Property 19-11-2011 by Evening Echo

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Property 19.11.2011

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& Interiors

Treasure Trove

Dunkathel House contents have connoisseur appeal, see our extended antiques coverage

PLUS â&#x20AC;˘ TRADING UP â&#x20AC;˘ STYLISH HOMES â&#x20AC;˘ GET THE LOOK â&#x20AC;˘ ANTIQUES â&#x20AC;˘ STEP BY STEP DIY Photo by Denis Scannell

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PROPERTY

HOUSE WEEK OF THE

Tommy Barker reports

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Pictures: Denis Scannell

Ballincollig

from €147,000 Old Quarter �� O’Flynn Construction

OURNEY’S End towers above its setting in more stone outside, and subtle changes of levels inside with ways than one — the extra-sized family home on a couple of very large rooms to the front for the views. a large plot is on the very uppermost site in The best formal room is about 24’ by 19’, with high Towering Heights, Tower village close to ceilings and a white marble open fireplace, a real Blarney. stand-out feature space. Built 10 years ago, the distinctive, splay-shaped Flooring in much of the ground level (with a few home is a high-end market arrival, with some huge stepped up and stepped down areas) is in very high rooms and a smashing south-facing site, and comes up quality solid maple, and rooms include a a family TV for sale with locally-living estate agent Robert Harkin room, large kitchen/dining room with quality pine of Harkin & Associates, units (paint would guiding €649,000 and he transform them if you Location: Tower, Cork says there’s nothing of want a more neutral Price: €649,000 this property’s calibre look) and there’s a available in the area right Size: very large sun room, 327 sq m (3,500 sq ft) now. warm and with Bedrooms: 4/5 Journey’s End is wide, elevated and distant and deep, and its varied views. The lower level BER rating: Pending roof profiles help also includes a games Broadband: Yes camoflague just how big a room or optional en house this place really is; suite fifth bedroom, a Best asset: Commanding site and views its site area of threedecent study, utility quarters of an acre is and pantry. more than a suitable match for it, ringed immediately The staircase is in the very heart or central core of to the east and north by the russet woodland of the the house, and could be suitably lifted by a bit of Blarney Estate. dramatic lighting, and off the landing are ranged four It’s glorious, elevated, perhaps about 400 feet above bedrooms, two of which are en suite, and the 30’ by 13’ sea level, with views across the valley over Tower master bedroom also has a sizeable walk-in robe / village, towards the mound of Garrvagh Hill, higher dressing space tucked into a roof space. itself than Towering Heights. That roof is expansive and multi-faceted, and it was This was an early scheme of services sites for less while the house was being built that the possibility of than two dozen one-off houses, dating back probably to annexing some extra space (on top of the considerable 1990s. Journey’s End was built a decade of so ago on 3,500 sq ft that’s counted) was seized on. There’s an the highest, and probably the largest site, one that the extra dormer room, almost hidden away, with a local farmer had kept back for a son who ended up slightly quirky shape and super-bright, thanks to four buying a farm elsewhere instead. Veluxes set in the ceilings. It’s suitable for lots of uses It’s a big, big house with locally-sourced Cloghroe — just ask a child, they’ll have no bother deciding

CONTENTS 4

TRADING UP A hot tub can hold four people at a wellcrafted Muckross, Killarney home.

STARTERS Cappoquin Waterford houses seem chicken-feed prices from €50,000.

NEWS Stock of finished houses is lower than you’d think - three months supply.

FEATURE The waterside setting is a star at Dripsey, and the house is good too.

what to do with it, and how best to colonise it. Outside, the site is another massive play area, with good gardens, and just the right amount of landscaping not to compete with the glories of the woodland boundaries. There’s a detached garage, an elevated playhouse, lawn section fenced off for safekeeping of dogs and pets, and about 600 sq ft of wellkept decking to the back and west of the rangy house for outdoor dining and BBQs.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

from €210,000 �� Mount Oval Village � �� O’Flynn Construction

Douglas from €305,000 Elden, Maryborough Hill �� O’Flynn Construction

Rochestown

€320,000

61B Foxwood, Garryduff � ��

VERDICT: Well-built, spacious, on a commanding site with a few minutes walk of Tower’s amenities, Journey’s End will hold the busiest of families in comfort.

10 INTERIORS 12 DIY 18 IN THE GARDEN 19+ANTIQUES 23 CLASSIFIEDS

Rochestown

€199,000

4 The Ferns, Foxwood, Garryduff � �� O’Brien & O’Flynn

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

Rochestown

Wilton

Silversprings

from €195,000 Ashmount Mews �� O’Brien & O’Flynn

€310,000

�� Minkbury Ltd.

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Kinsale, Abbey Fort

from €165,000 �� Dunboy Construction

Rochestown Road

from €580,000 Ashley �� Corbel Developments Ltd.

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IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

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PROPERTY

HOUSE WEEK OF THE

Tommy Barker reports

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Pictures: Denis Scannell

Ballincollig

from €147,000 Old Quarter �� O’Flynn Construction

CONTENTS 4

TRADING UP A hot tub can hold four people at a wellcrafted Muckross, Killarney home.

STARTERS Cappoquin Waterford houses seem chicken-feed prices from €50,000.

NEWS Stock of finished houses is lower than you’d think - three months supply.

FEATURE The waterside setting is a star at Dripsey, and the house is good too.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

from €210,000 �� Mount Oval Village � �� O’Flynn Construction

Douglas from €305,000 Elden, Maryborough Hill �� O’Flynn Construction

Rochestown

€320,000

61B Foxwood, Garryduff � ��

VERDICT: Well-built, spacious, on a commanding site with a few minutes walk of Tower’s amenities, Journey’s End will hold the busiest of families in comfort.

