Property 11-02-2012 by Evening Echo

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11.02.2012

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Mews inspiration A lofty city coachhouse conversion is a rare beast

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Photo by Denis Minihane

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PROPERTY

HOUSE WEEK OF THE

PROPERTY

Attractive finish at Knockrea Drive

Tommy Barker reports

Quiet location sees three-bed semi make best use of space, Tommy Barker reports

HERE’S a good level of finish inside No 6 Knockrea Drive, a three bed-semi with rooms on the side. This new-to-market home, just off Cork’s Ballinlough Road, has the best use of space on the ground floor in particular thanks to side annexe space, and the back garden also has a decent aspect, adding to the liveability of this 1,200 sq ft family home. Estate agent Timothy Sullivan guides the property at €325,000, and says not

ELCOME to Kilva, the family home that exposed ceiling beams, and a feature fairface grey grew and grew. Today, this Midleton, East brick wall contrasting with a rough plastered chimney Cork home is a large, six-bed bungalow breast around an open fire: this room then links to the with some attitude (and interior altitude) smaller, practical 11’ by 6’ kitchen. Flooring is a mix of on a two-thirds of an acre country site — so room tile and timber, with timber-sheeted ceilings in several inside and out for a family to colonise. room. It wasn’t always so large, notes Helen Kearney of One of the six possible bedrooms is upstairs under CCM Property Services in Midleton, who floats Kilva vaulted ceilings in one of the new wings, and is fresh on the 2012 market at €350,000. described by CCM as also perfect for home office use, Its central core was a quite with an overhead Velux modest bungalow, built and a large gable window Location: Midleton, Co Cork around the late 1970s, but it picking up some of the Price: €350,000 was shaken out of its then(distracting!) general rural modest comforts when it was views. Two bedrooms are Size: 250 (2,750 sq ft) extended on both ends around en suite, there’s a main Bedrooms: 6 2006 by its current owners, bathroom with bath, plus a considerably boosting its size guest WC. BER rating: C2 to its current 2,750 sq ft. Location is three or four Broadband: Yes It is all quite adaptable, miles east of Midleton, en with in essence two front route to Cloyne, so this Best asset: Space galore doors, and two back doors, puts it within an easy drive one of which is a half-door. of beaches and local East According to Ms Kearney, this allows the house to be Cork beauty spots, while Cork city’s about a 30 minute split up quite easily for those who want to work from commute. home, or to share it with a another generation or Extra features of Kilda include solar panels for hot family: alternatively, it just means loads of options for water (zoned central heating is oil fired), a large getting in and out. detached garden shed which is insulated and has a Now, not only does it fit in six bedrooms of which power supply for workshop uses, a walled-in patio off two are en suite, plus a main family bathroom, but the sun room, nice rural setting, and gardens of two there’s also some dramatic-shaped new rooms, with thirds of an acre. soaring cathedral-type ceilings in at least one, the 22’ by 11’ livingroom/sunroom with its VERDICT: Selling agents CCM say there’s already chimney breast set in a central, glazed gable position good interest in this new-to market home given the in one of the new wings. handy location, house size and bedrooms tally and its Then, in the spirit of generous spaces, the main adaptability, as well as some of its characterful living room/dining room is a whopping 25’ by 19’, with spaces.

TRADING UP There’s been lots of upgrades at this detached Killarney home

STARTERS A few choice semids, aimed at first time buyers, don’t do things by halves

FEATURE There’s a salt-water hot-tub at a Sheep’s Head house a kilometre from the sea

COVER STORY A coachhouse conversion in a hidden city setting is truly impressive

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IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

tiled floors and some oak flooring as well. Rooms include a front sitting room 15’ by 10’ with a gas fire, a larger lounge, also with a gas fire, recessed lighting, narrow strip oak floor and a bay window with French doors to the gardens, there’s understairs storage in the hall, the recently re-done quality kitchen has integrated appliances with a breakfast room off, with similar glazed tile floor. Upstairs, two of the three bedrooms

Ballinlough, Cork €325,000 112 sq m (1,200 sq ft) 3 Pending Yes Recent upgrade

are doubles, with built-ins, the third is a compact single, and space has also been found under the side roof for a store room 12’ by 9’. No 6 is good to go, has oil heating and double glazing, with slender window bays front and back, plus an attractive hardwood front door sheltering the porch. VERDICT: Quiet location within a short walk of the city centre, and near all services.

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INTERIORS DIY ASK THE DESIGNER HOME ECONOMICS IN THE GARDEN

PROPERTY EDITOR Tommy Barker, 021 4802221 property@examiner.ie INTERIORS EDITORIAL Sue O’Connor, 021 4802386 interiors@examiner.ie INTERIORS ADVERTISING Ger Duggan, 021 4802192 interiorads@examiner.ie PROPERTY ADVERTISING Marguerite Stafford, 021 4802100 marguerite.stafford@examiner.ie

only is the garden aspect good, the setting inside in a cul de sac part of the Knockrea mix of homes by Our Lady of Lourdes school is also a bonus. Given that we’re just coming out of the winter doldrums, the back garden isn’t at its best right now, and a new owner might want to spend a bit more adding a deeper patio or deck to the rear, to more completely link the house to the walled-in gardens. Inside spec and finish is attractive, with a modern gloss kitchen, quality

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

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�� www.rudenhomes.com IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

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PROPERTY

HOUSE WEEK OF THE

PROPERTY

Attractive finish at Knockrea Drive

Tommy Barker reports

Quiet location sees three-bed semi make best use of space, Tommy Barker reports

TRADING UP There’s been lots of upgrades at this detached Killarney home

STARTERS A few choice semids, aimed at first time buyers, don’t do things by halves

FEATURE There’s a salt-water hot-tub at a Sheep’s Head house a kilometre from the sea

COVER STORY A coachhouse conversion in a hidden city setting is truly impressive

12 14 18 19 20

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

Ballinlough, Cork €325,000 112 sq m (1,200 sq ft) 3 Pending Yes Recent upgrade

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INTERIORS DIY ASK THE DESIGNER HOME ECONOMICS IN THE GARDEN

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

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�� www.rudenhomes.com IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

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PROPERTY

TRADING UP

We scan a selection of trading up homes around the country

�� “The Property Auction Experts”

Our next property auction March 27th 2012

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At The Imperial Hotel, Cork

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Registrations now been taken for properties to sell in the auction Closing date for Property Registration February 24th 2012 (Subject to Terms & Conditions)

ROCHESTOWN, CO CORK €300,000 Sq m: 168 (1,800 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes

BERRINGS, CO CORK €350,000 Sq m: 257 (2750 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 5 Broadband: Yes

THIS week, in the bicentenary of Charles Dickens’ birth, it’s appropriate that a house at 7 Norwood Court should come on the market: the famous writer has a rather strong connection with the area around this Rochestown Road property He visited Altavilla (just above the property and on whose grounds it was built), during his visit in 1858 on a book reading tour and while there heard the strange story of a jilted bride and stored the tale away until that Cork bride reemerged later as Miss Havisham of Great Expectations. Altavilla went on to become the Norwood Court Hotel, its grounds were built upon and most recently the building was renamed as Havisham House, in honour of the literally connection. And it could be said that the Rochestown Road encapsulated a real estate version of Great Expectations for a while, but now is chastened, along with the rest of the market. No 7 Norwood Court will need complete refurbishment, according to estate agent Malcolm Tyrrell of Cohalan Downing, but it has a southfacing, quarter acre site in a great location.

THIS is a fine, big house and it’s on the market to sell — so Marie Fleming of Blarney Auctioneers is seeking offers in the region of the asking price. And there is bang for buck here — build and finish a house to the standard of Taobh Coillte today and it would cost more that the asking of this one-off home. In an accessible, rural location, this is a property package that’s big enough for a large family, has room for a pony, a garage for tinkering and a location that’s close to Tower and Blarney as well as being a short commute to Cork city and Ballincollig. And there’s a good national school locally at Berrings village and a school bus passes the door, according to Ms Fleming. The property is less than five years old and has a really good quality interior, with the top of the range kitchen, a 20’ by 20’ deck and a host of extras. The house is fully finished, has a range of bathrooms (two en suite rooms), a range of living space and separate office — what’s not to like? This is a tick-box house and a walk-in job and it has a great site — just in time for spring too.

VERDICT: Hard Times needn’t make for a Bleak House: this property could be worth the time and effort.

VERDICT: With commuting easy, this house is really a dream property for a family who want to keep it country.

KILLARNEY, KERRY €210,000 Sq m: 140 (1,500 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

VERDICT: A nice pleasant home and mix of useful extra detached buildings, on a half acre, at an affordable price.

There’s more than first meets the eye at a scan of this five-bed Cork suburban home called Fatima House — there are two more rooms at attic level, with bathrooms, not counted in its floor area of just over 1,300 sq ft. Located on the main Grange-Frankfield road above Douglas, Fatima House is new to market with agents Sherry FitzGerald who guide the detached, family home on a private site at €375,000. And, somehow or another, it also manages to get all five of it first floor bedrooms with en suite bathrooms — a bit of a hint that it served as a guesthouse in the past. However, it is now being pitched to families most of

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes

THERE’S been lots of things added on inside and outside at this detached Killarney home newly up for sale — and at an all-in asking price of €210,000. The three- bed home, in pristine order, has had two wing extensions added onto its southern side, one of which is a bright tall-ceilinged sun-room. And then, on top of that, there’s also a detached garage, and a separate detached storage building as well, all making for quite a sheltered enclave to the rear. Selling agent is Michael Coghlan of Sherry FitzGerald Coghlan, who stresses its overall condition and attractiveness, all on a half acre site Location is just a few miles from the town centre, at Tiernaboul, up above the Cork Road, so it’s convenience personified, he adds, while the house is in walk-in condition. Rooms include an oak-floored sitting room with solid fuel stove on a simple low granite plinth, a very smart kitchen/dining room with solid wood tops on the units, a pine-ceilinged sun room with French doors to the rear garden near the store/utility building, plus an en suite master bedroom with home office off it to one side.

