Property 28-01-2012 by Evening Echo

Zone:XP1

Property 28.01.2012

XP1 - V2

& Interiors

Mall Measures Historic North Mall House, and its great interiors, may now revert to a private home PLUS â&#x20AC;˘ TRADING UP â&#x20AC;˘ STYLISH HOMES â&#x20AC;˘ GET THE LOOK â&#x20AC;˘ ANTIQUES â&#x20AC;˘ STEP BY STEP DIY

! "! "!

$ '# %## &

Photo by Denis Scannell

TERAPROOF:User:joannedillaneDate:26/01/2012Time:13:02:32Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:1

Zone:XP1

XP1 - V1

PROPERTY

HOUSE WEEK OF THE

XP1 - V1

PROPERTY

Gate Lodge home has lots of appeal

Tommy Barker reports

Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Broadband: Best feature:

No 68 is in smart, move-in condition with four bedrooms, Tommy Barker reports

HERE’s a good deal on offer at 68 Gate Lodge, out beyond Blackrock Castle in Cork, with a bracing, peninsular perimeter walk around this inner harbour spot. No 68 is one of the better value market offerings in this popular O’Brien and O’Flynn scheme, with attention paid by the owners to every part internally, as well as the back garden and on, up into the attic also.So says agent Ann O’Mahony of Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €235,000 for the 1,250 sq ft end-of-terrace house in a good spot, and with southerly aspected back garden, set near the far end of the sizeable Gate Lodge scheme. It fits a lot in: two reception rooms, interlinked by double doors, front to back, plus a 19’ deep by 8’ wide kitchen/dining room with terracotta-tiled floor. Hall tiles are sort of retro-look, polychrome mix like you’d see in Victorian hallways.

The main living room is a nice space, about 17’ by 11’ with a cast iron fireplace with gas supply, and there’s a ground floor guest WC. Added to the main bath upstairs and a master bed en suite, there’s three bathrooms in all, not a bad range of facilities for a four-bed (two single sizes) which still weighs in under the 1,300 sq ft mark. For those needing a few more square feet to spread their possessions around, the fact that the attic has been floored, slabbed out, plastered and painted with Velux window and Stira access opens up storage and other options.

Blackrock, Cork €235,000 116 sq m (1,254 sq ft) 4 C2 Yes Well finished inside

VERDICT: Smart, move-in condition, with a good south/west back garden aspect and side access. All it needs is a bit of front garden planting to raise the ‘kerb appeal’. Go see.

ust about everyone who bought into The Spires including living room with fireplace, separate dining scheme in Innishannon, Co Cork, had a few bob room with stone chimney breast, plus hobby room and left over for landscaping — and that’s an extra a garden room, each with access to the back gardens investment that keeps paying dividends. There’s also a large Shaker kitchen/dining room Beneficiaries are the families who live here, as well as with utility off, a guest WC and kitchen units are in vendors if and when the time comes to sell up and timber as are the worktops, Floors are oak, other move out — the place is ageing very well, and all the hardwoods, and ceramic tiling, and some rooms have growth only adds to the privacy of the sites, many of low-level panelling/wainscoting. The feel, suggests the them around a quarter of an auctioneer, is of a bespoke acre. home. Location: Innishannon, Cork The Spires was build in the Overhead are four Price: €455,000 mid-1990s by local man bedrooms, one (the master Fachtna Crowley and the bed) is 22’ by 14’ at max, Size: 224 sq m (2,400 sq ft) dormers have always been with en-suite off with Bedrooms: 4 popular trading-up buys. oversized shower tray. The The interior of No 19 marks main bathroom, meanwhile, BER rating: Pending it out as a bit different thanks is, done to five-star hotel Broadband: Yes to its freshness, it clearly got standard, says the agent. extra investment and a very Externally the house’s Best feature: Interiors just redone recent makeover since the 15 walls are low-maintenance, or so years since it was first a mix of dash and stone to built. the front, all dash to the back and the grounds around It’s all light and fresh inside, well decorated, with it are landscaped, with private parking to the front. some attractive features plus a centrepiece hall The design has dormer windows to the front, plus a staircase with open treads and a central steel spine. stone façade front gable, with Veluxes only to the Selling agent for No 19 is Brendan Bowe, with offices rear. both in Bandon town and in Ballincollig and as he Behind, there’s a mix of dedicated mixed-use areas, lives locally, he knows the hold Innishannon has for from trampoline to lawn, shed to sun terrace, with low families looking for a quiet trading up location, sheltering walls around a corner terrace. mixing quality village life with easy access to the sea, the River Bandon, on then to West Cork, and back to VERDICT: Prices at The Spires are back to early 2000s Cork city’s suburbs and airport just 25km away. levels, and after all the latest work done here, No 19 Internally, No 19 has a very good lower-level layout gives trading-up buyers the chance to move into a in particular, with three ground-floor reception rooms, very successful scheme, with few re-sales.

CONTENTS 4

TRADING UP A Killarney house site has great views, but needs screening.

POTENTIAL North Mall House could make a home of exceptional finery.

6/7 STARTERS A Kenmare pad, or a Bishopstown townhouse? Each has pristine interiors.

COVER STORY A famine cottage upgrade plus 30 wild acres by Goleen is top drawer.

12 14 19 20 22

Village Green House, Douglas West, Cork

Budapest Property Market Seminar Tuesday, 31st of January

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

� ��

The Clarion Hotel, Cork City

Seminars at 6pm and 8pm

� What do the latest economic and political developments in Hungary mean for landlords? landlor

��

� Get up to date information on the Budapest Budapes propert worth? property market, how much is your property � Info on mortgage and tax regulations � Find out how Tower can help you in rental,, sales, management and tax

INTERIORS DIY HOME ECONOMICS IN THE GARDEN ANTIQUES

PROPERTY EDITOR Tommy Barker, 021 4802221 property@examiner.ie

Experts on site to answer your questions

INTERIORS EDITORIAL Sue O’Connor, 021 4802386 interiors@examiner.ie

Visit www.towerbudapest.com/seminar or

INTERIORS ADVERTISING Ger Duggan, 021 4802192 interiorads@examiner.ie

Seminars also in Galway G Hotel on We 1st Feb, and Dublin Burlington Hotel on Thu 2nd Feb.

PROPERTY ADVERTISING Marguerite Stafford, 021 4802100 marguerite.stafford@examiner.ie

A O P RE AR NL M TM Y 3 A E IN N IN TS G

TERAPROOF:User:joannedillaneDate:26/01/2012Time:13:23:59Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:2

phone our Dublin office on 01

234 2517

��

Drurys Mews Apartments, Midleton, Co. Cork

Price: €85,000

• All apartments have 2 double bedrooms with built-in cupboards; the master bedroom has a large en-suite. • Fully furnished to a very high standard, integrated kitchens & bathrooms tiled floor to ceiling, timber flooring and leather sofas. • Accessed from the ground floor parking by lift or stairs, all have their own balconies. • GFCH and a utility room plumbed for 2 appliances. • Designated parking space, although everything is within walking distance.