10 INTERIORS 12 DIY 18 IN THE GARDEN 19+ANTIQUES 23 CLASSIFIEDS

Rochestown

€199,000

4 The Ferns, Foxwood, Garryduff � �� O’Brien & O’Flynn

Rochestown

Wilton

Silversprings

from €195,000 Ashmount Mews �� O’Brien & O’Flynn

€310,000

�� Minkbury Ltd.

��

Kinsale, Abbey Fort

from €165,000 �� Dunboy Construction

Rochestown Road

from €580,000 Ashley �� Corbel Developments Ltd.

��

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

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PROPERTY

TRADING UP

MUCKROSS, KILLARNEY €375,000 Sq m: 215 (2,300 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes

WHEN it comes to hi-spec features and creature comforts, West Ridge Lodge at Muckross near Killarney cannot be found wanting. This very different contemporary home, built four years ago by a carpenter is spacious, stylish, bright and open plan with double height ceilings in the living areas and a high level of glazing. The features which stand out most include a German high gloss red kitchen and a four person hot tub which is situated inside the master bedroom upstairs. Selling agents are Sherry FitzGerald Coughlan. On one side of the 2,300 sq ft property there’s a sitting room with a cathedral beamed ceiling and a solid fuel stove set underneath a tall Wicklow granite chimney stack. At the far side of the house is an open plan kitchen dining area also with a double height ceiling. Other ground floor rooms include a utility room, a wet room, a bathroom and two large marble floored bedrooms with en suites. The hardwood floored master bedroom which occupies the entire first floor is ultra modern and stylish. There is a granite fronted double arched entrance at the front. It’s on half an acre. VERDICT: A striking and stylish house which is likely to impress all viewers with its wow factor.

We scan a selection of trading up homes around the country

GLANMIRE, CORK €375,000

CORK CITY €250,000 Sq m: 168 (1,800 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 6 Broadband: Yes

Sq m: 184 (2,000 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

RALEIGH, MACROOM €300,000

Bedrooms: 4 Broadband: Yes

Sq m: 219 (2,350 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 4 Broadband: Yes

BACK when Convent View was built, there was indeed views of a convent, of St Marie’s of the Isle in Cork city — but now, its views are more towards developer Owen O’Callaghan’s new apartment complex, hotel and on Lancaster Quay. Convent View is sort of in the midst of the second city’s scholastic territory, with UCC a very strong presence all around, as well as PBC. But, it is really UCC that is the dominant player in this hinterland a quarter mile or so from the Grand Parade, and that’s why investors rather than owner-occupiers might cast an eye over the three-storey, six-bed property, at the corner of Mardyke Street. Estate agent Paul O’Driscoll of Thomas J O’Driscoll & Associates guides the building at €250,000, noting that it does need some upgrading, but adding that it has retained several of its original features. Rooms include hall and two reception rooms, kitchen, and main bathroom and six bedrooms over the next two levels, plus return, with sinks in most of the bedrooms, and one has a shower fitted. The property’s sole external space is a rear yard with boiler house.

THIS is a family home, with all the right credentials, says the selling agent of 60 Coppervalley Vue, in Cork’s Glanmire. Auctioneer Michael O’Donoghue of O’Donoghue Clarke seeks offers around €375,000 for the tall dormer and a half home, with part two-storey front facade, and with three well-sized reception rooms thanks to its 2,000 sq ft of space. One of the four bedrooms is en suite; there are three bathrooms in all, and quality wood oak floors in two of the reception rooms with the kitchen units finished in solid alder. Other floor finishes include porcelain tiling, and to the back of the house, off the kitchen, is a room-sized section of railed decking for outdoor dining overlooking the mature back garden and play area. The setting is one of the more popular in the area, says Mr O’Donoghue, and the house is a box-ticker in terms of specification and space, he adds. Nearby, another firm of agents, ERA Downey McCarthy, have a four-bed semi-d at 4 Coppervalley Vue under offer below its €250,000 AMV.

IF you it built any bigger than this size, you’d get very little money extra for it, says agent Killian Lynch of this brand new, 2,340 sq ft four-bed home a mile from Macroom in sought after Raleigh. “It is was 3,000 sq ft, it would hardly make a penny more, people just don’t want 3,000 sq ft and larger homes right now, they’d have to furnish them, heat them and mind them. This house will take any size of family comfortably,” he argues, and safe in the knowledge that there’s another 700 sq ft or so very easily converted to more living space in the high attic - so his bold assertion is hedged for future growth. Built to be sold on, this is a big, solid block of a house, with Ducon concrete floors, and high insulation values: the BER is only being done shortly, but will come in somewhere the B range, predicts Mr Lynch who is also a BER assessor (selling agents naturally can’t formally assess properties they are selling.) There’s good living space, four bedrooms, Velux windows in the attic, and provision for a second staircase, and the site is 0.9 of an acre, with view back into Kerry.

VERDICT: It needs upgrading, but has scope, and should produce a steady income stream (rents in Cork rose 6% in the past year, according to Daft this week.)

VERDICT: No 60 Coppervalley Vue has everything it takes to accommodate a family looking to trade up to a detached home a few miles east of Cork city.

VERDICT: The design won’t frighten anyone, it’s fairly traditional, but a decent home for the sum — and it could swell to 3,000 sq ft if a buyer wanted to prove the agent wrong.

LEITH, TRALEE €340,000

Sq m: 258 (2,770 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

A MILE or so from Tralee town at Leith is this wellfinished five-bed home on a tidy acre, down from a 2010 price of €385,000. Agents Sherry FitzGerald Stephenson Crean say the dormer home has been superbly kept, and given some design flourishes too. Attention is paid in particular to windows, in pvc sash, with a contemporary interior, and good bathrooms: two upper floor bedrooms are en suite, and the master one has a dressing room also, while there’s a Jacuzzi bath in the main bathroom. Kitchen units are in quality timber and granite topped, with a

brick-faced peninsula/island, plus utility, with both recessed lighting and a chandelier over the dining table. Rooms flow easily off a large hall and a real feature internally is the ‘split’ staircase dividing off a sort of half-return, and include a sitting room, play room, ground floor bedroom/office with adjoining bathroom. The main living/dining area is about 1,000 sq ft, the selling agents reckon.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

Bedrooms: 5 Broadband: Yes

VERDICT: Well-finished inside and out, with views towards Fenit and Ballyheighue..