DOUGLAS, CORK €375,000

CROSSHAVEN, CO CORK €375,000 Sq m:186.9 (2,000 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 4 Broadband: Yes

This is a solid house — built by a person in the construction industry — so an engineer’s report should be a doddle. But then, Dún na Séad will appeal for a host of other reasons —not least its private location on Crosshaven’s Upper Road. A zip to Cork city, close to Carrigaline, but with the sea on its doorstep, this detached property has views galore. It overlooks the RCYC and Currabinny Woods and is set in a very private and quiet, cul de sac. And at the guide of €375,000 it’s at half of what it would have been five years ago and doesn’t require any extra investment, says selling agent, Malcolm Tyrrell of Cohalan Downing. It has been consistently maintained and upgraded over its long period of single ownership, he adds. Dún na Séad offers generous space which comprises a really good lounge of 23’ by 17’, a smaller family room, a study, kitchen/ breakfast room, (with full height glazing and vaulted ceiling) and separate larder and utility rooms on the ground floor. The first floor has three double rooms with fitted wardrobes and the master bedroom is en suite. The main bathroom has a separate corner shower, VERDICT: This house is well designed, attractive, with lots of extras.

Sq m: 122 (1,320 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 5 Broadband: Yes

all, and anyone with teenagers will appreciate the sheer number of bathrooms on offer — until it comes down to deciding who has to clean them. The two-storey (plus attic conversion) painted dash house is in good overall condition, with gas heating, and a gas-fired Rayburn in the 21’ by 17’ kitchen/dining room with Ash units, backed up by integrated electric ovens. Other rooms include a lounge, office and dining room/family room. VERDICT: An affordable, multi-bedroomed home for growing/grown families, with lots of bathrooms.

For Further Information and Viewings Contact: The Auction Team Denis A Barrett Auctioneers, 81 South Mall, Cork Tel: 021 4278455 Email: auction@denisbarrett.com

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www.denisbarrett.com

Internet & Proxy Bidding Available on auction day.

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Properties on the move Castleterry, Mitchelstown, Co. Cork • 5 Bedroom Dormer Style detached dwelling • Bright and well laid out living space Approx. 2250 sq.ft. • Fitted out with excellent taste. • Easy commuting distance to Cork City.

The Green, Glanworth, Fermoy, Co. Cork • 3 Bedroom semi detached Property • Large Basement area approx. 450 sq ft. with external access at Rear. • Walking distance to all amenities.

Price Guide €95,000

Price Guide €225,000

Property Team - Lewis Connolly Mitchelstown Mobile 086 8069755

7 Arbour Mews Glanworth Co. Cork • Luxurious 4 Bedroom home. • Sitting in a quiet cul-de-sac. • Walking distance to all amenities. • Less than 10 minutes drive from Fermoy. • A real Gem of a property.

Price Guide €169,000

Property Team - Lewis Connolly

Mitchelstown Mobile 086 8069755

Property Team - Lewis Connolly Mitchelstown Mobile 086 8069755

TO ADVERTISE YOUR RESALE PROPERTIES 021 4802 100 IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

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PROPERTY

TRADING UP

We scan a selection of trading up homes around the country

�� “The Property Auction Experts”

Our next property auction March 27th 2012

� ��

At The Imperial Hotel, Cork

��

Registrations now been taken for properties to sell in the auction Closing date for Property Registration February 24th 2012 (Subject to Terms & Conditions)

ROCHESTOWN, CO CORK €300,000 Sq m: 168 (1,800 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes

BERRINGS, CO CORK €350,000 Sq m: 257 (2750 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 5 Broadband: Yes

VERDICT: Hard Times needn’t make for a Bleak House: this property could be worth the time and effort.

VERDICT: With commuting easy, this house is really a dream property for a family who want to keep it country.

KILLARNEY, KERRY €210,000 Sq m: 140 (1,500 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

VERDICT: A nice pleasant home and mix of useful extra detached buildings, on a half acre, at an affordable price.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes

DOUGLAS, CORK €375,000

CROSSHAVEN, CO CORK €375,000 Sq m:186.9 (2,000 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 4 Broadband: Yes

Sq m: 122 (1,320 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 5 Broadband: Yes

For Further Information and Viewings Contact: The Auction Team Denis A Barrett Auctioneers, 81 South Mall, Cork Tel: 021 4278455 Email: auction@denisbarrett.com

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www.denisbarrett.com

Internet & Proxy Bidding Available on auction day.

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The Green, Glanworth, Fermoy, Co. Cork • 3 Bedroom semi detached Property • Large Basement area approx. 450 sq ft. with external access at Rear. • Walking distance to all amenities.

Price Guide €95,000

Price Guide €225,000

Property Team - Lewis Connolly Mitchelstown Mobile 086 8069755

Price Guide €169,000

Property Team - Lewis Connolly

Mitchelstown Mobile 086 8069755

Property Team - Lewis Connolly Mitchelstown Mobile 086 8069755

TO ADVERTISE YOUR RESALE PROPERTIES 021 4802 100 IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

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STARTER HOMES

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PROPERTY FEATURE

Double choice for three-bed semis

There’s only a €5,000 difference between these Douglas area, Cork, properties, Tommy Barker reports

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

Douglas, Cork €220/€225,00 98 sq m (1,050 sq ft) 3 Pending Yes

Sheep’s Head beauty The spectacular views are just one of great things about this Sheep’s Head home, writes Rose Martin

OVENS, CORK €199,000 Sq m: 88 (950 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes

The major employment hub of EMC has ensured strong transactional activity in property in the surrounding area — despite the downturn. A noughties scheme on the outskirts of Ballincollig, Cork, entry level homes here are at attractive prices and with mortgage payments level with rental costs at present, No 4 Grange Manor could be worth the plunge for those seeking permanency in their home life. On the market with Norma Healy of Sherry FitzGerald, the property is a three-storey, three bed in superb condition and comes with some lovely, decorative touches. A warm, family home, it comes with a good garden with two patios and shed, a decent living room and separate vanilla kitchen, master with en suite and sliding, mirrored robes and two other bedrooms. VERDICT: Definitely one to view for those looking for a cosy house that’s a turnkey buy.

Very similar style and era three-bed semis are on offer in Cork’s greater Douglas area via agent Jeremy Murphy, with just €5,000 difference in their asking prices. Smartly presented for its sale is 35 Ardfield Meadows in Grange, built by Flemings and so likely to have a good BER level, and it’s a walk-in job inside, with a good back garden with lots of paving, and the bonus of a southerly rear aspect. Inside, there’s a front reception room, and then the entire full width of the back of the house is an open plan kitchen/living/dining room. There’s also a utility room, guest WC, and overhead one of its three bedrooms is en suite, and there’s a main bathroom too, with bath and shower combined. In addition, there’s a pull-down stairs for attic access. Meanwhile, in the same vicinity, Mr Murphy is selling 38 West Avenue, ParkGate, in this O’Flynn Construction-built scheme. Similarly sized, at about 1,025 sq ft, this is a three-bed semi, with a southfacing back garden, but has its rear section dividing into recently upgraded kitchen/dining room, and rear reception. Front and rear gardens are walled in, and is in good order inside and out.

Above: Three photos from 35 Ardfield Meadows in Grange. Below: 38 West Avenue, Park Gate in Frankfield.

VERDICT: Similar spec, and different developments, both near a range of good services and facilities.

Maryborough home ticks all the right boxes

Location, asking price are winners, Tommy Barker reports

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

Douglas, Cork €185,000 Sq m 88 (950 sq ft) 3 Pending Yes

HERE are two sides to the Sheep’s Head peninsula — and it’s not just geography. The southern side with its connection to Durrus and Goleen has heavy throughput from the summer set, walkers and tourists, while the northern side of the peninsula has a quieter, more remote feel. Not quite night and day, but very different in terms of density and outlook, and if you’re looking for a place in which to disappear — then this is it. Wild expanses, embracing sea views and narrow circuitous routes over the mountains make for a place out of time. Tom McCarthy of Mac Estate Agents in Bantry is currently selling a high-end hideaway for less than 50% of its original asking price. The Fahane, Gearies property is set on a private, elevated site with superb views. “I was taken myself when it comes to the views — that’s what the height of this property gives — a really panoramic show,” says Mr McCarthy. And that’s high praise from someone who lives in an area where such vistas are commonplace. Originally an old stone farmhouse, the Fahane house is a luxury, three-bed house with separate two bed guest cottage on a private acre site, which is accessed off the main road and set behind electric gates. As the crow flies it’s only a kilometre from the sea, but the views are astonishing — all the way up and down Bantry Bay and across to the Beara Peninsula. And to make the most of this vista, the house has been cleverly redesigned, or more correctly, rebuilt with a large, top floor living space that incorporates two glass gables. The first faces north over the sea and the second faces due west over

Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Best asset:

the peninsula and is perfectly placed to catch the evening sun setting behind the hills of Beara. The main house and guest cottage form a sheltered courtyard in the lee of a hill, and between the two is a large, decked area with salt-water hot-tub. This has a wooden, pagoda covering — all quite tasteful and designed to reduce the impact that these large, fibreglass tubs usually make.

Inside, the main house the living area runs the length and breadth of the upper floor, with discrete dining, kitchen and living space and the bedrooms are placed on the ground

Sheep’s Head, Co Cork €350,000 164 sq m (1754 sq ft) 5 Pending Privacy

floor, each one en suite. The living room is not over styled — it relies on exposed blond wood beams, polished floors with scatter rugs and sensible (for a holiday home) wood and leather furniture. The master bedroom downstairs opens directly onto the large, south-west facing deck and across the courtyard is the guest cottage with kitchen/dining and living room with two bedrooms and bathroom. The Fahane property is well maintained and secure and according to Mr McCarthy, has “a top notch modern finish”. It’s on offer at €350,000 and the agent is inviting more offers in that region. Verdict: The house is ideal holiday home material and the right buyer could strike a deal. It may even suit as an extended family buy — as a time share arrangement.