For further details/viewings contact our Douglas Office Michael Creedon T: 021 4897300

www.dngcreedon.ie IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

Zone:XP1

XP1 - V1

PROPERTY

HOUSE WEEK OF THE

XP1 - V1

PROPERTY

Gate Lodge home has lots of appeal

Tommy Barker reports

Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Broadband: Best feature:

No 68 is in smart, move-in condition with four bedrooms, Tommy Barker reports

Blackrock, Cork €235,000 116 sq m (1,254 sq ft) 4 C2 Yes Well finished inside

VERDICT: Smart, move-in condition, with a good south/west back garden aspect and side access. All it needs is a bit of front garden planting to raise the ‘kerb appeal’. Go see.

CONTENTS 4

TRADING UP A Killarney house site has great views, but needs screening.

POTENTIAL North Mall House could make a home of exceptional finery.

6/7 STARTERS A Kenmare pad, or a Bishopstown townhouse? Each has pristine interiors.

COVER STORY A famine cottage upgrade plus 30 wild acres by Goleen is top drawer.

12 14 19 20 22

Village Green House, Douglas West, Cork

Budapest Property Market Seminar Tuesday, 31st of January

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

� ��

The Clarion Hotel, Cork City

Seminars at 6pm and 8pm

� What do the latest economic and political developments in Hungary mean for landlords? landlor

��

INTERIORS DIY HOME ECONOMICS IN THE GARDEN ANTIQUES

PROPERTY EDITOR Tommy Barker, 021 4802221 property@examiner.ie

Experts on site to answer your questions

INTERIORS EDITORIAL Sue O’Connor, 021 4802386 interiors@examiner.ie

Visit www.towerbudapest.com/seminar or

INTERIORS ADVERTISING Ger Duggan, 021 4802192 interiorads@examiner.ie

Seminars also in Galway G Hotel on We 1st Feb, and Dublin Burlington Hotel on Thu 2nd Feb.

PROPERTY ADVERTISING Marguerite Stafford, 021 4802100 marguerite.stafford@examiner.ie

A O P RE AR NL M TM Y 3 A E IN N IN TS G

TERAPROOF:User:joannedillaneDate:26/01/2012Time:13:23:59Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:2

phone our Dublin office on 01

234 2517

��

Drurys Mews Apartments, Midleton, Co. Cork

Price: €85,000

For further details/viewings contact our Douglas Office Michael Creedon T: 021 4897300

www.dngcreedon.ie IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

TERAPROOF:User:sueoconnorDate:26/01/2012Time:12:36:18Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:4

Zone:XP1

XP1 - V1

PROPERTY

TRADING UP

XP1 - V1

A touch of grandeur

We scan a selection of trading up homes around the country

For the right buyer, No 2’s renovation will be satisfying and gratifying, writes Tommy Barker

CLONDROHID, MACROOM €270,000 Sq m: 297 (3,197sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 5 Broadband: Yes

While it may have an unfinished look on the outside, The Glebe, Clondrohid has a period elegance in the interior. On the market with Tom Heffernan of Sherry FitzGerald Hinchion, this property will require energy and investment on the outside, but for the most part, all the work has been done internally. Character, style and comfort is how Heffernan sums up this house, which is within commuting distance to Cork city, but also very close to Macroom town. Set on four acres of its own grounds and surrounded by mature woodland, this is the ideal property for a growing family with an interest in the outdoors, but who don’t want to drive too far to schools and other amenities. The house is a half-and-half mix: one part is old and then there’s a new living, kitchen, dining and sun room extension. The kitchen has very elegant, modern units with cream marble worktop and the sunroom faces south-west and is used as a dining area. There are three large rooms left to finish, but as it stands now, the house has three functioning, en suite bedrooms, with a main bathroom and two further bedrooms. VERDICT: A bit of money over and above the asking price is needed here, but good negotiating skills could see a beneficial sale for both parties.

GLENVILLE, CO CORK €365,000 Sq m: 213 (2,300 sq ft) BER rating: C1

Bedrooms: 4 Broadband: Yes

Tucked away in the little hamlet of Glenville, this detached house at 12, Edgewood is a good, detached house in a safe and secure location for families a few miles north of Cork city. On the market with Don Murphy Auctioneers, it comes in move-in condition and has a guide price of €365,000. For that money you get a decent, welldeveloped site, a range of living space and four bedrooms with three bathrooms. The dormer house is very low maintenance with a lot of tarmac around the house, a paved patio and well kept garden which includes a play area. A walk to the shops and the local school, Rustic Lodge has a lounge, playroom, kitchen/ dining room, utility, guest bathroom, main bathroom, four bedrooms including master suite. Each room is well fitted, including the kitchen which has, appropriately enough, a rustic oak kitchen with a bank of units, island and dresser. VERDICT: Seven miles north of Cork city, this spot has amenities locally, but Blackpool Shopping Centre and Retail Park are is minutes’ away in good traffic. Rural but accessible, it’s perfect for growing families and, as it’s part of an estate, it’s not isolated.

ROCHESTOWN, CORK €340,000 Sq m: 146.8 BER rating: Pending

VERDICT: 15 Dewberry is good to go.

KILLARNEY, KERRY €475,000 One of the best sites in Killarney — so says selling agent Tom Spillane of this acre-and-a-bit plot at Gortroe, overlooking the golf course and with famed mountain/ Reeks views at Lacakabane above the Fossa road. Three sites are up for development in this most tightly-controlled setting, he advises, and “these sites won’t come around again”. The builder/vendor of this 1.2 acres is prepared to build out the four-bed, split-level house for which planning is in place. Guide price for the lot, all in, is quoted at €475,000 with good allowances (PC sums) for

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

Pictures: Denis Scannell

DOUGLAS ROAD, CORK €235,000

Bedrooms: 4 Broadband: Yes

The extra, third floor of this house type at the Dewberry section of Mount Oval Village in Cork means this slender house type fits in four bedrooms in all. A 2012 market offering, and detached, No 15 Dewberry has a €340,000 price guide via agents Sherry FitzGerald who say the Mount Oval scheme is very well serviced and the location almost selfcontained, with sports facilities, woodland walks nearby, and a national school as well adjacent. No 15 has a front living room with cast iron fireplace, a smallish kitchen behind linked to a dining room, and down a few steps to the back is a family room with garden access. The middle level has two en suite bedrooms, and the top floor has two more bedrooms, making for four in all, plus yet another bathroom. Overall condition is good. (By way of sheer contrast, also currently bid to the sort of sum sought here is the 5,000 sq ft derelict Victorian farmhouse plus circular derelict gate lodge, on eight acres out the Rochestown Road towards Passage West. Featuring in these pages as House of the Week at the start of this month with Andy Donoghue of Casey and Kingston auctioneers, it has had dozens of viewings, and is currently under offer at €330,000 from a low €300,000 AMV.)