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PROPERTY

TRADING UP

MUCKROSS, KILLARNEY €375,000 Sq m: 215 (2,300 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes

We scan a selection of trading up homes around the country

GLANMIRE, CORK €375,000

CORK CITY €250,000 Sq m: 168 (1,800 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 6 Broadband: Yes

Sq m: 184 (2,000 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

RALEIGH, MACROOM €300,000

Bedrooms: 4 Broadband: Yes

Sq m: 219 (2,350 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 4 Broadband: Yes

VERDICT: It needs upgrading, but has scope, and should produce a steady income stream (rents in Cork rose 6% in the past year, according to Daft this week.)

VERDICT: No 60 Coppervalley Vue has everything it takes to accommodate a family looking to trade up to a detached home a few miles east of Cork city.

VERDICT: The design won’t frighten anyone, it’s fairly traditional, but a decent home for the sum — and it could swell to 3,000 sq ft if a buyer wanted to prove the agent wrong.

LEITH, TRALEE €340,000

Sq m: 258 (2,770 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

Bedrooms: 5 Broadband: Yes

VERDICT: Well-finished inside and out, with views towards Fenit and Ballyheighue..

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STARTER HOMES

Southside suburban townhouse hits the right spot

9 Elm Close is prefect for a single buyer or a trader-down. Tommy Barker reports Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Broadband:

Douglas Road, Cork €195,000 95 sq m (1,020 sq ft) 2 Pending Yes

FAIR HILL, CORK €175,000 Sq m: 79 (850 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes

THIS end-of-terrace house wasn’t always end-terrace it was fully ‘embraced,’ but a one-time road widening move saw its neighbour lopped off, giving it an almost semi-detached status. Now, having last sold 30 years ago, for £18,000, it come up sale once more with Vincent Clinch of F&V Sheahan, who says it has been tastefully modernised. VERDICT: Great condition and a walk into the city centre

WITH two similar southside Cork suburban townhouses sold in the last couple of months, its like deja vu for the selling agents of 9 Elm Close. The mid-terraced 1,020 sq ft house, built by Lanes, is in a 1970s in-fill development at the top of the Rosebank estate, by the main Douglas Road and swimming pool and public park’s pedestrian access point. The L-shaped scheme of around 10 houses was built in the far end of the garden belonging to a large bungalow called the Elms, and most have back yards/car-ports for private outdoor space, and share a communal, well-kept screening front garden. Auctioneers Frank V Murphy & Cork recently sold similar houses in adjacent Ballincurrig Park, also

Douglas, and another off the Blackrock Road for close enough to the €190k mark, and now No 9 Elm Close is offered at €195,000, with garage. It is in as good, or better condition, with the bonus of an open fireplace for those who love real fires, and the fact it already has gas central heating allows for an easy conversion to flickering gas flame too. Ideal for a single buyer or a trader-down, No 9’s ground floor is fairly open plan, and L-shaped at 28’ deep by 18’ wide into the kitchen space, and overhead are two bedrooms, one also L-shaped, plus bathroom with slightly over-sized shower. VERDICT: Small, but perfectly formed for its niche.

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

CAPPOQUIN, WATERFORD €50,000 + Sq m: 125 (1,345 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

PROPERTY FEATURE

House stock levels ‘low’

A construction firm boss says the completed stock in Cork is equivalent to just three months normal demand, writes Tommy Barker

OMPLETED house stock in the greater Cork area is equivalent to just three months normal demand, says house-builder and vice chairman of the CIF national executive Stephen McCarthy of Astra Construction — who’s still building and selling 25 to 30 new homes a year. Incredibly, there’s just 1,100 empty houses in what’s billed the ‘metropolitan’ area, which includes Ballincollig, Midleton and Carrigaline, according to official Department of Environment statistics for October 2011. Of that number, 737 are completed but vacant. On top of that, there’s a stock of 1,042 apartments, of which 600 are completed but vacant. According to Mr McCarthy, those figures compare to historical averages of over 4,000 homes per year over the 40-year period from 1970 to 2010: they peaked in 2006,with an extraordinary 9,544 completions, in Cork, and 93,419 nationally. “We’re five years into the downturn, and you have to believe things will turn soon, with so much demand, so little activity and given the low level of stock in Metropolitan Cork. We were selling more houses, in the worst of it, in the 1980s,” says Mr McCarthy, whose company has recently marked its 25th year in business. Recovery in demand turing into sales (bank lending permitting) will begin in the metropolitan region, farther-flung

COMPLETED VACANT APARTMENTS IN CORK Cork city: 307 Douglas/Rochestown: 122 North of Cork city (Blarney/Glanmire): 21 Midleton: 4 Carrigaline: 1 Bishopstown/Ballincollig: 145. ● Source: DoE

COMPLETED VACANT HOUSES IN CORK

Cork city: 198 Douglas/Frankfield/Rochestown: 103 Carrigaline/Crosshaven/Riverstick: 76 East Cork (Glounthaune/Carrigtwohill/Cobh/Midleton): 222 North of Cork city (Glanmire/Blarney/Grenagh/ Whitechurch): 85 West of city (Bishopstown/Ballincollig: 53 ● Source: DoE

Stephen McCarthy of Astra Construction with builders at his Forest Hill Development, Carrigaline, Co, Cork.

country towns will be slower to experience any pick-up, as will apartment sales, says Mr McCarthy, who quotes figures showing just 6% of would-be buyers interested in apartments, and 0% interest in onebeds. Of the 1,000 homes completed in Cork last year, 75% were one-offs, he adds. Right now, Astra is actively building and selling houses in Carrigaline, where the satellite town’s catchment is about 16,000, while the region is buoyed

VERDICT: Time to look once more behind the sofa?