BALLYPHEHANE, CORK €120,000 Sq m: 74 (800 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes

NO 22 Sarahville Place is just off the Pouladuff Road and the mid-terrace three-bed is a great starter, or even, investment home. Close to the major institutions on the western side of town, and the south ring, the property is on the market with TJ Cronin of Irish and European. It will need complete renovation, he says. VERDICT: A doer upper, but it could have a dream home finish.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

There’s some early inquiries in already on 82 Maryborough Court, a brick-fronted, and easy to keep, semi-d up Maryborough Hill in Cork’s greater Douglas area. The newly up for sale house is sub-1,000 sq ft in size, and is a neat enough box-ticker for buyers, given its location and reachable asking price of €185,000 via Andrew Guerin of Frank V Murphy & Co auctioneers. No 82 has an east-west aspect, gardens front and back with off-street parking, and the front sitting

room is a decent 14’ by 12’ in size. Behind is a kitchen/breakfast room, with appliances and garden access, and overhead are three bedrooms, two of them doubles, plus main bathroom — the only WC in the house.. Heating is via gas, and windows are double glazed in teak frames, so overall the package is neat and wellformed, easy to manage for a single buyer or a couple, with mature garden boundaries adding to the privacy of the package. VERDICT: Good location.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

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STARTER HOMES

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PROPERTY FEATURE

Double choice for three-bed semis

There’s only a €5,000 difference between these Douglas area, Cork, properties, Tommy Barker reports

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

Douglas, Cork €220/€225,00 98 sq m (1,050 sq ft) 3 Pending Yes

Sheep’s Head beauty The spectacular views are just one of great things about this Sheep’s Head home, writes Rose Martin

OVENS, CORK €199,000 Sq m: 88 (950 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes

Above: Three photos from 35 Ardfield Meadows in Grange. Below: 38 West Avenue, Park Gate in Frankfield.

VERDICT: Similar spec, and different developments, both near a range of good services and facilities.

Maryborough home ticks all the right boxes

Location, asking price are winners, Tommy Barker reports

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

Douglas, Cork €185,000 Sq m 88 (950 sq ft) 3 Pending Yes

Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Best asset:

Inside, the main house the living area runs the length and breadth of the upper floor, with discrete dining, kitchen and living space and the bedrooms are placed on the ground

Sheep’s Head, Co Cork €350,000 164 sq m (1754 sq ft) 5 Pending Privacy

BALLYPHEHANE, CORK €120,000 Sq m: 74 (800 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

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COVER STORY

City coachhouse conversion is a real winner

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

St Luke’s, Cork €280,000 93 sq m (1,000 sq ft ) 2 Pending Yes

No 7 Belgrave Avenue in the heart of Cork’s St Luke’s is a model conversion sure to attract big interest, Tommy Barker reports

Pictures: Denis Minihane

T’S like visiting an old friend, sometimes and playing catch-up - when you revisit a house that impressed on first viewing. And, it’s great too to see how some things, like some people, don’t seem to age at all. That’s the case with 7 Belgrave Avenue, a mews or a coachhouse conversion in the old, strong-beating heart of Cork’s City’s St Luke’s. As it comes up for sale in 2012, its designer, architect Greg Tisdell of Duff Tisdell; recalls of his early 1990s design “it caused quite a stir in Cork at the time, the fact that people were going to live in what had been a shed or a garage”. Since then a few more of the old sandstone-faced sheds out the back of the grand houses which face onto Wellington Road/St Luke’s have also been done up and converted to residential use. However, it’s likely only one or two has since matched (and surpassed) the quality of what was done here, almost 20 years ago, before the Celtic Tiger roared, soared and got floored. It’s depressingly salutary to realise how very few Cork mews conversions followed in the successful train of 7 Belgrave Avenue — put it down to local conservatism and caution, most probably. Boring, too, to think how many houses have been built and sold in the intervening two decades, and how very few of them raised their design heads above the parapet in any fashion or form. So, thank goodness for the arrival every now and then of stuff of quality which react to their site, and make themselves right at home for future generations. For house-hunters looking for something even marginally different, come up to St Luke’s Cross and a ‘shed’ conversion for a simple look-see. No 7 Belgrave Avenue is new to market with estate agent

Hugh McPhillips of Marshs who gives the distinctive, airy and health-inducing home a €280,000 guide price, and who has had the first trickle of impressed viewers through its doors already. With a pleasant, Bohemian charm, the private Belgrave Avenue is home to the backs of some big period houses and some smaller terraces of wellkept homes, a sort of random collection that keeps its counsel to itself thanks to its cul de sac

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

status: until you go looking for it, you won’t realise it is there. The couple who came across it back in the early 1990s were a UCC academic and his partner who had interior design credentials, and they saw past the old sandstone shed walls to what could be made of its terraced setting, elevated, with back south-facing and rich in river and city views. So, this house — which was an early architectural commission for Greg Tisdell

—worked to the site’s constraints, and its open back views. Thus, its front facade gives nothing away, bar the hint of a quality build beyond (builder was Donal Vaughan, who started it just prior to Christmas 1994), which is suggested by the smooth painted render and painted Rationel windows, with a porthole window in the door. All of the facade glazing is finished in an opal or translucent film, to let light through, yet to ensure perfect privacy from within, where there’s nary a need for a net, a blind or a curtain. The openings/window placements in the facade correspond to the opes left from the building’s previous use as a lock-up, with panes in a sort of inverted ‘U’ shape as the main window, with the outline picked up by two narrower first floor windows overhead. Meanwhile, the entrance door with its porthole window has tall side and overhead panes for soft, northerly light. The supporting heads above all this house’s windows and doors are in galvanised box steel sections, working like RSJs, giving it all a sort of heads-up still-contemporary/ pseudo industrial/post-shed look. Flick around to the back of the house and there’s a lot more to look at, and into. The architects added the twostorey, heavily glazed stairwell to the back wall of the former sandstone coachhouse, with its panes of clear glass set into steel-frame supports on the south and east walls, while the gable/interior wall by the stairs is perfect for display of over-size paintings and wallhangings. This stairwell floods the interior with light, drawing it back into the main open-plan living area, and giving a crow’s nest seating perch upstairs on

the landing for sitting, reading, view-taking and watching ships come and go to the city centre and Port of Cork HQ. The views from up here are over the rooftops of the long terraces of Wellington Road houses, giving suitably aloof glimpses of other people’s lives and yards/gardens, and with views then to the crooked spire of Trinity Presbyterian Church on Summerhill North, and beyond to the river Lee, the Clarion hotel, Cork City Hall and the Elysian’s apartments. Inside No 7’s all is quiet and calm, with a minimum of fuss, with an emphasis on materials

that will stand (and have clearly so far stood) the test of time. The main living space is open plan, with light coming in from the north and especially the south’s atrium, and it has a kitchen off over the blocky island with separate pantry/ utility off, perfect for storage and the noisier utilities. The cooker is a black Stanley range, with black granite worktops either side, and the kitchen wall is in sandblasted glass, with a couple of simple oak shelves, one either side of the centre range’s flue. There’s a ceramic, Belfast-style sink to

the right, by the south-facing back wall window, while for quick cooking there’s an electric hob on the beechtopped square island. Past the island and back into the main living area there’s a cast iron stove set on slate by a narrow chimney breast, with space for shelving for books, CDs and DVDs to the sides. From memory, previous or the very first owners had these walls fully shelved with expensive Vitsoe shelves and ware from Mimo: this house’s first owners later swapped their city sojourn for a rural idyll in West Waterford, and the

next owner was a property investor who bought and sold a number of top Cork homes a decade or so ago. It’s current owner has had No 7 a number of years, and it has been used by various family members, as well as the occasional rental, and it’s a testament to the design that it shines up once more for every new occupant. There’s enough white wall space for individuals to display art, sculpture and favoured possessions, and the kitchen’s accommodating enough for serious cooks, while still looking kinda cool even when it’s not being used for feeding

the masses at a party gathering. Flooring in the main 20’ by 15’ room is a beige marmoleum (or quality lino), and 20 years on, shows just why lino was ever popular: it can go on forever looking good, with just the occasion rubbing up with Mansion wax. The stairwell is a separate, lofty space directly off to the south, with an inverted or almost butterfly mono-pitch roof sloping back to the main roof, and steps are open tread, in oak, with a steel balluster and oak handrail, all the essence of simplicity. >>>

For house-hunters looking for something even marginally different, come up to St Luke’s Cross for a simple look-see

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COVER STORY

City coachhouse conversion is a real winner

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

St Luke’s, Cork €280,000 93 sq m (1,000 sq ft ) 2 Pending Yes

No 7 Belgrave Avenue in the heart of Cork’s St Luke’s is a model conversion sure to attract big interest, Tommy Barker reports

Pictures: Denis Minihane

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

For house-hunters looking for something even marginally different, come up to St Luke’s Cross for a simple look-see

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COVER STORY

GETTHELOOK

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

1 Mix old and new, here galvanised box steel sections mingles with brick and old sandstone around a painted timber window

2 Step out in style: Architects Duff Tisdell added a lofty stairwell to the back of the old coachhouse

3 Oil’s well: A large oil painting works well in the stairwell’s all white surrounds

4 Don’t ignore the view: This double-height space was set just to frame the views from both levels, and soaks up the sun

5 Bed and book covers together: There’s shelf storage for books and art above the bed-head

6 Open tread stairs help lighten the look, and the slightly curved balcony’s great for sitting and view sipping

SOURCEBOOK >>> Back in the main upstairs, beyond the floating (oh, alright, steel-supported) curved seating balcony), are the two bedrooms, each en suite. The main 13’ by 11’ bedroom has an internal window to the south, has a dressing room and bathroom on its opposite flank, with slender northfacing opalescent windows — so all views out are of passing shadows, like something from Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. The second, or guest en suite bedroom, has a small upright window with clear glass on its south side, set into the retained sandstone back wall, and flooring upstairs is simple limed white deal. Back downstairs, there’s just enough space tucked away under the steps for a small seating/dining spot, also with Marmoleum floor, and then outdoors, past

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

the elevated stair annex is a pleasant, private back garden, stepped down, and easy to maintain, with brick-ringed planting beds, mature screen of greenery including some bamboo, and with a central gravel bed. There’s so much shelter here, and with all the hard surfaces, one can imagine it being a real heat-trap and heatsoak on a sunny day. Roll on the summer: No 7 impresses even on a winter’s day, and it’s good enough to imagine it selling swiftly enough given the sheer shortage of mews conversions of this quality in the southern city.

Selling agent: Hugh McPhilips, Marshs Auctioneers, South Mall, Cork. www.marshauctioneers.com ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... . Selected antique furniture: Marshs Auctioneers (as above) ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... . Architects: Greg Tisdell, of Duff Tisdell/Studio D, 537 North Circular Road, Dublin. 01-8942522. www.studiod.ie ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... . Builder: Donal Vaughan, Strand Road, Carrigaline, Co Cork. 087 2515371. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... . Range/Stove: Stanley, www.waterfordstanley.com ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... . Kitchen: Hans Leptien www.handsonfurniture.ie 027-74462 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... . Windows, Doors: www.Rationel.ie

VERDICT: Testament to the benefits of good design: what could have been a humdrum conversion has been elevated to a higher plane.