PROPERTY

Sq m: 140 (1,500 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 5 Broadband: Yes

There’s almost a long acre behind 3 Laurelwood, a main Douglas Road, Cork City century-old, original terraced house — well, it seems to go on for ever. There’s over 150’ length of slender greenery, home to a copse of 50’ tall pine trees (free firewood!) which visually block just how far the grounds extend to. That distant boundary is the high, limestone wall of St Finbarr’s Hospital, and residents of this terrace of five Laurelwood houses share rear car access to their long back gardens from a lock-up gate on the main road. No 3 is in very original condition (ie, read ‘dated,’ but it has been underpinned with drains work done) and comes to market as an executor sale with estate agent Hugh McPhillips of Marshs. It’s the sort of place to fire up imaginations, given its location, extensive south-facing back garden, plus its interior space over three levels. It’s got its sole bathroom to the back in one garden annexe, a former kitchen across the sheltered yard in another small wing, and you’d likely blow them all away for a glass box extension. Ceilings are high, four of the five fireplaces are originals, and the attic rooms are big and bright. VERDICT: If you could buy for around €200k, and spend another €100k, you’d have something very special a mile from the city centre.

Sq m: 213 (2,285sq ft) BER rating: N/A

Bedrooms: 4 Broadband: Yes

final finishes. The site can also be bought as is, but it’s likely that design changes to the drawings won’t be allowed by planners in any case. The triangle-shaped site is elevated, and below it is the large Liebherr crane factory, so a new owner may want to mound or plant sections to frame and “manage” the view. VERDICT: €475k for a brand new, 2,280sq ft home on 1.2 acres in one of Killarney’s better perches isn’t to be sneezed at, and there’s a sweetener of membership of Killarney Golf Club also available.

building had once been a Cork’s Lord Mayor’s T’S always stimulating to get a surprise on a residence. house and property visit. No 2 North Mall is full This is old Cork, steeped in both physical and of surprises — pleasant ones. cultural history, once home to an old Franciscan Now just tipping over 200 years old, this city friary. Directly across the Lee is a former home of one building previously called North Mall House hasn’t George Boole, father of modern day computing thanks been lived in for years and years. While it did serve in to his Boolean algebra. While Boole’s house has been recent decades as offices, it’s as easy to see it work as badly damaged by ravages of time and a partial a home again as anything else. Oh, and more good news: if you buy No 2, you get No building collapse, there’s surely enough IT entrepreneurs and major IT companies in Cork to 1 into the bargain: this former, smaller home was rescue it in his converted over a century ago memory. Given that it’s to warehouse use, with a small, perhaps they carriageway door inserted in Location: North Mall, Cork could spill over some of its facade, and now it adds to Price: €500,000 their largesse to Nos 1 the amount of property on & 2 North Mall — offer (as it’s in poor order, No Size: 485 sq m (5,200 sq ft) they’d make a great 1 also adds to the Bedrooms: 8-plus small museum or conservation and renovation visitor centre a la work to be done.) BER rating: Exempt Limerick’s Pery Square. For the right buyer, No 2’s Broadband: Yes It could, too, make for renovation will be satisfying professional offices, a and gratifying, repaying the Best feature: Grace, location, aspect language or business compliment by giving back a school, restaurant or building of exceptional some other commercial uses. How about neighbouring elegance, in an equally exceptional city setting. On a Irish Distillers (aiming to spend €100m on a Jameson practical level, there’s a link (on two levels) to a plant extension in Midleton) casting an appreciative separate two-storey building behind in the high-walled eye on this once more? courtyard, which is big enough to park over a dozen And, what a private house it would make, as a whole cars, reached via a shared arched side lane between or in sections! Nos 2&3. It comes to market guiding €500,000 for vendors Architectural aficionados will be familiar with No Cork County Council, primarily as a commercial 2’s exterior: on Cork’s North Mall, it’s outstanding in offering via John Paul Sheehan of Lisney. He accepts several ways, not least for the elegance of its there may well be private residential interest, given symmetry and its broad, central bow holding three the price guide, its interior quality, gracious rooms, timber sash windows on each of its graceful three location, and site size: it’s on one fifth of an acre, the levels. largest site of all on North Mall, which has a mix of Its facade is red brick above red sandstone, with occupants on its south-facing and river aspected row. limestone sills and steps: it’s not too much of a stretch The detailing starts at the front door case, with of the imagination to reckon that this stone was carved Corinthian columns, frieze work and fan light, quarried out of the sandstone cliff directly behind the ensconced beyond cast iron railings. Go a few steps North Mall and under Blarney Street, making the inside, and the quality of the outer and inner halls North Mall one of Cork city’s most elegant riverside steps up further, with exceptional vaulted ceilings, boulevards. detailed tracery and plasterwork, and feature staircase The north channel of the River Lee curves around windows, including an oval return gable window with here, so Nos 1 and 2 look up toward UCC’s Tyndall fine plaster details on its splayed surround. Institute (visited last year by the Queen Elizabeth), Door cases too are engaging, displaying an eye for and to the Mercy Hospital, whose original, main

proportion and craftsmanship: the joy is just how good much of the retained architectural detail is, and its rooms sizes are hospitable. VERDICT: Remarkable order for 200 years of age, and huge potential, but up for sale with lousy timing.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

TERAPROOF:User:sueoconnorDate:26/01/2012Time:12:36:18Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:4

Zone:XP1

XP1 - V1

PROPERTY

TRADING UP

XP1 - V1

A touch of grandeur

We scan a selection of trading up homes around the country

For the right buyer, No 2’s renovation will be satisfying and gratifying, writes Tommy Barker

CLONDROHID, MACROOM €270,000 Sq m: 297 (3,197sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 5 Broadband: Yes

GLENVILLE, CO CORK €365,000 Sq m: 213 (2,300 sq ft) BER rating: C1

Bedrooms: 4 Broadband: Yes

ROCHESTOWN, CORK €340,000 Sq m: 146.8 BER rating: Pending

VERDICT: 15 Dewberry is good to go.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

Pictures: Denis Scannell

DOUGLAS ROAD, CORK €235,000

Bedrooms: 4 Broadband: Yes

PROPERTY

Sq m: 140 (1,500 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 5 Broadband: Yes

Sq m: 213 (2,285sq ft) BER rating: N/A

Bedrooms: 4 Broadband: Yes

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

TERAPROOF:User:sueoconnorDate:26/01/2012Time:13:07:58Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:6

Zone:XP1

XP1 - V1

STARTER HOMES

Come inside for a look, this Tower/ Blarney home comes fully fitted

XP1 - V1

Luxury home sports a sedate exterior Unassuming from the outside, but pristine and stylish on the inside. Tommy Barker reports

No 24 Willison Meadows is warm, comfortable and very well finished. Rose Martin reports

TARELTON, CO CORK €50,000 Sq m: 70 (749 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 2 Broadband: Yes

Buyers who search for that elusive cottage on an acre may have to move a bit further out of the city, but seek and ye will find. This little beauty at Tarelton, Co Cork, is in the sticks, but it’s still a quick hop to the main Cork/ Macroom road. Young couples with good skills, little money and a bit of a dream might find this the perfect project — and with the guide at €50,000, the price is also right. On the market with Tom Heffernan of Sherry FitzGerald Hinchion, there’s great scope here for an element of self-sufficiency. VERDICT: The cottage and its acre of ground are part of an executor’s sale and a canny cash buyer could press their advantage.