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

by both the pharma and IT sectors, core Cork employers and exporters. “There’ll always be those who want to buy a new house, for modern standards, but stock around in Carrigaline is very limited, we’ve seven or eight left and Castlelands have 29, and things were never so affordable as they are now,” notes Mr McCarthy. His high-quality Forest Hill development so far has about 140 completed homes with about 250 sites in all, and he says he changes the mix to

History respected with this revamp The renovation and refurbishment of this property has been lauded. Tommy Barker reports

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes

THERE’S swift viewings at the River Blackwater-side houses at Port na hAbhanann — because the five fully-finished houses here can be bought for €50,000, €55k and €60K each. If there’s any catch, it is just that would-be buyers must be cash purchasers: it’s a stipulation insisted on by the financial institution that funded that scheme, apparently. The houses, just a couple of hundred metres from the town centre (and Cappoquin does have a good stock of houses for sale), have river views and aspect, with sun terraces, and three bedrooms, with one en suite. Developed by Cork-based investors, the houses on offer are timber framed, with electric heating, and are a decent, 1,300 sq ft plus size. Some houses in the scheme are listed on websites at €850 a month to rent (depending on demand, though): at the € 50,000-plus guides quoted by agents Sherry FitzGerald John Rohan in last week’s Irish Examiner adverts, a mortgage could be served for around €175 a month — only they be able to won’t negotiate with buyers needing finance! It’s understood that there’s interest from some cash buyers for multiple units and even as an entire block — and, why not, at €250,000 or so for the five?

Commons Road, Cork €220,000 102 sq m (1,100 sq ft) 4 Pending Yes

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offer buyers choice, and in 2011 will match year’s figure of about 26 sales. “Parents of buyers very often have the say, and they want to see activity on a site, you have to have that activity to create the confidence that a scheme will be finished,” he observes. At Forest Hill right now, he has B1 energy rated 1,250 sq ft three-bed semis at €235,000, 2,000 sq ft four-bed semis with two en suites at €335,000, two-beds at €145,000, a show unit at €160,000, and three-bed mid-terraceds at €175,000.

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

Lee Road, Cork €215,000 104 (1,120 sq ft) 3 Pending Yes

Four-bed semi on north side of city

This Larchfield house is ready to go, reports Tommy Barker THERE’S little or nothing to do at No 52 Larchfield, a four-bed semi up above the Commons Road and Blackpool on Cork city’s northside. The won’t even be a blade of grass to cut, as the gardens front and back are paved or done in hard landscaping. There’s easy-keep parking on printed concrete in front, softened by perimeter planting, while behind there’s paving, gravel, raised beds, and a small raft of decking by the garden shed. Auctioneer Matt Fallon of FML Properties guides No 52 at €220,000, and at that price level there’s a

well-finished modern four-bed on offer, in what he says is showhouse condition, with a professional landscaper’s hand seen in the gardens. Rooms include a front reception room with open fireplace, a rear study or smaller family/TV room, a slender kitchen/diner in a black and white decor theme, and there’s ground floor guest WC plus overhead main family bathroom. VERDICT: Five years ago two-bed apartments were making the sort of money this four-bed semi-d is now on offer for.

HERE’S both history and property pedigree in 4 Hollymount House, a three-bed home of style which was carved out of a portion of a large, 19th century Georgian house and one-time home to a city sheriff, as well as a titled lady artist, above the Lee Road in Cork. Home now to an architect and to an artist, plus a daughter, No 4 (at the eastern end of the original Hollymount House, with more of the

house pictured above) was ‘sale agreed’ almost two years ago but got tangled up in a legal hitch which saw the process drawn out, and eventually collapsing. Now, it is marked down to €215,000 by Michael O’Donovan of Sherry FitzGerald, who praises its renovation and refurbishment, as well as integration of reclaimed and salvage architectural items. Still full of Georgian and later

Victorian period detail, with contemporary touches, it’s a manageable size, at just over 1,100 sq ft, and with little exterior grounds will suit a person not into gardening or who wants a city-edge base to lock up and go. VERDICT: A complete surprise inside, it’s also a bit a of a delight, giving the chance to live in some splendour, at an affordable buy-in price.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

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STARTER HOMES

Southside suburban townhouse hits the right spot

9 Elm Close is prefect for a single buyer or a trader-down. Tommy Barker reports Location: Price: Size: Bedrooms: BER rating: Broadband:

Douglas Road, Cork €195,000 95 sq m (1,020 sq ft) 2 Pending Yes

FAIR HILL, CORK €175,000 Sq m: 79 (850 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes

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

CAPPOQUIN, WATERFORD €50,000 + Sq m: 125 (1,345 sq ft) BER rating: Pending

PROPERTY FEATURE

House stock levels ‘low’

A construction firm boss says the completed stock in Cork is equivalent to just three months normal demand, writes Tommy Barker

COMPLETED VACANT APARTMENTS IN CORK Cork city: 307 Douglas/Rochestown: 122 North of Cork city (Blarney/Glanmire): 21 Midleton: 4 Carrigaline: 1 Bishopstown/Ballincollig: 145. ● Source: DoE

COMPLETED VACANT HOUSES IN CORK

Stephen McCarthy of Astra Construction with builders at his Forest Hill Development, Carrigaline, Co, Cork.

VERDICT: Time to look once more behind the sofa?