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COVER STORY

GETTHELOOK

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

1 Mix old and new, here galvanised box steel sections mingles with brick and old sandstone around a painted timber window

2 Step out in style: Architects Duff Tisdell added a lofty stairwell to the back of the old coachhouse

3 Oil’s well: A large oil painting works well in the stairwell’s all white surrounds

4 Don’t ignore the view: This double-height space was set just to frame the views from both levels, and soaks up the sun

5 Bed and book covers together: There’s shelf storage for books and art above the bed-head

6 Open tread stairs help lighten the look, and the slightly curved balcony’s great for sitting and view sipping

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

VERDICT: Testament to the benefits of good design: what could have been a humdrum conversion has been elevated to a higher plane.

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INTERIORS

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

Floral team Subtle flowers and sophisticated pinks are among the emerging trends of the moment, writes Carol O’Callaghan

SOMETHINGEXTRA This week we love...

■ ...Aiveen Daly’s Love Love seat which blends the exquisite skill of this Cork-born upholsterer with luxurious fabrics and her eye for a good shape on which to apply them. Love Love is finished on lime green mohair velvet set on legs with a 1950s look, with cosy room for two. Price on application from www.aiveendaly.com

Upcycling becomes chic when luxury fabrics are blended with old, tired furniture pieces to give them a new identity. The singleend chaise is a hand-stitched patchwork of woven silks and satins (€4,351; www.squintlimited.com).

Accessories update For a little flavour of some of the trends for 2012, focus on accessories. Position the industrial style Iconic bell lamp on the floor and point upwards for a new lighting angle (approx €125 at M&S).

A subtle touch of the nautical look is on offer from Paul Costelloe with his pale blue sailing ship set against a neutral background on the Bentley cushion (€25).

For lovers of blowsy florals, try some traditional motifs with the Churchill mug range from Cath Kidston (€6.95 each).

Looking to the past The trend for retro is ever-present and is has been joined by the sturdiness of log cabin style, with the cosiness of knitting.

American lodge and log cabin style doesn’t mean a rough-and-ready look, but one that translates to clean, simple and almost minimalist lines, set against warm, rustic woods (Michigan table from €1,490, bench from €760 from SOUL).

NTERIORS trends come and go as fast as catwalk fashions, and if we had the time, money and inclination we could spend our lives painting and pasting to keep up. While most of us hanker after a lovely stylish home, being seduced by a good looking trend can be very appealing for now but it can age rather quickly. So don’t forget our reliable friend — the neutral background — into which you can slot elements of trends and styles as they come into fashion, replacing them later when the mood takes us without placing too much stress on the wallet. This season we’re seeing in-vogue florals developing a hybrid look as an alternative to picking blowsy chrysanthemum motifs. Notional florals, often in the form of a simple line drawing, form the new look so you have

the floral theme but in a reduced, almost minimal way that won’t give your home an overtly flowery finish. For something completely new, check out the industrial look which has none of the rough and ready aesthetic the name might suggest. It focuses on metal topped tables, lighting pendants with designs emphasising clean functional lines which are incredibly stylish. Draughtsman stools are the new design inspiration for breakfast bar stools, and it’s even possible to acquire originals from vintage and salvage stores which work well in a modern home. Upcycling continues to appeal to the parsimonious amongst us and those with a good eye to spot a tired piece of furniture to turn into a fun and rewarding project. But for those of us lacking the skill or motivation, leave it

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to the professionals to see the potential of an unloved piece of furniture. Watch out for antique frameworks vamped up with bright, eclectic and conversationstimulating fabrics. It can’t have escaped anyone’s attention that colour is back with a splash and the stronger the better. Luckily its strength is not of the headache-inducing variety but has depth that is very easy to live with. One of the surprises of this year’s palette is pink. Normally the preserve of Barbieloving little girls, it has acquired a surprising sophistication, especially when teamed with white or grey. Rusticity has been in fashion for several years, mainly manifesting in shabby chic we associate with the French country look. The new version might best be described as sturdy

functionality meets Amish simplicity characterised by sturdy A-frame legs and slatted chair seats and benches. The nautical look is a distinctive style that has been sailing in and out of the fashion doldrums for years but it doesn’t mean decking out your house with anchors and seashells. Instead, try a flavour of the look by confining its application to the colours of the look which is a far more subtle approach using navy and sea blues, flat red and gleaming white. You’ll get a result that is less Captain Birdseye and more reflective of the Cape Cod clapboard house look we get from the likes of Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. ■ Next week: Choosing a theme for a room can be a tricky business. We conjure up tips on what works and what to avoid.

Opt for strong colour for an up-to-the minute look and confine it to one wall if you are not feeling too brave. Team bold graphics, artworks and sturdy bookcases with new pinks, so the look is not overtly feminine (10YR 21/436 pink from Dulux; €53.99 for 10 ltrs). Left: Industrial and retro trends come together with the Essay metal table, by Fritz Hansen (€4,470), and the Series 7 chairs designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1955 (€375 each), from Lost Weekend. Right: The Nouveau range of fabrics by Clarke and Clarke feature simple, floralstyle motifs set against white or black backgrounds, giving the floral look a clean and sophisticated finish (blind and cushion fabrics, €23 per yard, from Aoki Interiors).

Ring the changes and get yourself a fashionably colourful retro phone (€42 from www.wildandwolf.com).

Knitting and crochet are back in fashion and can be crafted into practical household containers like the bamboo basket (€15 from www.wheretheresawood.etsy.com).

Leather upholstery finished with brass tacks and an all-round chunky sturdiness offers a touch of lodge and log cabin style (Brooklyn chair from Casey’s Furniture €899).

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INTERIORS

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

Floral team Subtle flowers and sophisticated pinks are among the emerging trends of the moment, writes Carol O’Callaghan

SOMETHINGEXTRA This week we love...

A subtle touch of the nautical look is on offer from Paul Costelloe with his pale blue sailing ship set against a neutral background on the Bentley cushion (€25).

For lovers of blowsy florals, try some traditional motifs with the Churchill mug range from Cath Kidston (€6.95 each).

Looking to the past The trend for retro is ever-present and is has been joined by the sturdiness of log cabin style, with the cosiness of knitting.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

Ring the changes and get yourself a fashionably colourful retro phone (€42 from www.wildandwolf.com).

Knitting and crochet are back in fashion and can be crafted into practical household containers like the bamboo basket (€15 from www.wheretheresawood.etsy.com).

Leather upholstery finished with brass tacks and an all-round chunky sturdiness offers a touch of lodge and log cabin style (Brooklyn chair from Casey’s Furniture €899).

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DIY

COLOUR CHOICE CAN AFFECT YOUR MOODS

DIYTIPS

Colour Block Canvas You can make your own trendy colour block artwork. Drying takes up most of the time, so be patient between coats. Experiment with colour combinations and shape configurations on a piece of card stock before tackling your canvas. WHAT YOU NEED: ■ A stretched canvas available through any art supplier or online. ■ A group of acrylic paints corresponding to colours in the room or providing a ‘pop’ of contrast

Red for passion in the bedroom, blue for its calming influences. Kya deLongchamps looks at the power of hues

F YOUR home is suitably fashionable but makes you uneasy, it is worth remembering that our response to the colours around us is psychophysical. In specialist terminology, that’s the ‘the electromagnetic radiation of light on human mood and behaviour’. According to colour psychologist group, Colour Affects (UK), who teach in the corporate and interior design field, colour really does touch on unconscious, primitive instincts, prompting us to enthusiasm or withdrawal. It’s a complex issue but works in the same way a rainy sky or a bright one would make us curl up in a duvet or tempt us outdoors. The Colour Affects team go so far as to divide the colour spectrum into ‘personality type colours’ and work with interior designers to answer the needs of these colour types in promoting harmony and peace in the home. What’s most interesting is that it’s not just the colour, but the combination of colours that matters, so in short, there are no ‘wrong’ colours to use. You can find out more about the whole fascinating business and even train to be accredited colourists with Colour Affects at www.colour-affects.co.uk.

COLOUR FEEL: How you will respond to the colours on those larger canvases of your home — the floors, walls and larger pieces of furniture — will depend on both an instinctive response and to some degree your past and personal preferences. If your grandmother’s kitchen where you spend your happiest childhood moments was a honey yellow, it’s quite likely you’ll have this positive association with warm yellows tucked away in your unconscious. As we’ve learned, there are no ‘wrong’ colours and you can shift alter the impact of even strong, racy colours through careful additions of other shades. Mixing the colour in a shade (with black), tone (with grey) or tinting with white, can alter its intensity while keeping say its character as say a green or a blue. The light falling on the colour will radically influence how it looks in a large area of wall or floor, so keep the aspect of the room in mind to forecast the success of your scheme. PRIMARY SENSES IN THE SPECTRUM RED: A colour of excitement, optimism, action and downright passion, we are hard wired to respond strongly to the sight of an intense red. Your pulse may even rise in an all-red room not tamed

with other colours. If you want to up the passion in your bedroom, red is a colour to stimulate your spirit, and it will also prompt you to feast in the dining room. Keep it out of children’s rooms.

■ Ruler ■ Pencil ■ Paintbrushes in varying sizes

Green sets a tranquil but invigorating mood in this kitchen. Wall colour: Lime Crush. Johnstone’s Matt & Softsheen. Trim colour: Brilliant White non-drip gloss. Woodie’s DIY. 2.5 litre €22.99.

■ White spirit to clean your brushes ■ Varnish to seal ■ Masking tape ■ Newspaper to shield the working surface

Scheme ideas: Rein in the boldness of red with harmonising colours or orange and yellow, nestling close to it on the colour wheel. Darker reds are less energising than those bright synthetic reds which will repel rather than invite you into the space. Try chocolate tones with red for deep sensuality. Orange has the emotional pep and warmth of red with the additional joy of yellow. Red is fabulous for that one feature wall and rusty red and forest greens won’t fight, but play off each other and can be used to zone a multi-purpose room. Soft coral red is huge for 2012. ● Reeling in Red for 2012: Dulux 10 YR 21/436 , Fleetwood Vogue ‘Moulin Rouge’ and Colourtrend ‘Kimono’.

A hint of curry, mustard and gold, throws off the standard ideas for this happy member of the colour family. A simple cable reel plays coffee table. Around €23 per 2.5L.