CASTLEJANE, GLANMIRE €199,500 Sq m: 93 (1,000 sq ft) BER rating: Pending This is an elegant little two-bed at Glanmire, Co Cork, which is fresh to the market with Don Murphy and Associates. On offer at €199,500, the house is pristine, says the agent, and comes with a sunroom extension at the rear, which adds an extra dimension to the two bed. Both upper level bedrooms are en suite and the quality of the fittings in lounge and kitchen/ diner are top class, he says.

Bedrooms: 2 Broadband: Yes

DON’T rush to judgement — this three storey house between Tower and Blarney in Co Cork has a smashing interior. Warm, comfortable and very well finished, no 24 Willison Meadows is also offered a knockdown price through Kate Kearney of DNG Condon. And she’s open to reasonable offers as the couple selling are anxious to trade up, she says. First-time buyers will find this three level property a clean buy, as it comes fully fitted and includes good quality flooring and carpets. The ground floor has a lovely sitting room with stone fireplace, insert stove and bookshelves fitted on either side, with sliding doors to a private rear patio. It also connects to the kitchen/ dining room which has cherry wood units and tiled floor with enough space for a good dining table. Bedrooms two and three are on

the first floor, along with a main bathroom, (there’s also a guest bathroom at ground level) and the upper floor has a full master suite, with attic storage overhead. Verdict: Great location close to shops and Cork city and the house comes with a fully landscaped, maintenance-free back garden.

A nice clean buy, in the north Cork town of Fermoy, is 85 Glencullen — within a walk of the town, and with easy access too to the M8, the now-nippy Cork-Dublin highway. No 85’s a modern threebed semi-d, on the market with Paul O’Shea of Matt Fallon/FML Auctioneers in Cork city, a half an hour’s drive away. The walk-in part-brick condition property has off-street parking in front, side passage access and patio door access to

Blarney, Co Cork €199,000 Sq. m 112 (1,200 sq ft) 3 C1 Yes

Do-er upper has lofty ambitions

Affordable period property has guide price of €120,000, Tommy Barker reports

OU shouldn’t judge a book by its cover - though we often do. And, in the very same way, house façades are often no guide at all as to what’s on the insides of their walls. Well, if the walls of 11 Melbourne Mews could talk, they’d whisper — it’s that calming, quiet sort of place, perhaps interrupted just a tad by the crackle of logs on the hearty open fire, with the timber scent mixing with that of wax candles. Yep, this is an immaculate house, in which a woman who knew her

mind ruled the roost. No 11, off the Melbourne Road and Rossa Road in Cork’s Bishopstown, was bought by its current owner back in 2007 when she traded down after rearing a family in a larger, six-bed Bishopstown home on a corner site. She might have made a sensible compromise on size, but she upped the quality of her purchase to match her standards. It comes up for sale now better even than when it was built, perhaps 25 years ago. Before moving in, she took out the

Take a walk along the riverside

VERDICT: No 2 The Maples is located in a good area in Glanmire, is turnkey and has a well laid out, low-maintenance garden. Worth a look for downsizers and single buyers.

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes An aerial view of St Luke’s Cross area in 1975. Carolina Terrace is in the top right hand side.

the back garden, living room and separate kitchen/dining room with integrated appliances, and built-ins in the bedrooms. VERDICT: A simple, straightforward package.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

You could flake down to Cork city in 10 minutes from this Montenotte terraced home — but it will take you 15 minutes or more to puff your way back up. Up for sale as a bit of a do-er upper is No 1 Carolina Terrace, on the Middle Glanmire Road: the address is a bit of a misnomer for latter day arrivals to Cork, as in fact it’s just a couple of hundred yards from St Luke’s Cross, by the former Arbutus and the Montenotte Hotel — or the old Country Club, if you are of a certain Cork vintage. No 1 comes up for sale with Tom Woodward auctioneer who guides it at €150,000. The price guide reflects the fact that it needs TLC. With around 1,200 sq ft of space, over three levels, it can realistically only swallow so much extra cash, but those keen to get their hands on an

Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Broadband:

Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Broadband: Best feature:

strip of hallway and gave that space over to her new 13’ by 13’ living room, shielded from the front door by a small glazed alcove. French doors now link this warm front room (new, simple marble open fireplace) to the full-width kitchen/dining behind, a total new kitout, with oak work tops, painted units, French ceramic sink and a half-sink, with porcelain tiled floor. Floors, walls, everything is fresh, with French doors to a west facing patio and easy-keep back garden and with a large shed at its back boundary.

The setting marks this Kenmare home as one to consider. Tommy Barker reports

FERMOY, CORK €125,000 Sq m: 93 (1,000 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Broadband:

PROPERTY Bishopstown, Cork €220,000 74 (800 sq ft) 3 Pending Yes Pristine

Up the carpeted stairs are three feminine bedrooms, plus a freshly-tiled bathroom. The house has been re-wired, upgraded, has a new heating system, boiler and glazing, with off-street parking in the cul-de-sac. Nearby are the CIT, CUH, Technology Park, etc. Selling agent is Jeremy Murphy, who says that No 11 couldn’t be more presentable and attractive, fit for a single buyer, couple, or trader down. VERDICT: Spotless interior.

Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Broadband: Best feature:

Kenmare, Kerry €165,000 97 (1,050 sq ft) 3 Pending Yes Waterfront setting

Montenotte, Cork €150,000 102 sq m (1,100 sq ft) 4 Pending Yes

affordable period property in a handy location with great aspect and views will want to remind themselves that every building material needed will have to be trucked up the long front garden, as there’s no side or rear access. No 1 Carolina Terrace has, though, a raised rear garden (reached via door on a half landing) with some apple trees, and could make for a rather fine city pad, aloof aloft, with a Montenotte address to boot. Right now it has a hall with terrazzo-style floor, two ground floor living rooms each with fireplaces, plus bathroom and kitchen. Overhead, each of the next two floors has two bedrooms apiece, most with fireplaces, and there’s an attic level with two more rooms up here. VERDICT: A tall house for those with lofty ambitions.

UST over the bridge, and so within a short walk of the town of Kenmare, is 14 Sheen Woods, a townhouse owned by an interior designer, and now guided for sale at €165,000 with agents DNG Timothy Sullivan. Most of the heritage town’s rapid expansion in the noughties seems to have gone on out the Sneem road and the Ring of Kerry, and things seem to

have been more tightly controlled this side of the river. This scheme, with its mix of townhouses, is reckoned to be well above par, and a key feature is the riverside walk from its communal gardens. The selling agent for No 14 says it is centrally located — and given the temptations of Kenmare’s many quality bars and restaurants, there’s a lot to be

said for a short fresh air walk home before hitting the hay. Finish and decor levels in this offering are attractive, says DNG John O’Brien, with an open plan ground floor combining the kitchen (shaker-style wood units) with living and dining rooms interlinked. These spaces have terracotta tiled floors, as well as underfloor heating. Double doors swing out to the private stepped back garden,

and the front living space has a raisedlevel fireplace with electric insert stove. There’s also an entry hall off the stone-faced porch, a guest WC, and overhead are three bedrooms, one of them en suite, plus a main bathroom. VERDICT: The setting, within a small niche scheme with harbour/estuary views and shoreline walk, mark Sheen Woods out as being well worth a look.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

TERAPROOF:User:sueoconnorDate:26/01/2012Time:13:07:58Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:6

Zone:XP1

XP1 - V1

STARTER HOMES

Come inside for a look, this Tower/ Blarney home comes fully fitted

XP1 - V1

Luxury home sports a sedate exterior Unassuming from the outside, but pristine and stylish on the inside. Tommy Barker reports

No 24 Willison Meadows is warm, comfortable and very well finished. Rose Martin reports

TARELTON, CO CORK €50,000 Sq m: 70 (749 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 2 Broadband: Yes

Blarney, Co Cork €199,000 Sq. m 112 (1,200 sq ft) 3 C1 Yes

Do-er upper has lofty ambitions

Affordable period property has guide price of €120,000, Tommy Barker reports

Take a walk along the riverside

VERDICT: No 2 The Maples is located in a good area in Glanmire, is turnkey and has a well laid out, low-maintenance garden. Worth a look for downsizers and single buyers.