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

History respected with this revamp The renovation and refurbishment of this property has been lauded. Tommy Barker reports

Bedrooms: 3 Broadband: Yes

Commons Road, Cork €220,000 102 sq m (1,100 sq ft) 4 Pending Yes

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

Lee Road, Cork €215,000 104 (1,120 sq ft) 3 Pending Yes

Four-bed semi on north side of city

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PROPERTY

November is an ideal month to check this house

GETTHELOOK

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

1 The Stack: Neat, contemporary and space saving, this unit combines flat screen TV and electric fire screen in one handy unit that’s seen in more and more homes. It’s the new hearth. See www.campionkitchens.ie

Riverside provides an ideal location for those who want to escape the city, but maintain some of the convenience, writes Rose Martin

OVEMBER is the most honest month in which to sell a house. The sky is low, the trees are bare and flower beds are just greyed-off husks. Not a good time to show — but the best of all times for buyers. November is the season of rising damp and freezing fog — perfect for fault finding. So it’s a confident seller indeed who hurls their property upon the choppy seas of a moribund November market. In the case of this waterside home at Fergus, Dripsey, they owners are unrepentantly selling — and are confident that the stunning location and quality of space on offer will bring the buyers. Built into rock and raised high above the Lee on its southern bank, just beyond Dripsey village, Riverside is high, dry and in excellent structural and decorative condition. It’s on the market with Terry Hayes of Remax for offers in the region of €475,000 and he says it’s very good value at that level, considering the quality and space on offer. Minutes from the Model Village, the area has a surprisingly dense population with a number of discreet oneoffs — but then, it is only half an hour to Cork city. Close by Griffin’s Garden Centre, (Riverside is across the river and down a bit), the house is the last property on a cul de sac road which bounds this inlet of the river Lee. When the levels drop, the deep mud flats provide ideal feeding ground for waders and other birds and when it’s up, there’s a mooring from which to go a rowing. The owners have a strip of foreshore to the front of the house, (it’s on the other side of the access road) and they spend the summer boating — they can reach Farran Woods easily

from here and motor as far as Inniscarra Dam, but usually venture to Agharinagh, where there’s a public water sport facility which is ideal for families. And speaking of families, the reason this house is being sold is because the owners’ are downsizing to the city. The location gave their kids a good, healthy upbringing, (and they attended the local schools, nearby), but now the house is too big for just two.

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

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

Standing on a site of threequarters of an acre and with 3,700 square feet of space in total, this house has everything for the outdoorsy, athletic family and it has enough luxury too, for the couch potatoes. Riverside is approached via a snaking drive to a large forecourt, (which acts like a viewing platform over the water), and entrance is through a bright, double height hallway with full length glazing and a

Dripsey, Cork €475,000 354 sq m (3,787 sq feet) 6 Pending Location and setting

bespoke, teak staircase. The main living space is to the right and comprises a large kitchen/dining room with a very high-end kitchen — no surprise as its owner Martin Campion’s business is fitted furniture. The kitchen end of the room is fitted with a bank of units in an L shape and finished with a high breakfast bar/ island unit. The cabinets are solid wood with a vanilla finish and worktop is quality granite. All the expensive extras are there, including a huge Baumatic range cooker, extractor and a Franke sink with flexi-hose tap and bowl fittings. Across from the kitchen is the dining area and it’s set behind a glass block partition from the hallway. Behind that again there’s access to the utility room/ pantry, which in turn leads out to an enclosed yard with high, rock wall boundary. The informal living room is a step down from the kitchen/ dining area and is a good, rectangular space that manages to fit a large leather suite with plenty of room left over. A bank of full length windows look out over the water and give onto a westfacing patio while the room’s focal point is a simple, sandstone fireplace with open fire. Another door leads back to the main hallway and further along a corridor, to a second, family room. This rectangular space has a built-in unit that includes a television and screen fire with double doors leading out to a secluded courtyard. This space, which connects to the converted garage, is filled with a hot tub (included in the sale) and the owners had been planning to cover the space in glass, at one stage. The rest of the ground floor has an en suite bedroom, a guest bathroom and fully fitted

2 Keep stuff: This old pram and dolly add a kitschy touch to a home —and are handy for the grandchildren.

Pictures: Denis Scannell

3 Water: It’s the ultimate luxury. The value of any property is increased with water or sea frontage — that is unless there’s a risk of flooding. Here, the house sits high above the River Lee with its own mooring below. 4 Classic Kitchen: Vanilla and granite units — you can’t go wrong. See www.campionkitchens.ie 5 Living Room: It’s all about proportion when it comes to living rooms — and light. Here a bank of windows overlook the water. 6 Big Bedrooms: The last word in luxury

office, while overhead, there’s a huge galleried landing. In fact, this space had been earmarked for a bathroom, but with so many in the house, the decision was made to allow it to remain a generous circulation space. Again, new owners could close it off, but as it houses a spiral staircase to the converted attic, that could be problematic. The rest of the first floor accommodation includes bedrooms two and three, which share a Jack and Jill en suite and then, there’s the master bedroom. Taking up one side of the house, and with its own balcony visible from the front elevation, this is a fine room. And it comes with the mother of all walk-in wardrobes, with robes on three sides and a seating area in the middle — the size of a commercial changing room, really and superbly fitted. The bathroom, meanwhile is another large room, with

generous corner bath, twin basins fitted along one wall and a separate shower stall — quite luxurious. That’s not all — up the spiral staircase and there’s a whole floor of space, with a rough division into two spaces, both of which could be suitable as en suite bedrooms, gym, den or a combination of all the above. Families with teenagers will love the converted garage: downstairs, there’s a music/ pool room with bathroom and overhead, a lofted recreation space, so teenagers can be seen but not heard, so to speak. This element of the house will also suit multi-generational families as the garage could easily become a self-contained unit. Terry Hayes is giving a guide of €475,000 for the house, which offers good value in euro per square metre. VERDICT: Definitely worth a look — and imagine what it will be like in summer.