BLUE: Clean and crisp as a cloudless sky, pale icing sugar blues can be deeply calming, promoting deep thought and are a favourite colour for bedrooms. They are less successful for eating areas, as there are few blue foods, and our appetites respond accordingly. Deep blues touching on navy are challenging and better contained on feature walls or combined in patterns of other colours where they are less of a visual bully. Scheme ideas: Nostalgic chalky blues are gorgeous and relaxing in the bedroom where they marry well with white highlights of fresh white linen, sheer window treatments and white woodwork. The harmonising colours for blue will be a blue green or blue purple, the colours set close to it on the colour wheel. Look for a warm undertone or blue schemes can be perceived as chilly. Purples and lavenders, are restorative, comforting shades said to foster intuition. Pale blue with a dash of tangerine is retro’ heaven handled carefully. Grey, white and duck egg blue will throw open a pokey space. ● Blissful Blues for 2012: Fleetwood Vogue Tiffany Blue and B&Q NaturePaint Aquablue. YELLOW: Warm, joyful, welcoming, and a colour of action, yellow sings out in hallways, kitchens and living spaces, and with the right undertone can light up north-facing rooms. Being such a lively character, yellow is said to be a positive addition if you suffer from depression or lack of motivation, but for

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

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Ann Besomes gorgeous inspirational colour blocking with spring flowers. Available as print from allposters.co.uk. It is priced at £8 (€9.65) plus P&P.

Using a pencil and ruler, divide the canvas into large crisp geometrical areas. Squares and rectangles are easiest. Balance the intensity of different colours — e.g. a small square of orange with a larger area of mid blue. Using masking tape, cover the dividing lines, ensuring it’s well attached to stop bleeding. Paint up the canvas using your acrylic paints. Multiple coats will add depth and texture. Take up the tape when dry, and paint the lines left in black, gold or a searing contrast to the surrounding colour. Paint the edges of the canvas with either a continuation of the colours (let the lines run over the edge) or pure black. Seal with proprietary paint varnish when dry.

■ Cheat: Use a piece of leftover wallpaper, paste and plywood to fashion a quick picture.

Q&A

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

Q. How do I choose the right colour for a feature wall in my living room. It’s a neutral scheme and very dull. Have some confidence. Think of the wall as an accessory colour, lifting colour ideas from soft furnishings, cushions, and so on, that you have already chosen. It’s only paint, so if you hate it, just start again. You can go a few shades deeper than the existing wall colour without plunging into dramatic choices. Blue and white sing in soft harmony in this restful bedroom. Note the clever trompe l’oeil table, painted on the wall. Summer Jewels Interior. Wall colour: Stepping Stone, Crown Matt & Mid Sheen Emulsion. Shelf in Sophistication, Crown Fashion for Walls. €24 for 2.5L.

the same reason keep brighter yellows out of the bedroom where it may prove too wide-awake to bare. Shades, tones and tints range from sunshine to soft butters, and combined with golds are positively sumptuous. Scheme ideas:An overbearing yellow can stimulate anxiety, so keep things soft and you can range its light promoting beauty over every wall.

Tonal schemes (different intensities of yellow) work well. Soft purple and its family of secondary and tertiary colours will present a bold contrast if you want to be brave and add the darker shade in smaller quantities for balance. Ochre shades of yellow are safer if you find the brighter shades too bossy. ● Yes to Yellows for 2012: Dulux Morning Glo’ and Farrow & Ball Babouche.

Fleetwood. Overwhelming overall but gorgeous as a feature, dark chocolates and inviting dark greys work wonders. Fleetwood paints Monte Carlo makes an indulgence display.

GREEN: The single most important secondary colour (combining yellow and blue). Quite simply, because it’s the signature colour of our natural surroundings, green is generally a laid back choice. Bathrooms and living areas look great in sage greens, and is a choice that’s never gone out of style. Scheme ideas: If you want to see what goes with green, stand up and look out

the window. Nature should be your first inspiration, offering a balance of a main colour and accents that works effortlessly in reds, greens and golds. Try those accents in bolder, blue based ‘baize’ greens to grab attention with classic formal charm in a pale neutral interior. A playful pea green is right on target for the upbeat day-glo schemes of 2012.

The shelving then frames your colour notes. Q. I want a huge piece of artwork for one wall in my flat, but money is tight. Ideas? Well, I would encourage you to visit the graduating show of your local art schools for the real deal, otherwise try your hand in a straightforward colour block (see our project) or go for a wall sticker. www.wallstickers.ie. From €18.

Q. I want to add some decorative interest and colour to my office space but it’s a small area, already features a wood blind, and I’m desperately in need of storage. Combine storage with witty decoration. Invest in a plain box storage shelf unit (IKEA’s Billy units are ideal, from €25 for a bookcase), paint it up in one colour and decorate the rear face of the boxes in a material, bold paint colour or even prints made up on the computer and laminated to size.

Coco Chanel wallsticker from wallstickers.ie.

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DIY

COLOUR CHOICE CAN AFFECT YOUR MOODS

DIYTIPS

Red for passion in the bedroom, blue for its calming influences. Kya deLongchamps looks at the power of hues

■ Ruler ■ Pencil ■ Paintbrushes in varying sizes

Green sets a tranquil but invigorating mood in this kitchen. Wall colour: Lime Crush. Johnstone’s Matt & Softsheen. Trim colour: Brilliant White non-drip gloss. Woodie’s DIY. 2.5 litre €22.99.

■ White spirit to clean your brushes ■ Varnish to seal ■ Masking tape ■ Newspaper to shield the working surface

A hint of curry, mustard and gold, throws off the standard ideas for this happy member of the colour family. A simple cable reel plays coffee table. Around €23 per 2.5L.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

1 2 3 4 5 6

Ann Besomes gorgeous inspirational colour blocking with spring flowers. Available as print from allposters.co.uk. It is priced at £8 (€9.65) plus P&P.

■ Cheat: Use a piece of leftover wallpaper, paste and plywood to fashion a quick picture.

Q&A

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

Fleetwood. Overwhelming overall but gorgeous as a feature, dark chocolates and inviting dark greys work wonders. Fleetwood paints Monte Carlo makes an indulgence display.

Coco Chanel wallsticker from wallstickers.ie.

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WISH LIST

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Planning a St Valentine’s Day celebration? Carol O’Callaghan chooses some new home interiors goodies to bring a romantic note to the proceedings

Stir up a delicious bouillabaisse or Hungarian goulash in the Le Creuset heart-shaped casserole (from Brennan’s Cook Shop approx. €60).

Candle light is a must on Valentine’s Day and when infused with rose essential oil it creates the perfect romantic atmosphere (Hamanasu candle by Max Benjamin at Kilkenny shops €19.99).

New bed linen that’s not too feminine and not too masculine hits just the right note. Check out these smart pillowcases from Ralph Lauren (€70 p/pair at Brown Thomas). La Cornue’s Cornufe range is finished in cranberry for high impact in the kitchen. Concoct your Valentine’s feast in this appropriately glossy, red tinted culinary beauty (€5,995 from Aga shops). Place this charming Declaration of Love mat on the doorstep to welcome your loved one home (€24 at Garrendenny Lane Interiors).

Serve some celebratory drinks in the M&S Heart tumblers and enjoy watching the glass change colour from white to red when cold liquid is poured in (€27 for four).

Whip up a delicious Victoria sponge in a heart-shaped cake mould, sandwiched with cream and jam (€6.99 from TK Maxx).

Cheer up your breakfast table any day of the year with Emma Bridgwater’s heart bedecked butter dish (€41.95 at Thornhill Bros, Skibbereen).

Fancy rustling up a tasty morsel on Valentine’s evening? Try some delicious Crepe Suzette or a simple lemon and sugar sprinkled pancake in this fun pink crepe pan (€5.95 at Meadows & Byrne). Chocolate is an essential on St Valentine’s Day. Try mixing up a batch of decadent morsels in the Swan brownie maker (€31.49 at Argos).

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Vintage Heart Wall Print sets the romantic tone. €15 from www.homebarn.ie

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WISH LIST

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Planning a St Valentine’s Day celebration? Carol O’Callaghan chooses some new home interiors goodies to bring a romantic note to the proceedings

Stir up a delicious bouillabaisse or Hungarian goulash in the Le Creuset heart-shaped casserole (from Brennan’s Cook Shop approx. €60).

Candle light is a must on Valentine’s Day and when infused with rose essential oil it creates the perfect romantic atmosphere (Hamanasu candle by Max Benjamin at Kilkenny shops €19.99).

Serve some celebratory drinks in the M&S Heart tumblers and enjoy watching the glass change colour from white to red when cold liquid is poured in (€27 for four).

Whip up a delicious Victoria sponge in a heart-shaped cake mould, sandwiched with cream and jam (€6.99 from TK Maxx).

Cheer up your breakfast table any day of the year with Emma Bridgwater’s heart bedecked butter dish (€41.95 at Thornhill Bros, Skibbereen).

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

Vintage Heart Wall Print sets the romantic tone. €15 from www.homebarn.ie

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

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INTERIORS

HOME ECONOMICS

ASK THE

DESIGNER

I want to treat my girlfriend to a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner but can’t really afford to go to an overpriced restaurant — any ideas to impress at home?