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes An aerial view of St Luke’s Cross area in 1975. Carolina Terrace is in the top right hand side.

the back garden, living room and separate kitchen/dining room with integrated appliances, and built-ins in the bedrooms. VERDICT: A simple, straightforward package.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Broadband:

Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Broadband: Best feature:

The setting marks this Kenmare home as one to consider. Tommy Barker reports

FERMOY, CORK €125,000 Sq m: 93 (1,000 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Broadband:

PROPERTY Bishopstown, Cork €220,000 74 (800 sq ft) 3 Pending Yes Pristine

Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Broadband: Best feature:

Kenmare, Kerry €165,000 97 (1,050 sq ft) 3 Pending Yes Waterfront setting

Montenotte, Cork €150,000 102 sq m (1,100 sq ft) 4 Pending Yes

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

TERAPROOF:User:sueoconnorDate:26/01/2012Time:12:32:56Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:8

Zone:XP1

XP1 - V1

PROPERTY FEATURE

Modernised home with historic past in wild West Cork

An unerring eye for restoration has ensured this Famine era home on 30 acres stands out from the crowd, writes Tommy Barker

T’S either a feast, or a famine, when it comes to headland houses in wild West Cork: this home, at Casltemeighan, combines both. A supremely comfortable house, on 30 elevated acres with Atlantic and Fastnet views from its 500’ above sea level setting, it has the highest of comfort levels inside and out — in contrast to its past as a part of a local, abandoned, Famine village. Newly up for sale, this house last changed hands eight years ago when sold on behalf of the family of the late Swedish resturant owner Max Willborg, who lived here for a number of years and had other Goleen/ Crookhaven property interests. A number of the old stone dwellings from the 1800s have been brought back from their days of abandonment, but none has the mix enjoyed by this rare offering. It was bought in the early 2000s by its current owners, who started in on its extension and overhaul about six years ago, and it has been done with an unerring eye and a sense of maximising the glories of the setting. So, there’s a large open living space as part of and linking into the front sun room, glazed on three sides, and supreme in all that it surveys. The master bedroom, directly overhead, has a front gable window with telescope placed for sweeping sea surveys: the owners say you can track all of the boat, yacht, dinghy and fishing craft traffic in and out of safe sailing mecca and boat berth Crookhaven from up here. Also hoving into view is the Fastnet rock and lighthouse, and at night the beam reassuringly sweeps through the bedroom windows here. Yet, there’s hardly a place where this house can be seen from, given that it is tucked back into a step on the rocky and gorse strewn landscape. So,

to get back to the views right below the hill’s dip, there’s a primely sited rounded deck and balcony, done in a composite material for ease of keeping and maintenance. Garden landscape plans are by Brian Cross, physically delivered by Charlie O’Leary of The Pavilion, Ballygarvan, with plants thrive and looking naturally at home here; despite the winter winds and elevation, there’s a surprising amount of lushness and colour to look

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

forward to come summer. Although this house is on 30 acres of land, it is rough grazing and rock — it’s hardly likely you’ll have to maintain it, but sheep could be profitable in sections. That, and beds of mint, to go with lashings of spring lamb, anyone? Mint of a different order — mint condition” — describes the house’s decor and condition, says its selling agent Maeve McCarthy of Charles P McCarthy auctioneers in

Skibbereen. She guides the 2,000 sq ft five bed home on its large amount of land at €695,000 and comments “it’s one of the very best renovation jobs I’ve seen in West Cork, it’s so impressive, and the setting is extraordinary”. The owners drafted in Bantry architects Daly Barry to blend a new extension with the original cottage, and the end result is quietly impressive, there’s no flashiness, and the entire is suitably deferential to the vernacular. So, there’s some exposed stone, smooth render, slate roofs and red ridge tiles, timber windows in traditional style, painted a soft purple or mauve for a slight modern look from the outside. Builders were the highly regarded local Bantry area firm of Chom Construction, and the build/rebuild period was about eight months after planning was secured. The owners are high in their praises of their workmanship — “they’d drive back to Bantry for a nail if they had to rather than take a short cut”. Testament to the build quality is the fact the finished house now weighs in at a B3 BER energy efficiency rating, impressive for a pre-Famine times original build. Heating is oil-fired, with double glazing, and when the Irish Examiner visited last weekend the heating had been off for most of the month, yet it felt dry, and warm. “By the time you have the car emptied and bags in the door the place has warmed up,” say the family owners who arrive en masse, spanning three generations. It’s a surprisingly big and accommodating house, with two ground floor bedrooms nicely spread apart at the back of the house, one facing east, the other a slender one facing west, with immensely thick walls and window sills. Overhead are three more

PROPERTY FEATURE Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Best feature:

Goleen, West Cork €695,000 185 sq m. (2,000 sq ft), 30 acres 5 B3 Stunning quality, location, style, and space

Pictures: Denis Scannell

bedrooms, with master bed en suite making for three bathrooms in all — so no queues for loos and showers when the place is bustling. Internally, the house is split level, or at least stepped, rising up a tread or two as you go back deeper inside, and there’s a snug, perfect winter ‘withdrawing’ room to the rear, with a retained old original stone wall the back with a solid fuel stove set in pride of place in its centre. As well as this, plus the open plan living/sun room space, there are a few niche alcoves with desks and seating spots,

and then off beyond the U-shaped kitchen with painted hardwood units (and walnut worktops) is the dining space, with twin ship-like suspended lights over the large and accommodating tables. The kitchen’s a good design, very practical, with range cooker to the back and sink by the window for view, soaking as you dish-wash. Again, parts of this space have kept some exposed stone internally as reminder of the house’s old roots, while floors here practically are terracotta tile. Elsewhere, in the main living space, the floor is engineered

timber, and carpets upstairs and in the bedrooms are soft underfoot and wool-rich (see? another reason to keep sheep out in the grounds. It’s a coming trend: grow your own wool carpets!) There’s an understated marine feel to some of the decor, and the owners drafted in the services of freelance interior designer Sarah Murphy, linked to Designers Library Douglas for some contacts and advice. Although it has all been done for nigh on six years now, and there’s been huge family hustle and bustle here on holiday

visits, the feeling still is almost of brand-new showhouse quality, a testament to buying top-of the range items and furniture; it really does stand the test of time. Thus, much of the furniture was bought in the likes of the very high-end Bandon shop Belissima and Brown Thomas, as well as Boulevard Interiors, doing well on Cork’s Donnybrook hill, a very friendly service and a good range, say the delighted owners here. The kitchen came from O’Mahony O’Donovan in Carrigaline, and what’s

encouraging in talking to the family, who’ve hugely enjoyed their years in this retreat, is the smoothness of it all, professional and craftspeople all doing a high-level service without need for fuss. Location of this coastal idyll is off the old, high coast road from Goleen to Crookhaven and Barleycove, privately set but not isolated, sharing its hillside with a handful of other renovated houses which formed the original Famine village. It’s about four miles from Goleen and its village services and amenities, and a couple of miles from >>>