‘The location gave their kids a good, healthy upbringing, (attending local schools), but the house is too big for just two’ IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

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PROPERTY

November is an ideal month to check this house

GETTHELOOK

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

Riverside provides an ideal location for those who want to escape the city, but maintain some of the convenience, writes Rose Martin

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

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

Dripsey, Cork €475,000 354 sq m (3,787 sq feet) 6 Pending Location and setting

2 Keep stuff: This old pram and dolly add a kitschy touch to a home —and are handy for the grandchildren.

Pictures: Denis Scannell

‘The location gave their kids a good, healthy upbringing, (attending local schools), but the house is too big for just two’ IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

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INTERIORS

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

SEASONALCHARMS

Go festive

Get the look without breaking the bank ■ The hand-made look is one of the top trends in interiors this season and lends itself so well to Christmas tree decorations. One such maker is Angela Nevin of The Design Workshop, Lismore, who is crafting adorable patchwork and buttoned little morsels to hang from your tree or to take as a gift when visiting friends. €3.50 each or three for €9.

Carol O’Callaghan offers decorating suggestions for those who want to give bling the boot this Christmas

Sparkling ideas for baubles Baubles don’t have to be confined to the Christmas tree but can be displayed as part of table centrepieces and on mantles. This decoration from Waterford Crystal will suit a traditionalstyle tree, finished in seasonal gold and greens (€20 at Brown Thomas).

Plain table wares and linens are enlivened with colourful crackers and a scattering of baubles (tablewares from €5, candles from €8, mirror €35, runner €8 at Heatons).

Free up your dining room sideboard surface to hold tablewares, glasses and napkins for your buffet drinks party. Choose red candles, a floral arrangement to add softness and an ornate mirror for texture (Boudoir sideboard €1,100 from Comptoir de Famille collection at Boulevard Interiors).

Cute little washing-line garland can be hung from a fireplace or across a mirror (€8 at Heatons).

Loop some ribbon through this hanging bow and tie around a table napkin (€6 from Penneys).

Go animal crackers It wouldn’t be Christmas without a few reindeer dashing through the snow. Animal-themed accessories are a big trend. Try the Red Stag cushion on your favourite chair (from Next Interiors (approx €20).

Left: Red accessories can transform the clean white look for Christmas without going over the top. Try word ornaments, hearts, red tea towels and oven gloves, bowls and pots (from €7 at M&S). Right: For an opulent Christmas look red and gold wares make a strong statement set against a wooden table or white table cloth (platter from the Paisley range at Meadows & Byrne €24.95).

HY is it the holiday season is often anything but a holiday? It seems we run ourselves ragged for weeks in advance of Christmas with shopping lists, cooking plans, cleaning schedules and, above all, stressing and fretting. Then there’s the decorating, running up precarious step ladders to try to pin swags of tinsel to the ceiling, whose glitter we’re picking off carpets and upholstery for months afterwards. So is it time to consider a new approach? Are you ready to abandon the emphasis on bling-bling and try something that doesn’t turn your house into Santa’s grotto? Start by focusing your attention on specific areas such as the dining table and mantelpiece. These are the places that are noticed and lend themselves

very well to decorating without changes or additions getting in the way of the purpose for which they were intended. The mantelpiece with its roaring fire beneath will always draw the eye and it’s a fantastic platform on which to display candles, to drape a swag, or to place a selection of your favourite Christmas ornaments. Make it as minimalist or busy as you wish, but if you are opting for the latter, make sure you have a variety of shapes, heights and textures. A more minimalist approach, but one that is surprisingly warm, is placing just candlesticks of varying heights on the mantelpiece, and if backed by a mirror their flames will reflect creating a doubling effect of the candles displayed. Where there’s an obligation to satisfy family expectations, mix Christmas

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

cards, decorative snowflakes, stockings and Santa Claus ornaments, which will keep these items off other surfaces needed when entertaining. For a little wit and fun drape fairy lights round an over-mantle mirror using all white for a grown up look and multi-coloured for fun. Finish with an ornamental greeting such as a ‘NOEL’ sign beneath. For a more tailored look, dress the mantel with a garland and spike it with some of your favourite foliage which you can spray paint in gold or silver. Magnolia leaves lend themselves beautifully to this treatment. The dining table must be the most important interior feature at Christmas, after the tree, and can be easily adapted from formal layout for dinner to a casual help-yourself-buffet style. Seasonally themed wares in red and

green, or with gold and silver detailing, can be utilised all year round diluted with plainer wares and clear stemware unless you’ve opted for plates and napkins with red-nosed reindeer emblazoned upon them. Perk up your gleaming white wares and silver grey runners with napkins tied with red ribbons threaded through a tasteful tree bauble, continuing the theme on green stems foraged from the garden and placed along the centre of the table. The natural look really is hard to beat, and brings with it a quality that works with the interior and not screaming out against it. So if you want to make this your decorating theme this year, head to the woods for a Sunday afternoon of foraging. ■ Next week: interiors gifts for friends.

Stylish chrome finishes the Reindeer votive holder to light your dining table centrepiece (€69.99 at Meadows & Byrne).

Theme your mantlepiece with Christmas baubles and candles, and add beautifully wrapped small be-ribboned gifts (baubles from €4.50 at TK Maxx)

Elegant and delicate little reindeer can be placed by the fireside or at the front door to welcome visitors (€22.95 at Carrig Donn).

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INTERIORS

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

SEASONALCHARMS

Go festive

Carol O’Callaghan offers decorating suggestions for those who want to give bling the boot this Christmas

Plain table wares and linens are enlivened with colourful crackers and a scattering of baubles (tablewares from €5, candles from €8, mirror €35, runner €8 at Heatons).