A. Who needs a cramped, overpriced restaurant when you can create a romantic candlelit dinner for two in the comfort of your own home? A well-decorated table will make even the simplest meal seem special. A smaller table is more intimate for two, so if you have an extension table, fold down the end wings and remove unnecessary chairs. Start with a red tablecloth, table runner or just placemats and neutral dinnerware — or vice versa. Set the table with wine or champagne glasses, even if you’re only drinking tap water. Alternatively you could fill the glasses with Love Hearts sweets. Avoid big centrepieces that prevent you from gazing into each other’s eyes — place a rose-scented floating candle and a few rose petals in a glass bowl instead. For extra brownie points, dot tea light candles with a base from the entrance to the dinner table. Q. How can I turn my bedroom into a love nest for Valentine’s Day and beyond? A. The bedroom is the one space in your home where you can indulge your most romantic design ideas year-round. Nothing says romance like a grand fourposter canopy bed — try www.homelinefurniture.ie. But if the budget won’t stretch that far, a padded oversized headboard paired with decadent bedding such as crisp white linen and faux fur throw is just as

Bo Concept

Having been featured on these pages in the wish list and the interiors spread a few times, it was high time to pay a visit to Bo Concept’s online presence. It did not disappoint. Each room gets its own special treatment by this store, with a little inspiration section. The theme is urban design, so expect clean lines, funky accessories and modern trends. Nothing dusty or archaic here. A very beau concept indeed. With two outlets in Dublin, one through Arnotts, the other in the Sandyford Industrial Estate, the products can be seen first hand. ■ www.boconcept.ie

Q. I’d like to buy my wife a loveseat for the garden for Valentine’s — what should I look out for? A. Spring is the perfect time to start sprucing up your backyard to enjoy when the weather gets warmer. For a loveseat that will last, hardwood like teak or mahogany is your best bet. Although slightly more expensive, they are more resistant to decay and discolouration. To capture this season’s romantic vintage vibe, go for a wrought iron loveseat with a distressed paint effect and floral cushion. Or you could even have a customised loveseat made around a tree in your garden — try Woodtown Fencing and Decking in Kildare (www.woodtownfencing.com). Watch for a loveseat with a central table — ideal for sharing a bottle of wine. Q. Help! I’m hosting an antiValentine’s day party for my single friends but don’t know where to start… A. With anti-Valentine’s day parties becoming increasingly popular, lots of companies are cashing in on the trend. To turn your home into a Cupid-free zone on the cheap, decorate it with black paper heart garlands and black and red balloons with anti-love quotes

For all you domestic goddesses and gods out there this site is just for you. If you intend on whipping up a storm for your loved one on Valentine’s Day this has all your cooking and baking needs well catered for. The site delves into pastry cutters, kitchen gadgets, cake decorating and sugar craft and candles to finish the whole theme off. Fear not those who veer away from all things Valentines, it also has other home accessories, from cute storage solutions to clocks and kitchen appliances.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

Above and below: Ideas to decorate your table for St Valentine’s Day.

or jokes inside — inviting guests to “burst their bubble” throughout the evening. Alternatively, use regular Valentine’s Day decorations and get creative with the scissors — cutting love hearts in half, etc. Blue, black or blood red roses would make the perfect centrepiece for your party. For food, think skewered everything — such as strawberry kebabs drizzled with dark chocolate and serve black or red drinks like Guinness or Bloody Mary. Set your iPod to shuffle songs like ‘Tainted Love’ or have a movie like Fatal Attraction on mute in the background.

Every week Sue O’Connor picks her top three interiors sites. If you have a favourite you’d like to see featured, email: interiors@examiner.ie

Anvil

■ www.anvil.ie

This tax is on the house The household charge must be paid by Mar 31. Late fee exists but ultimately the fine is €2,500 says Kya deLongchamps

effective. From light pink to deep jewel tones, red is the most obvious colour to add sex appeal to your bedroom. However, chalky greys, creamy beiges and bold blues are just as sensual. Mix and match solid furniture with soft furnishings to create the perfect retreat for him and her. Lastly, soft lighting sets the mood — so think luminaries, lamps and votive candles galore!

WEB WATCH 1

Freelance interior designer Aisling O’Toole, otooleaisling@gmail.com, answers all your St Valentine’s Day design dilemmas. If you have any interior design queries, email: interiors@examiner.ie

House of McGregor

Worth keeping an eye out for is the special offers section of the House of McGregor’s website. You could pick up a beautiful Clara Chair for €199. Have a potter through its pages which feature bedroom, living, dining, chairs and the occasional furniture. Its impressive gallery has a huge range of images of stock. to Ring in advance if you are planning to visit the shop to look at a item on this website. The site notes that they cannot guarantee that all items are in its showrooms at all times. A reasonable request which may carry for a lot of stores. ■ www.houseofmcgregor.com

The Clara chair from the House of McGregor for €199.

ARCH 31 is the registration and payment cut-off for the mandatory household change, due from every homeowner in Ireland. It’s a controversial payment, deemed by some commentators a stealth tax and a step too far towards a range of new taxes planned to appear in the next two years. Payment is being conducted online through the Governmentsponsored website www.householdcharge.ie. You must register your household for the charge, which is payable until March 31, so it’s a two-step process. You register and then pay, either in full or in instalments, by direct debit. To date, 6,000 to 10,000 households have paid without protest, delivering up their personal public service number (PPSN) and addresses and paying by one of several means, including direct debit. In the last month some 30,000 households had registered online. There’s an air of halting apology throughout the household charge website, including the reminder that “the EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland commits the Government to the introduction of a property tax for 2012. We are one of the last countries in Europe that does not fund local services through local, property-based charges”. So our demands as a community are fuelling the need for the charge? This talk will either soothe or enrage, depending on your life circumstance, but late payment or non-payment won’t prevent the introduction of property tax from next year. Those against the charge say it’s a slippery slope from the charge to future punitive taxes, and that there is little or no return in services. The household charge, the website says, “is an interim measure” to meet out obligations to the EU/IMF Programme. The friendly registration process can only be a prologue for imposing full property tax. It’s telling that you create an “account” and are deemed a customer when registering with the site. Of course, when full property tax arrives we are all easily traced, sitting in stationary lumps of concrete with an ESB connection, and, as for water, one turn of the stop-cock and you’re all dried up. There really is no escape — or is there? Opponents of the charge include several determined Socialist and Independent TDs and local councillors. Their favoured occupation, when not drumming up support for meetings throughout the country, is posting and re-posting declarations made, back as far as 1994, by Enda Kenny damning property charges as a “vampire tax”. Brave and probably sincere words, slung over the lectern long before we were clobbered by the stark realities of the economic recession and tense expectations from a highly involved set

How to Pay the 2012 Household Charge

Late payment incurs a charge of 10% (within six months), 20% (within 12 months), or 30% (more than 12 months) of the fee.

of financial supervisors poised over us in Brussels. The anti-lobby says the household charge is a statutory act not a law. To agree to such a statute, you have to pay, so by paying you become complicit in the introduction of property tax. Thus far, the official response, at Householdcharge.ie, is to politely steer clear of addressing non-payment, but the legislation does allow for a fine of €2,500 for non-registration. This would involve court proceedings and those lobbying against the charge, and future property and water charges, argue it would be all but impossible to pursue non-registration on a mass scale. Still, €2,500 is a big number and likely to intimidate many home-owners toying with the idea of standing firm. No Household Tax, the campaign centre for many opposing the charge, suggests waiting until a couple of weeks before registration is due on Mar 31. They say in their FAQs “at that time you will, hopefully, see that we have enough nonpayers to defeat the Government and to stop them from robbing you and your household”. This appears a reasonable stance for anyone caught in the crossfire of argument, but keen to protect their family from onerous fines. Householdcharge.ie says that the late fee, to apply in the case of a household charge, be: ■ not later than six months after the due date and 10% of the amount outstanding; ■ later than six months and not later

than 12 months after the due date, is 20% of the amount outstanding; or ■ later than 12 months after the due date, is 30% of the amount outstanding. They also say that charges against the house for late or non-payment of household charges will delay any transfer of the property. That’s an argument unlikely to set many families, tied to negative equity and not moving house any time soon, shaking in last year’s scuffed shoes. Still, it’s worth keeping in mind if the anti-charge movement really takes off with significant non-payment across the country. As the campaign against the charge has gained momentum, it has become bundled with the building rage against a planned charge for local authority water. Minister for Justice Alan Shatter said there would be attachment orders made to the Household Charge Act, which would allow local authorities to deduct the charge from salaries or social welfare payments. Currently, the legislation for this does not appear to exist and let’s hope such draconian measures will never be taken for this or any future charges and taxes on property. You can find out more about the nationwide campaign against payment of the household charge, including details of meetings in your area, at www.nohouseholdtax.org or locall 1890989 800. For those content to register and pay, today’s sidebar includes everything you need to know to get started.

N online system — www.householdcharge.ie — is in place to enable home owners to pay the household charge by credit card/ debit card. In addition, home owners can make the payment by cheque, postal order, etc through the post to the Local Government Management Agency who operate a bureau and administer the charge on a shared service/ agency basis for all local authorities. Payment will also be accepted in the offices of your County/ City Council, details from householdcharge.ie. If you’re already paying the non-private principle residence charge of €200, you are still liable for the household charge on the property of a further €100. If there are four flats in one house, each residential unit is liable, making the full payment due by the owner of the house €400. Landlords, not tenants, are liable. There are exemptions including local authority housing and households taking place in shared purchase schemes where the authority still retains part ownership of the house. Anyone receiving mortgage interest supplement or waiting for possession of an unfinished house in a development may also be entitled to a waiver or exemption. You can find a full list of these exemptions on the site. Each household is asked to pay the household charge by Mar 31 or where a person opts to pay the household charge in instalments, the direct debit mandate must be set up by Mar 1. ■ www.householdcharge.ie. Tel: 1890357357 or 01-2224000 or email to support@householdcharge.ie.

To date, 6,000 to 10,000 households have paid the charge without protest delivering up their PPS number

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

TERAPROOF:User:sueoconnorDate:09/02/2012Time:11:54:32Edition:11/02/2012PropertyXP1102Page:18

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INTERIORS

HOME ECONOMICS

ASK THE

DESIGNER

I want to treat my girlfriend to a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner but can’t really afford to go to an overpriced restaurant — any ideas to impress at home?

Bo Concept

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

Above and below: Ideas to decorate your table for St Valentine’s Day.

Every week Sue O’Connor picks her top three interiors sites. If you have a favourite you’d like to see featured, email: interiors@examiner.ie

Anvil

■ www.anvil.ie

This tax is on the house The household charge must be paid by Mar 31. Late fee exists but ultimately the fine is €2,500 says Kya deLongchamps

WEB WATCH 1

Freelance interior designer Aisling O’Toole, otooleaisling@gmail.com, answers all your St Valentine’s Day design dilemmas. If you have any interior design queries, email: interiors@examiner.ie

House of McGregor

The Clara chair from the House of McGregor for €199.

How to Pay the 2012 Household Charge

Late payment incurs a charge of 10% (within six months), 20% (within 12 months), or 30% (more than 12 months) of the fee.

To date, 6,000 to 10,000 households have paid the charge without protest delivering up their PPS number

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

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IN THE GARDEN

Work for the week...