“Also hoving into view is the Fastnet rock and lighthouse, and at night the beam reassuringly sweeps through the bedroom windows here”

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

TERAPROOF:User:sueoconnorDate:26/01/2012Time:12:32:56Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:8

Zone:XP1

XP1 - V1

PROPERTY FEATURE

Modernised home with historic past in wild West Cork

An unerring eye for restoration has ensured this Famine era home on 30 acres stands out from the crowd, writes Tommy Barker

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

PROPERTY FEATURE Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Best feature:

Goleen, West Cork €695,000 185 sq m. (2,000 sq ft), 30 acres 5 B3 Stunning quality, location, style, and space

Pictures: Denis Scannell

“Also hoving into view is the Fastnet rock and lighthouse, and at night the beam reassuringly sweeps through the bedroom windows here”

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

TERAPROOF:User:sueoconnorDate:26/01/2012Time:12:31:20Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:10

Zone:XP1

XP1 - V1

PROPERTY FEATURE

GETTHELOOK

Some great ideas for you to use in your home and where to get them 1

1 Strategically set chairs by windows for passive view taking 2 Get the drift. Use appropriate ‘found’ objects like driftwood to set a tone. 3 You don’t need to have a boat to have views from a deck. Here, the material is a composite to cut down on maintenance work. 4 Take panes: an internal window between rooms adds character. 5 Adopt a motif. Here, these wise words cut into a steel wall plaque advise ‘Perhaps I cannot control the wind, but I can adjust my sails’. 6 These hanging dining table lamps manage to look French, antique and maritime all at the same time.

SOURCEBOOK >>> beaches, Crookhaven and its buzzing holiday atmosphere and sailing school. As it comes to market, carrying a €695,000 guide price via agents Charles P McCarthy & Co, the agents have a quiet confidence about its sales prospects. “There’s 30 acres of land, privacy, a feature natural pond for wildlife, no one can ever build in front of you or threaten the view, and the house has been so well done,

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

it’s going to impress anyone who looks at it,” says Maeve McCarthy. The expectation is that viewing will come, in the main, from UK and Continental Europeans, but it’s of such a mix that some Cork buyers might decide to make the jump as well for a fully-finished package. Just turn on the heating, and by the time the car (or SUV) is unpacked you’ll be snugly at home.

Selling agents: Charles P McCarthy & Co, Skibbereen, Co Cork. 028-21533 .................................................................................................. . Architects: Daly Barry & Associates, Glengarriff Road, Bantry, Co Cork. 027-51026 .................................................................................................. . Builders: C.H.O.M. Construction Ltd, Goleen, Co Cork. 028-35326 .................................................................................................. . Landscape design: Brian Cross, 0214821052. www.lakemount.garden.com, .................................................................................................. . Gardens: Charlie O’Leary, The Pavilion, Ballygarvan. 021-4888134, www.thepavilion.ie

Interior Design: Sarah Murphy, Cork. 086-2532163/021-4368999. saramurphylynch@gmail.com

.................................................................................................. . Kitchen: O’Mahony & O’Donovan, Station Road, Carrigaline, Co Cork. 021-4371605. .................................................................................................. . Interiors: Boulevard Interiors, Douglas, Cork 021-4898268, also Belissima. Lexington fabrics, bed linen etc; Brown Thomas.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

TERAPROOF:User:sueoconnorDate:26/01/2012Time:12:31:20Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:10

Zone:XP1

XP1 - V1

PROPERTY FEATURE

GETTHELOOK

Some great ideas for you to use in your home and where to get them 1

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

Interior Design: Sarah Murphy, Cork. 086-2532163/021-4368999. saramurphylynch@gmail.com

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

TERAPROOF:User:sueoconnorDate:26/01/2012Time:10:50:15Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:12

Zone:XP1

XP1 - V1

INTERIORS

We take a detailed look at one aspect of the home every week ...

Freshen up

Carol O’Callaghan looks at easy and economical ways to bring a new look to your hall, bedroom and living room

PRODUCTWATCH This week we love...

■ Ceramics of the non-functional kind become artworks in the hands of Deirdre De Courcey whose work emphasises straight lines and smooth curves influenced by her love of modern architecture. Movement and sound are incorporated into her work, which means it can be rocked, rolled or swayed giving it an added almost interactive dimension beyond a static object to be viewed and admired. Price €160 each from National Sculpture Factory. www.nationalsculturefactory.com

Semi-transparent devore window treatments offer privacy but allow light to penetrate the fabric. The Wonderland by Swiss brand Christian Fischbacher features flowers set against a trellis effect (fabrics from €40 p/m from MJ Galligan).

Cushioning the financial blow It’s hard to beat the old reliable cushion to bring a fresh look to a room, with little expense involved. Chic blue, detailed in grey is bang on trend with the Bo Concept A For Apples cushion (€39).

The petal effect of Littlewoods’ round cushion adds texture and interest and a little wit (€19).

Ruched cushions, so beloved in the 1970s, are making a comeback, like the round button version from Marks & Spencer (approx €20).

Adding the right comfort Soft but practical light, a cosy bed and a toe-snuggling rug not only help to achieve a new look, they bring added comfort too.

Keep the hall looking neat and tidy with some storage and shoe tidy cabinets. Black Stall cabinet €110.80, Tjusig shoe benches €71.15, Branas baskets €15.24 each (from Ikea).

HANGING the look of a room doesn’t require a revamp. Just three products can bring a fresh look to a tired space. Kitchens and bathrooms respond well to wear and tear as their fundamental design focuses on practicality and hard lines, but bedrooms and sitting rooms where the design emphasis is much softer, acquire the unfashionable end of shabbiness rather quickly, while halls, once the beautifully maintained scene for first impressions, have become a dumping ground. A GRAND ENTRANCE Invariably we have to cross the hall to get from one room to the next, but since adopting the custom of removing shoes in an effort to keep floors clean, we’ve invented another domestic chore, that of

tidying up scattered pairs of shoes. A dedicated shoe tidy, if space permits, has become a necessity for family homes, or space for baskets beneath a console to get shoes off the floor and out of sight. Halls, especially tiny ones that are unable to accommodate a table, can benefit from a radiator cover, the top of which will double up as a place for keys and post. Aesthetically more attractive than a bare radiator, it can be painted to match your décor. Consider a hall mirror for more than checking your look before running out the door. In a dark hall it will reflect light, and if you opt for an in-vogue outsize model to lean against a wall, it will also give the illusion of more space.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

BEDDING DOWN Comfort is the priority in any bedroom but it can easily be spoilt by tired linens and stark overhead lighting. As the bed is the dominant piece of furniture, any changes to linens will impact hugely on the overall look. If you currently have a patterned set, buy some plain for when it’s in the wash. Alternating them will refresh the look of the room regularly. Choose a bedside lamp or a new shade if you love your base, but do opt for something pale to maximise the amount of light penetrating through it. Pearlised bulbs cut down on glare, and pink bulbs give a soft light but without a rosy hue. Experiment with a roll of wallpaper behind the bed head. It means you don’t have to repaint or face the chore of papering an entire room, and it will

A new rug can add colour and texture to a neutral interior. Add cushions to pick up on the colour theme for a unified look (Spectrum Abstract rug from M&S, approx €100).