Cute little washing-line garland can be hung from a fireplace or across a mirror (€8 at Heatons).

Loop some ribbon through this hanging bow and tie around a table napkin (€6 from Penneys).

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

Stylish chrome finishes the Reindeer votive holder to light your dining table centrepiece (€69.99 at Meadows & Byrne).

Theme your mantlepiece with Christmas baubles and candles, and add beautifully wrapped small be-ribboned gifts (baubles from €4.50 at TK Maxx)

Elegant and delicate little reindeer can be placed by the fireside or at the front door to welcome visitors (€22.95 at Carrig Donn).

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

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DIY

HAVE A HAPPY CONSCIENTIOUS CHRISTMAS

DIYTIPS

How to make personalised printed wrapping paper

A trip to your local photocopier (or a stolen moment in the office) and you can make your own vintage style personalised paper scattered with images of your family’s year. WHAT YOU NEED: ■ Photographs, postcards, children’s artwork (handprints are ideal). You can photocopy or print these out from a PC, resize and recopy if you want to cut them up or crimp the edges of the images for effect ■ A roll of brown wrapping paper to copy out A3 sheets of your personalised wrap

The holidays are an excuse to turn a blind eye to waste and expense. But Kya deLongchamps says frugality can be fun.

T’S wonderful to see the high streets bristling with Christmas promise already this weekend, but I will admit to being rather tired of all the inevitable (and expensive) commercialisation. Rather than surrendering to this “add water and stir” sort of celebration, this year try including a more personal, considered and inexpensive eco-friendly approach to the festivities, something to save you money, relieve the collective environmental hangover and draw the family into the preparations.

DECORATIVE CHARM Frugality is the new black and in domestic fashion. To save energy and for optimum safety, don’t run any decorative mains fed lighting when you are out of the house. Did you know you’re already using 5 hours more lighting as it is in winter? Timers can kick the festivities on after dusk, clocking back off when you go to bed. LEDs are 90% more energy efficient than standard Christmas lighting and last longer than an incandescent bulb. Woodie’s DIY offer 180 LEDs suitable for inside or out for just €35. Why not go solar outdoors? Simply wrap strings or nets of fairy lights around your favourite trees close to the house, and wait for dusk to fall. Good for about 20 hours of magical glow from €34. See www.iwantoneofthose.com. Creating homemade decorations for Christmas is a lost art little seen outside of a Kindergarten class. Sit down with your children and rediscover the lost art of paper chains, orange pomanders (a super gift too), popcorn garlands and paper stars. Online sites are stuffed full of inexpensive inspiration and I have to say the American crafters beat them all for variety. Try www.familyfun.go.com for votives, mangers and gorgeous garlands, and www.allfreecrafts.com suitable for clever needleworkers and kids alike. TREE TALK An artificial tree is made from petrochemical ingredients, but if you already have one, it makes sense to make good use of it. Cut trees create CO2 while growing and if properly sourced and disposed of have a light, sustainable skip on the planet’s surface during their lifetime. Many suppliers will collect as well as deliver your tree right to your door, including www.christmastree.ie.

■ Sharp scissors ■ Ruler ■ Pencil

(open from December 4 in Cork) If you are lucky enough to have a living tree, 12 days is enough full time hospitality, so time its full entry carefully. Don’t orphan it directly outdoors after Christmas, but acclimatise if over a period of a couple of weeks moving it to colder areas gradually. A living Christmas tree that’s likely to reach 20M at mature height will prove a thug if planted out in a sliver of lawn. The smallest growing Christmas trees are Fraser firs, which reach about 7m after twenty years. Why not decorate a potted fir in traditional style, and gift it for outdoors this Christmas and indoors next? If you don’t want a tree at all, reinvent a large, dry bare branch or length of driftwood with an undulating, twisted profile (to make it sit up nicely) and surviving branches to suit your space. Prop it up in a corner, or lay it over a generous sideboard or table as a sculptural decoration. A light sand followed by a wash of white emulsion (ensure the timber is dry), add a few decorations in a two colour scheme suspended over your piece — just stunning. When buying wreaths, avoid holly with berries unless the retailer can explain their source. Holly (Ilex Aquifolium) is an endangered species in Ireland and wild trees are vandalised each year for the trade in street corner decorations. Evergreen cuttings from the garden, can serve just as well.

■ An iron

The sweetest thing. A honey maker in Malawi benefits from a gift from Oxfam in your name. www.oxfamirelandunwrapped.com €26.

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IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

Iron the paper as flat as possible with a low setting to prevent scorching Arrange your photographs and other imagery on a photocopier face down. Try overlapping them or setting apart as the brown paper will give an interesting, textured background. Test the image on cheaper white A3 (you can keep these testers for emergency wrap!) When you’re satisfied feed your well flattened brown paper A3 into the copier. Repeat. Try tying up your vintage look wrap with string for a final flourish.

Q&A

IT’S A WRAP Before you pick up that generic wrapping paper that we all know will be shredded and chucked over a greedy shoulder, create something your recipient is compelled to tenderly pluck apart and treasure together with the gift it shrouds. Honest and attractive, a roll of inexpensive brown parcel paper perfectly cut and folded can be transformed with some old style dressings. Use scalloped edged scissors to gentrify the edges and string or wide silk ribbon to tie. A natural garland of dried flowers, berries or bows really completes a nostalgic show or Christmas decorations such as sparkling sprays, tiny chinking bells, and character ornaments that can be tucked under your ties. Print out images for decoupage and tags from family photographs in your digital albums or from the millions of free Christmas motifs and fonts online

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Cut the brown paper into A3 sized sheets. This is the largest size most commercial photocopiers can handle

Found materials and cuttings from the garden inject the essence of Christmas for just a little effort. Inspiration from the team at Interflora. A garland, wreath or mantle dressing would also make an ideal gift. www.interflora.com.

including www.christmas-projects.com. A gel pen in silver or gold is useful for prettifying messages. Recycle samples and scraps in small remnants of fabric. Printed paper goods such as maps make charming wrapping. Conceal a larger kitchen gift in a fresh apron secured with its own ties. Gift packaging waste is phenomenal at Christmastime, some 47kg per household (www.repak.ie), and

re-purposing is just one way to cut down on the seasonal carnage. Recycle all those attractive blingy bags presented by retailers with every diminutive object. Hammock the gift in tissue paper, poke it down into the bag and surround if with some softly scrunched tissue paper to allow the recipient a satisfying dig. Bags can be kept and used again, and little girls love them for imaginative play and storage.