GARDENNOTES

■ The RHSI are holding a one-day seminar on garden design — innovative and practical in the Botanic Gardens, Dublin on Saturday, Mar 3. The event features Oliver Schurmann, Tim Austin and Tycho Mays. Lunch and coffees included in the entry fee of €65. Full details from 01-2353912

The charm of the unpredictable is one of the many delights of gardens in each season Charlie Wilkins reports

■ Snowdrop Week at Altamont Gardens, Tullow, Co Carlow takes place from Monday, Feb 20 to Feb 26. Tours with head gardener at 2pm daily, cost €2 but gardens are free. Contact 059-9159444. ■ Free Garden talks on flowers for your Valentine will take place in the Greenbarn, Killeagh, Co Cork, at noon today and again tomorrow. Romantic flowers discounted all weekend. ■ Clonakilty Flower Club in Co Cork, will meet on Monday next at 8pm in Fernhill House Hotel and visitors are welcome. ■ Boherbue Flower and Garden Club welcome John McNamara of McNamara Nurseries to speak on growing and cultivating roses at their meeting on Wednesday next at 8pm in Boherbue Education Centre, Co Cork. All welcome. ■ A free talk and demonstration on growing vegetables will take place at The Secret Garden, Boherbue, Co Cork, tomorrow at 3pm. This event will take place outdoors so please wear suitable clothing. For more information call 029 60084. ■ Sunday’s Well Flower & Garden Club will hold their AGM on Wednesday next at 8pm in St Vincent’s Parish Centre, Cork. New members welcome. ■ Nangles, Model Farm Road, Cork, have Dave Murphy to demonstrate, speak, and take questions on “Growing your own Vegetables” on Saturday, Feb 25 at 11am. All welcome. At the Sheen Falls Hotel in Kenmare, a fine powder-blue Ceanothus grows in a sheltered courtyard. It would have grown in a neater fashion had the plant been pruned lightly after flowering each year, but even so, it draws favourable comment when it blooms.

A TOUCH OF THE BLUES by Charlie Wilkins

It’s a greater act of faith to plant a bulb than to plant a tree, and so, lilies as they become available continue to be stuck in wherever a ‘safe’ spot can be found.

NDIAN SHOT; I find that in each season, in each garden, there is always the charm of the unpredictable. The king of the spring border may indisputably be the crown imperial, Fritillaria ‘imperialis’, for it stands sentinel-like among spring’s emerging foliage during late March/April, but a prime contender for king of the summer border, must be the Canna or Indian Shot as this rather tropical-looking plant is sometimes known. It produces huge blooms with sumptuous (if rather garish) flowers atop richly-coloured leaves as wide and handsome as you have ever had. Canna rhizomes are best potted up into a loamfree compost now and kept in a greenhouse until planting out time comes around in May. They’re as tender as dahlias or potato haulms and need protection from (in particular) late frosts.

LAYERING; Plants in many gardens layer themselves without bother! Sometimes, a branch of a shrub, or even better a tree, that has felt really

comfortable with its elbow resting on the ground suddenly takes root! Even in a serene garden, this always looks like the mark of maturity. A large magnolia in a nearby Tivoli, Co Cork garden has boaconstrictor-type branches touching the ground a long distance from the main trunk. They have rooted automatically. Another in the same area has a walnut tree which has declared itself satisfied by shooting up vigorously from where a branch has drooped down to meet the daffodils.

tired, bored, sick to death of the job and every year I find afresh how worthwhile it is — for the pictures come flashing to and fro under the trowel and aching arms — the white of Regale and Longiflorum, the sugar pink of Pink Perfection and the red and scarlet of Stargazer. Plant lilies deep, going down 8’ or so in the ground then add gravel or grit to the bottom in order to improve drainage. Lilies hate waterlogged soil. Finally, don’t mix varieties or they’ll flower in a scrappy fashion. Plant all one variety in threes or fives and if you have to put them in pots keep them close together, two thirds deep, without actually touching. Liquid feed whenever possible for superb results.

Lilies as they become available continue to be stuck in wherever a ‘safe’ spot can be found.

LILIES; It’s a greater act of faith to plant a bulb than to plant a tree, and so, lilies as they become available continue to be stuck in wherever a ‘safe’ spot can be found. ‘Safe’ means a square foot of ground where nothing else is (now) visibly planted. I stress ‘now’ for there may be bulbs hidden there already! I get

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

SNOWDROPS; Gardeners who are susceptible to the charms of snowdrops should source or order the scented,

reliable, and large-flowered variety S. Arnott. This variety with handsome leaves can be expensive at €2/3 a bulb but it increases so fast that a patch worth €120 could soon be theirs. The magic of this particular variety should be enough to convert anyone to try more snowdrops, but even if you doubt this claim, try cutting some of the more common forms for indoors and you’ll become hooked on their simple beauty. SLUGS AND SNAILS; The big problem with combating slugs and snails is an environmental one to say the least, for chemical bait may damage birds, frogs, hedgehogs and other fluffy things. There are wildlife-friendly slug poisons, but some gardeners feel uneasy about them and barriers are not always effective. Just about everyone has heard of a DIY cure for slugs and snails but none are really foolproof save beer traps sunk into the ground. I continue to use a liquid slug killer (Clear). It is mixed with water, and poured over susceptible plants in the ornamental garden. The drench is renewed now and again especially following heavy rain.

n exciting aspect of gardening is that affections are never constant! Look at this way — in February, out come the daffodils and early snowdrops to positively vamp you and you’ll have eyes just for them and no other flower. Some weeks later you’ll be positively drooling over an earlyflowering camellia or choice hellebore (whilst the daffs fade away) and when these have finished, the azaleas, rhododendrons, and exciting cut-leafed maples will vie for that pride of place in your heart. Secretly we acknowledge that whichever plant takes our fancy (in whatever season it may reveal its blooms) they will capture our hearts all over again. If this kind of happening sounds familiar, you are in very good company! We gardeners certainly live in exciting times during spring, but when the herbaceous heavyweights such as

peonies, lupins, and delphiniums begin to make ready and jostle readily with the trusting stems of lilies and stout alliums, I welcome the arrival of the gently spreading Californian lilac shrub sold as Ceanothus (pronounced see-an-o-tus). There’s something delicate looking about all the Ceanothus, especially those varieties with soft tones of velvet lavender, colours so wispy and smoky-looking, that you feel a breeze could lift them away. Don’t for a moment think of the Californian lilac as being fussy or overly tender (despite the fact that many died in the winter of 2010/ 2011-so did many other ‘hardy’ plants!) for all are reliably hardy during ‘normal’ Irish winters. The family Ceanothus belongs to one or other of two groups — the evergreens and the deciduous. The evergreen group are spring-flowering (in the main) having

small, shiny leaves, and tight thimble-like clusters of tiny flowers. The deciduous group are a tougher lot, being notably hardier and better able to withstand cold and wind, but their leaves are larger and the blooms looser in form and density. For a low, spreading effect in spring, look for the reliable Ceanothus sold as thyrsiflorus repens. This grows to about three feet high by as much across and spreads sideways into handsome layers of glossy evergreen leaves, with shoots covered in powder-blue flowers during late May. For a deeper blue, choose C. impressus but bear in mind that this grows to six feet and more by as much as eight feet across. Ceanothus thyrsiflorus repens blooms on shoots made the previous year and these are pruned immediately after flowering (if required). Shrubs in the open need little more that the removal of dead and weak

wood along with the removal of growths interfering with shape and form. Wall trained specimens should have all flowered breast wood (shoots growing outward from the wall) shortened to within a bud or two of their base as flowers fade. None like their root systems disturbed at, or after planting time. Start with a young specimen which has been grown in a plastic pot. Simply slip the plant from this without breaking the rootball, and place into the position chosen. Hopefully, a warm, sunny spot will have been first choice. Planting stations need to be well prepared with the sub soil loosened and if necessary enriched with leaf-mould, peat, garden compost, or straw manure. Add a few ounces of Osmocote slowrelease fertiliser when backfilling, firm the lot, and water to settle. Do not allow the plant to go short of water for the duration of summer.

■ Vegetable talks and demonstrations with Kevin Waters will take place at Hosfords, Enniskeane, Co Cork, today at 11am. Admission is free and all are welcome. Repeat events all next weekend. ■ Youghal Flower and Garden Club in Co Cork, will hold a Valentines night of beauty by Harmony — a touch of spa on Tuesday at 8pm in the Walter Raleigh Hotel. Club competition. ■ Fall in love with your garden all over again is the title of a free talk at Griffins, Dripsey, Co Cork, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of next week at noon. These will be followed by a gourmet lunch for just €10. For details call 021-7334286. ■ The RHSI (Dublin) host Adrienne Thompson to demonstrate the joys of spring on Wednesday at 8pm in Wesley House, Leeson Park, Dublin 6. All welcome. ■ Ballincollig Flower and Garden Club in Cork, will have Peter Dowdall of Dunsland Garden Centre to speak on spring in the garden on Monday in the Oriel Hotel at 8pm. All welcome. ■ Ballymoney Garden Club, Ballineen, Co Cork, will meet on Monday at 8.30pm in Ballymoney Hall. Pat Stack will speak on safety in the home. Refreshments will follow and all welcome. ■ GIY Clonmel is hosting a talk about potatoes at 2pm on Saturday, Feb, 25, at Hotel Minella, Clonmel, Co Tipperary. The entry fee is €8 which includes tea and scones. Expert gardeners Dermot Carey and Dave Langford will offer advice on how to grow potatoes In addition, there will be an opportunity to buy seed potatoes and to watch a cookery demo. For further information or to purchase tickets please telephone: 086-075 6448 or email lucymoor@gmail.com Tickets are also available at Bob Fitzgerald Hardware, 29 O’Connell St, Clonmel. Tel: 052-6122564 ■ Building a willow structure is the title of garden workshop which takes place in the Ballymaloe Cookery School on Monday, Feb 20. Learn how to harvest and prepare willows and the basic techniques needed to create a variety of willow structures in your garden. Light lunch included. Booking essential 021-4646785.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

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IN THE GARDEN

Work for the week...

GARDENNOTES

The charm of the unpredictable is one of the many delights of gardens in each season Charlie Wilkins reports

A TOUCH OF THE BLUES by Charlie Wilkins

It’s a greater act of faith to plant a bulb than to plant a tree, and so, lilies as they become available continue to be stuck in wherever a ‘safe’ spot can be found.