A clean white shade allows plenty of light through it to assist with late night reading (from Dunnes Stores, approx. €20).

bring pattern and colour into an otherwise neutral room if teamed with white linens. A round rug like the Dandelion provides a lovely contrast to the straight lines of windows and furniture (from Next Interiors €154).

SITTING COMFORTABLY A rug, some cushions and a new window treatment will vamp up your sitting room but make sure your choices complement the room’s existing style. Circular rugs are a lovely alternative to rectangles, although generally there are fewer of them around. Pick up on a colour from your décor and match cushions, opting for circular to work with your new rug. Curtains and blinds should last a long time, but hanging a voile brings additional texture and another layer of interest. ■ Next week we start spring cleaning with tips on how to get clutter off the floor.

Try applying wallpaper to a single wall to brighten up a room. (Spirit by Graham & Brown at Woodie’s €30 p/roll).

New cushions can help change the look in a room. (Silver Lining cushions from www.eboutique.ie €15).

Try a busy floral pattern on your bed to make a change from cool minimalist white (Hydrangea duvet set from Debenhams €67.50).

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

TERAPROOF:User:sueoconnorDate:26/01/2012Time:10:50:15Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:12

Zone:XP1

XP1 - V1

INTERIORS

We take a detailed look at one aspect of the home every week ...

Freshen up

Carol O’Callaghan looks at easy and economical ways to bring a new look to your hall, bedroom and living room

PRODUCTWATCH This week we love...

The petal effect of Littlewoods’ round cushion adds texture and interest and a little wit (€19).

Ruched cushions, so beloved in the 1970s, are making a comeback, like the round button version from Marks & Spencer (approx €20).

Adding the right comfort Soft but practical light, a cosy bed and a toe-snuggling rug not only help to achieve a new look, they bring added comfort too.

Keep the hall looking neat and tidy with some storage and shoe tidy cabinets. Black Stall cabinet €110.80, Tjusig shoe benches €71.15, Branas baskets €15.24 each (from Ikea).

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

A new rug can add colour and texture to a neutral interior. Add cushions to pick up on the colour theme for a unified look (Spectrum Abstract rug from M&S, approx €100).

A clean white shade allows plenty of light through it to assist with late night reading (from Dunnes Stores, approx. €20).

Try applying wallpaper to a single wall to brighten up a room. (Spirit by Graham & Brown at Woodie’s €30 p/roll).

New cushions can help change the look in a room. (Silver Lining cushions from www.eboutique.ie €15).

Try a busy floral pattern on your bed to make a change from cool minimalist white (Hydrangea duvet set from Debenhams €67.50).

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

TERAPROOF:User:sueoconnorDate:26/01/2012Time:10:53:27Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:14

Zone:XP1

XP1 - V1

DIY

HOW TO MAKE MOVING HOUSE AN EASIER TASK

DIYTIPS

How to hang your artwork Once you’ve settled in, it’s time to start putting you into your house. Get those vulnerable pictures off the floor when the furniture placements are decided.

WHAT YOU NEED: ■ Picture in frame with hanging cord attached. ■ Picture hooks or stout screws, two per picture unless very small, then one each. ■ Drill with masonry bit ■ Rawlplugs ■ Stud-finder if going into a frame wall ■ Spirit level

Packing up house can be a nightmare. Kya deLongchamps offers suggestions on how to make it as pain-free as possible

ECOND only to death and divorce, moving house is a nightmare for most of us. Time is the enemy, so if you have the idea of jumping ship, three months is not too long a period to start meticulously planning an orderly exit.

LIGHTENING THE LOAD (AND THE BILL): Paying a premium price to have unwanted items stalk you to your new home is madness. Use the first period for a soul freeing purge. Go through the house identifying things to recycle, gift or bin. You can take this process right down to the last day, keeping a charity box at the ready as you unearth detritus behind drawers and doors, but the main ballast should be long gone before the movers arrive. Ask friends and neighbours in to take a look (everyone loves a freebie). Most moving companies offer a partpack or simple un-pack service, so doing some of the work yourself can slash a budget. You can elect to have heavier, awkward or fragile items handled by the pros and have the family handle the rest. The more information your mover has the more accurate their quote will be. An on-site survey, room by room and provided free by most moving firms, will get the number nailed down. Your potential movers, will provide you with a good idea of exactly what you need, together with a range of price options for varying levels of DIY packing and even the packing materials itself.

THE FLIGHT PLAN: With some forward planning your belongings will neatly wing their way to their ideal location in your new home. ■ Create a rough floorplan of your new home assigning names (eg, bedroom one, upstairs corridor) or even colours to each destination area. ■ As you progress, write the destination area on the side of each box (not the top where stacking will obscure it). Large coloured labels are easy to spot in a cliff-face of boxes. ■ Create a careful inventory of the contents of each box and assign the box a number. Write this number and a rough inventory on the box (eg Box 6. Books on gardening). Put the detailed inventory inside before sealing up the box. ■ Keep a list of the boxes by their numbers and rough inventory separately and with your personal bags when you move. ■ Put the boxes together in destination area groups so that they come off the van together and go to their area together. ■ Before the movers arrive at your new home, post up a copy of the house plan in the entrance way for reference, with the names of the destination areas on the floorplan.

YOU WILL NEED: ■ Double skinned cardboard boxes in a range of sizes. A specialist packaging firm can supply these flat-packed. ■ Bubble wrap in a large roll. ■ Packing paper — plain, tissue and newspaper. Newspaper can transfer ink to pale surfaces. Use it for the outer skin of wrapping. ■ String. Great for tying drawers and wardrobe doors shut where packing tape might lift a polished surface. ■ Industrial strength packing tape. Beg or borrow a hand held tape reel with an integral serrated cutter. ■ Retractable razor knife. ■ Blankets for larger furniture. ■ Bin bags — great to coral heaps of clothes before boxing. ■ A large pair or two of scissors. ■ Pens, an A4 notepad, clipboard and paper labels in a variety of colours. ■ Tape measure. ■ Digital camera. Record the sequence of taking anything complex to pieces.

