing coastal outlook”.

As the BER is a solid B, green mortgage rates are an option for buyers of this 180sq m property, where the cut and finish is as professional as it gets.

VERDICT: Not quite going for a snip, but not off the charts either, given the quality of the accommodation, the coastal/woodland setting, and how close it is to the practicalities of living.