LAYERING; Plants in many gardens layer themselves without bother! Sometimes, a branch of a shrub, or even better a tree, that has felt really

Lilies as they become available continue to be stuck in wherever a ‘safe’ spot can be found.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

SNOWDROPS; Gardeners who are susceptible to the charms of snowdrops should source or order the scented,

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

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ANTIQUES & FINE ART

Catalogue of collectable art goes on sale

Bloody Sunday ticket for auction

This sale, writes Des O’Sullivan, features a variety of highly collectible Irish art

aintings by Yeats, Henry, Osborne and Crozier are among 284 lots of Irish art at the Morgan O’Driscoll art sale at the Radisson Hotel, Little Island, Cork on Monday, February 20 at 6.30pm. The catalogue features a variety of collectible

Irish art including a topical oil on board by Michael Hanrahan entitled The Queen at the English Market featuring fishmonger Pat O’Connell. It is estimated at €1,500-€2,000. There is a limited edition self-portrait lithograph by Louis le

A Bloody Sunday match ticket will be the main event, writes Des O’Sullivan Markey Robinson (1918-1999) Yachts on the Lake at Morgan O'Driscoll's sale in Cork on Monday, Feb 20.

Brocquy and a selection of landscapes, seascapes, still lifes, abstract works, drawings and a couple of pieces of sculpture with estimates from €200. The sale is on view in Dublin at the D4 Hotel

from noon to 10pm tomorrow and from 10am to 8pm on Monday. Viewing in Cork is from noon to 10pm on Sunday, February 19, and from 10am to 6pm on the day of the sale.

World records broken at London art sale

ALES of Impressionist, Modern and Surreal art brought in £134,999,400 at Christie’s on Tuesday. There were world record prices for the English sculptor Henry Moore and Spanish artist Joan Miro, three lots sold for over £10 million and 28 for more than £1m. Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure, Festival made £19,081,250. A painting poem by Miro

made £16,841,250. The most valuable of Elizabeth Taylor’s 38 artworks on sale this month made £10.1m. Vincent van Gogh’s Vue de l’Asile de la Chapelle de Saint-Remy, which had been estimated at £5m£7m, had been subject to a restitution claim by the heirs of a German Jewish art collector. The claim was not upheld by US Supreme Court. Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure, Festival made £19,081,250

IRISH ART AUCTION Monday, 20th February 2012 at 6.30pm Radisson Blu & Spa, Little Island, Cork

and a painting poem by Miro made £16,841,250. It is reckoned that as much as £562m worth of art may change hands in London this fortnight. Next week, contemporary and modern works will be offered. An artist’s resale royalty charge has applied since January 1 to living European artists and all those who have died in the past 70 years. It is applied as a percentage of the hammer prices on a sliding scale from 4% on prices between €1,000 and €50,000 to 0.25% on prices over €2 million, capped at a maximum of €12,500. Bonhams Impressionist and modern art auction

brought in £2,657,700 with Picasso and Renoir among the top lots.

EDWARD WALSH SALES Mitchelstown Phone 025 84107 or 086 2540645 Auction of Antiques & high class furniture on the instructions of Father Canon Twomey of the Parochial House Kildorrery who has retired and other important clients at

The Firgrove Hotel, Mitchelstown on Sunday, February 19th at 2.30pm Full details on next weeks issue.

Over 280 lots representing a wide selection of well known tradtional and contempoary Irish artists Vi e w i n g Ti m e s The Radisson Blu & Spa, Little Island, Cork Sunday 19th February 2012: 12noon - 10pm Monday 20th February 2012: 10am - 6pm Catalogue with full illustration can be viewed on w w w . m o r g a n o d r i s c o l l . c o m Ilen Street, Skibbereen, Co. Cork; Tel: 028 22338 · Mob: 086 2472425 email: info@morganodriscoll.com

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

furniture. The GAA ticket, a Georgian Irish sideboard, a Victorian dining table and a 19th century walnut bookcase are among the lots on offer at the fine art and antiques sale on Tuesday at 10.30am. This sale includes Waterford chandeliers, jewellery, silver and art. Many of the lots are from the estate of the late artist and fisherman John Davies of Killaloe. Viewing is from 11am to 5pm today, 2pm to 5pm tomorrow and from 11am to the start of the sale at 6.30pm on Monday.

Galway Fisherfolk by Augustus John from the Elizabeth Taylor art collection made £5,625 at Christie’s in London on Wednesday.

Preliminary Announcement

Jack B. Yeats

ticket to the infamous Bloody Sunday match at Croke Park in 1920, at which 14 unarmed spectators were shot dead, is the prime lot at the 1,500 lot sale at The Auction Rooms in Sixmilebridge, Co Clare next Monday and Tuesday. The game between Tipperary and Dublin became a turning point in the Anglo-Irish War. The ticket is estimated at €6,000€8,000. The Monday evening sale of around 500 lots includes fishing rods, cased specimen fish, books and general

THE COUNTY CORK ANTIQUE & ART FAIR CHARLEVILLE PARK HOTEL THIS SUNDAY 12th FEBRUARY 11am - 6pm OVER 25 STANDS THIS IS A HIBERNIAN ANTIQUE & ART FAIR AND IS A SISTER EVENT TO BOTH THE SILVER SPRINGS AND ACTONS KINSALE ANTIQUE FAIRS.

IN BRIEF SIGNED PICTURE A signed picture of Daniel O’Connell features at the sale at O’Donovan and Associates, Newcastlewest, Co Limerick which gets underway at 11am today. The sale includes a collection of reels and radios from the late Tommy Healy. ................................................................... ANTIQUE FAIRS Hibernian Antique Fairs are at Charleville Park Hotel tomorrow from 11am to 6pm tomorrow. There will be more than 25 stands including Weldons Jewellery and Silver, Dublin, Treasures Irish Art, Athlone, Maria Curran Silver and Jewellery, Dublin, Hugo Greene furniture, Co Leitrim, Eily Henry vintage clothing and Annamoe Antiques from Co Wicklow. ................................................................... VALUATION DAY In Cork, auctioneers James Adam will hold a valuation day at Hayfield Manor Hotel next Thursday, Feb 16. Opening times are from 11am to 4pm. ................................................................... HEGARTY’S SALE The next Hegarty’s sale in Bandon is on Sunday Feb 19 at 3pm, with viewing from next Friday. Among 350 lots is a selection of antique furniture, garden furniture, art and a fine quality bog oak inkstand carved as an owl. It is about 14 inches high. A similar piece in the

National Museum bears the makers label Cornelius Goggin. ..................................................................... . 1,000 LOTS There will be a 1,000 lot sale at RJ Keighery’s City Auctions Rooms in Waterford on Monday at 10am. Included is a Victorian three piece hall suite by Strahan and Co (€1,500-€3,500), a pair of marquetry corner cabinets (€1,500-€3,500), an antique Welsh dresser (€700-€900) and a collection of Waterford crystal including two chandeliers. ..................................................................... . 1907 CATALOGUE A 1907 property auction catalogue from the estates of the Earl of Limerick will be offered at the sale at Limerick Auction Rooms next Saturday at 1.30pm. The sale of 247 lots in the city of Limerick was carried out by James H North and Co of Grafton St, Dublin on June 3 1907 and the four subsequent days on behalf of the Rt Hon William Henry Edmond de Vere Sheaffe, Earl of Limerick. The catalogue is estimated at €500-€600. ..................................................................... . ANTIQUE SELECTION Auctioneer Edward Walsh will hold an auction of 300 lots at the Fir Grove Hotel, Mitchelstown, Co Cork on Feb 19 at 2.30pm. There is a selection of antique furniture and household effects.

TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL Ger Duggan Tel: 021-4802192 email: interiorads@examiner.ie ��

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Sotheby’s to hold valuation days in capital this month

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FLOOR COVERINGS LTD ��

Left: The signed picture of Daniel O’Connell at O’Donovan’s sale at Newcastlewest, Co Limerick. Right: This oil on board Russian icon at Limerick Auction Rooms next Saturday is in a silver frame-stamped Faberge. A 19th century Irish bog oak inkstand carved as an owl at Hegarty’s in Bandon on Sunday, Feb 19.

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A ticket to the Bloody Sunday match at Croke Park in 1920 at Sixmilebridge auction next Monday.

In Dublin, Sotheby’s will hold valuation days at 16 Molesworth St later this month. Irish and British paintings will be valued on Feb 20-21 and on Feb 24 it will be the turn of Chinese ceramics and works of art. Dublin-born Angela McAteer, Sotheby’s deputy director and specialist in fine Chinese ceramics and works of art will be in attendance. Next month Sotheby’s will conduct valuations for Old Master paintings on Mar 12 and 13 and on jewellery on Mar 14-15. Meanwhile, an Edwardian bow front display cabinet, a Victorian rosewood settee and a Victorian chest of drawers, are included in the sale at Kerry Auction Rooms, Moyderwell, Tralee next Tuesday at noon. The sale will include a collection of over 800 American, British and Irish first day covers from the late 1930s to the 1970s. Viewing gets underway today. In other news, the Catalan painter and sculptor Antoni Tapies died aged 88 in Barcelona on Monday. One of Spain’s main exponents of abstract and avant-garde art in the second half of the 20th century, his work was displayed in museums around the world.

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IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

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ANTIQUES & FINE ART

Catalogue of collectable art goes on sale

Bloody Sunday ticket for auction

This sale, writes Des O’Sullivan, features a variety of highly collectible Irish art

A Bloody Sunday match ticket will be the main event, writes Des O’Sullivan Markey Robinson (1918-1999) Yachts on the Lake at Morgan O'Driscoll's sale in Cork on Monday, Feb 20.

Brocquy and a selection of landscapes, seascapes, still lifes, abstract works, drawings and a couple of pieces of sculpture with estimates from €200. The sale is on view in Dublin at the D4 Hotel

from noon to 10pm tomorrow and from 10am to 8pm on Monday. Viewing in Cork is from noon to 10pm on Sunday, February 19, and from 10am to 6pm on the day of the sale.

World records broken at London art sale

IRISH ART AUCTION Monday, 20th February 2012 at 6.30pm Radisson Blu & Spa, Little Island, Cork

brought in £2,657,700 with Picasso and Renoir among the top lots.

The Firgrove Hotel, Mitchelstown on Sunday, February 19th at 2.30pm Full details on next weeks issue.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

Galway Fisherfolk by Augustus John from the Elizabeth Taylor art collection made £5,625 at Christie’s in London on Wednesday.

Preliminary Announcement

Jack B. Yeats

TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL Ger Duggan Tel: 021-4802192 email: interiorads@examiner.ie ��

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Sotheby’s to hold valuation days in capital this month

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� �� Dan Sheehan ��

FLOOR COVERINGS LTD ��

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A ticket to the Bloody Sunday match at Croke Park in 1920 at Sixmilebridge auction next Monday.

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IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 11.02.2012

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