■ A couple of corks, a dab of Blu-Tac and a sharp knife.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

2 3 4 SPECIAL TREATMENT: ■ Plates should be well wrapped and placed in tight groups on edge. Place wrapped glasses and cups upright, and nest bowls together in groups of 2 or 3 wrapped together and packed flat. ■ Pack books on edge in small boxes in logical groups. ■ If you don’t have a fast-freeze programme on your freezer, empty it well ahead. Secure the shelving in your fridge. Tape electrical cords up to the back of the appliance. ■ Secure the drum of your washing machine with the moving bracket. ■ Dismantle any furniture, fittings or

BOXING CLEVER: ■ Pack smaller boxes at waist level to save your back. ■ Check the bases of any recycled boxes for staples that may scratch your new floors when rudely dumped. ■ Place small items together in larger boxes and larger items in smaller boxes. ■ Don’t pack boxes to be heavier than the weakest adult involved can lift. 15Kg is a reasonable maximum. ■ In a mixed box, place heavy items on the bottom and lighter items on the top. Cushion those yawning gaps with balled

up wrapping paper to prevent shifting. ■ Tape up small wrapped items to highlight their existence and to avoid seeing them shaken out with the newspaper or even thrown out by mistake. ■ If your boxes are going into storage, tape all edges to prevent insects crawling inside. Taping edges will reenforce the strength of your boxes when stacked. ■ Fragile boxes should carry the word ‘Fragile’ in large block capitals on every side.

play equipment that will not move out in one piece (your mover may expect this). Keep nuts and bolts in a sealed plastic bag securely taped to the largest element. ■ Leave clothes in drawers, and use boxes and suitcases for the rest. ■ Drain fuel from any garden machinery and put your garden furniture undercover the night before the move to ensure it isn’t dripping wet. ■ Overseas haulers routinely catagorise place houseplants under ‘dead’ in the inventory. Their chances of survival are slim to none. Put your darlings in tall containers to protect foliage with perhaps an extra cane for support.

DON’T PACK: ■ Safe box— these contain your vital documents (including the inventory of boxes) and personal props such as your handbag, passports, laptop computers, insurance documents, address books, jewellery and so on. Lock this box in the boot of your car just before the movers arrive on the big day. ■ Your survival kit of toiletries, including a change of clothes, toys for young children, loo roll, vital telephone numbers, a charged mobile phone and laptop, a snack box, kettle and tea/ coffee things. ■ Fragile, valuable items requiring specialist treatment (valuable paintings etc). Leave these in the hands of the professionals, along with your main furnishings. ■ Anything flammable, combustible, perishable, liquid or otherwise hazardous. ■ Pet wise: Your dog or cat is better left at a boarding kennels or with trusted friends on moving day. The will be distressed by all the activity and may well bolt.

5 6

Select the location for your picture. Ensure it is not likely to be hit by passing traffic on, say, a stair. Watercolours and photographs should be placed out of direct light. If the centre of the picture is higher than 1.5 metres from the floor you won’t be able to see it comfortably. Centre it on an adult eyeline. Determine the hanging point and drill out your two hook positions to prevent the frame swinging. Insert rawlplugs and tap lightly if using a masonry wall, followed by a matching hook or screw. Find a stud for a frame wall using your stud finder. Level (on the floor and wall if they are not true). Cut a couple of thick slices out of your cork and use Blu Tac to attach them to the bottom corners of your frame from behind. This will let the frame sit firmly and completely parallel from the wall all around.

■ Go Further: Group pictures, imagining a frame around them all, with spaces close enough to suggest a relationship, but far apart enough for each work to ‘breathe’. A horizontal line or pictures can lengthen a stuffy wall.

Q&A

Do you have a DIY question you would like answered? Send it to interiors@examiner.ie

Q. I have to hire professional movers. How can I save money without hiring cowboys? A. You’re right to seek a reputable firm. Don’t take chances. Choose a quiet time to move, avoiding weekends, bank holidays, Fridays and school term breaks, this should positively affect the quotes. Insist on a detailed quote following a survey from at least three companies. Choose a firm with EU Certificate of Professional Competence for Road Haulage and membership of the British Association of Removers. Q. Moving our own stuff seems an overwhelming task. How much time should we allow to get it done? Do we need insurance? A. If you are going DIY, or partially managing the move, two weeks is an absolute minimum for paring your living down to the skeletal surroundings. Six weeks is just enough

to arrange a large family house while fitting in the working week, so don’t hang around. If you’re using a man with a van, ensure your household insurance is up to date and inclusive from one property to another. Q. We have not sold our house but are moving out, should we leave the house empty or set up some furnishings to make it looked lived in? A. If you have enough stuff to leave a staging of key pieces, then do so. Yawning empty spaces can frighten off viewers without the imagination to place their own furniture and belongings. Ensure the house is warm, clean and fresh smelling for viewings. If you must keep boxes on-site, designate one room and keep things orderly.

■ Answers by Kya deLongchamps.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

TERAPROOF:User:sueoconnorDate:26/01/2012Time:10:53:27Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:14

Zone:XP1

XP1 - V1

DIY

HOW TO MAKE MOVING HOUSE AN EASIER TASK

DIYTIPS

How to hang your artwork Once you’ve settled in, it’s time to start putting you into your house. Get those vulnerable pictures off the floor when the furniture placements are decided.

Packing up house can be a nightmare. Kya deLongchamps offers suggestions on how to make it as pain-free as possible

■ A couple of corks, a dab of Blu-Tac and a sharp knife.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

5 6

Q&A

Do you have a DIY question you would like answered? Send it to interiors@examiner.ie

■ Answers by Kya deLongchamps.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

TERAPROOF:User:sueoconnorDate:26/01/2012Time:12:14:42Edition:28/01/2012PropertyXP2801Page:16

Zone:XP1

WISH LIST

XP1 - V1

With spring on its way and decorating projects planned, you’re bound to want a few new things to liven up a tired interior. Carol O’Callaghan helps put your wish list together

Belleek has a new range for 2012. This floral twist lamp is available from www.belleek.ie for €39.

Bakers looking for stylish kitchen kit might like to check out the Tala flour sifter with its retro branding (€12.50 at Meadows & Byrne).

A few stylish cooking utensils are always handy and will hang beautifully in your kitchen (Bamboo tools from Meadows & Byrne €13.50).

The two-in-one lamp is a floor option which will free up table top space and double your lamp light in one go (from M&S approx. €150).

Don’t be tempted to buy a dozen kitchen knives, it’s a false economy. Just buy two or three really good ones to suit all purposes and they’ll last a lifetime, like the Sabatier range (€85 from Meadows & Byrne, Debenhams and Delia’s Kitchen Shop).

Nautical themes can be overwhelmed with anchor motifs. Paul Costelloe takes the subtle approach of a line drawing in his new cushion for Dunnes Stores (approx. €20).

Lovers of themed dinner parties might like some chopsticks for scooping up delicious chow mein (set of four Ching sticks €12 at Debenhams).

So, you got the coffee maker for Christmas. Now you need the bean grinder (Classic mill from www.cubascoffee.com €29).

Wide guage stripes and floral petals decorate a new spring cushion from Dunnes Stores (approx. €7).

Introduce some statement lighting in a room to help a new look along (Veron floor lamp €90 from Next Interiors).

Bring some Parisian chic to your home with this Eiffel Cushion from Bonjour Mon Coussin from www.homebarn.ie. Price €12.50, reduced from €25.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 28.01.2012

Belleek’s new range include these Lattice three votives and tray €34 from www.belleek.ie