LED lighting is 90% more efficient than standard lights strands. Use it indoors and out and it will outlast those watt-hungry incandescent too. IKEA hanging lights and subtle LEDs make a magical, gentle show.

GIFTS THAT KEEP GIVING Many of us will be cutting the gift list down to a more manageable size this year, and there are only a few people in your life who will be really offended at not being included. We all groan loudly about the death of neighbourliness. ? An IOU to paint a room in an older relatives house, a token for a weekend or night course or a detailed,

handwritten letter in a crafted card (not a typed generic missal, everyone secretly hates these PC family bulletins). From a sunflower crop for a family in Zimbabwe (Oxfam) to fruit trees that will pay for education in Guatemala (Trocaire), Irish based charities are desperate for help this year. These acts cost more time, effort and even a little personal daring, but isn’t that what Christmas is all about?

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

Q. My Christmas tree always seems to be half dead by Christmas, even if I risk a last minute scramble. What can I do to keep it fresh?

together with the Noble Fir (Abies procera) have the reputation of holding onto their greenery and deliver a wonderful smell.

A. The tree has about 15 days of reasonable ‘life’. Bring it home at the last possible moment, storing it outside. Put it in water-filled sand or wedged into position with stones or newspaper away from direct heat. Give a living tree at least 1.5 litres of water a day.

Q. Should I cut my tree from the top or bottom if it’s too tall for the room?

Q. How can I prevent needle shed?

A. Always from the base. Cutting the leader branch at the top will leave you with a tree without its natural symmetry. Measure the tree and add about 50cm for a rough total height.

A. Check the freshness, grasp a small bundle of needles on the outside and give them a sharp tug. There should be only a few needles in your hand. Q. What is the best species of tree for Christmas? A. The Norway Spruce (Picea abies) is attractive and inexpensive, but is top of the league in terms of needle shed. The Nordman Fir (A nordmanniana) with it’s thick flat needles and silvery underside

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

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DIY

HAVE A HAPPY CONSCIENTIOUS CHRISTMAS

DIYTIPS

How to make personalised printed wrapping paper

The holidays are an excuse to turn a blind eye to waste and expense. But Kya deLongchamps says frugality can be fun.

■ Sharp scissors ■ Ruler ■ Pencil

■ An iron

The sweetest thing. A honey maker in Malawi benefits from a gift from Oxfam in your name. www.oxfamirelandunwrapped.com €26.

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Q&A

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Cut the brown paper into A3 sized sheets. This is the largest size most commercial photocopiers can handle

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

Q. My Christmas tree always seems to be half dead by Christmas, even if I risk a last minute scramble. What can I do to keep it fresh?

together with the Noble Fir (Abies procera) have the reputation of holding onto their greenery and deliver a wonderful smell.

Q. Should I cut my tree from the top or bottom if it’s too tall for the room?

Q. How can I prevent needle shed?

A. Always from the base. Cutting the leader branch at the top will leave you with a tree without its natural symmetry. Measure the tree and add about 50cm for a rough total height.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

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Snuggly throws, flickering candles and a nice cup of tea are some of the must-haves for cold winter days. Carol O’Callaghan has braved the elements to shop for all the necessities.

Inject a little wit into the mundane task of drying the ware with the Four Ages of Man tea towel (from Aga shops nationwide €7.95).

1950s style seems set to stay. Check out the illusion teapot for wintery afternoon cuppas (€35 at M&S).

�� Paul Costelloe applies his design talent to the humble candle to make an aesthetically pleasing little decorative object that's also perfect as a gift (€8.50 at Dunnes Stores).

Drape a cuddly furry throw across the end of the bed or over the arm of a chair for extra chilly evenings (€15 at Heatons).

��

�� Multi-function is the buzz word in interiors these days and the Bauble candle from Debenhams fits the theme perfectly (approx. €5).

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

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IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

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WISH LIST

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Snuggly throws, flickering candles and a nice cup of tea are some of the must-haves for cold winter days. Carol O’Callaghan has braved the elements to shop for all the necessities.

Inject a little wit into the mundane task of drying the ware with the Four Ages of Man tea towel (from Aga shops nationwide €7.95).

1950s style seems set to stay. Check out the illusion teapot for wintery afternoon cuppas (€35 at M&S).

�� Paul Costelloe applies his design talent to the humble candle to make an aesthetically pleasing little decorative object that's also perfect as a gift (€8.50 at Dunnes Stores).

Drape a cuddly furry throw across the end of the bed or over the arm of a chair for extra chilly evenings (€15 at Heatons).

��

�� Multi-function is the buzz word in interiors these days and the Bauble candle from Debenhams fits the theme perfectly (approx. €5).

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

��

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INTERIORS

HOME ECONOMICS

ASK THE

DESIGNER

I’m thinking of installing a breakfast bar in my kitchen — what do you think?

A. I’m a big fan. Apart from the obvious aesthetic appeal, they’re a great transitional space for a quick coffee in the morning or chatting to friends as you make dinner. If you live in an open plan apartment, they can also create a divide between the kitchen and living space. The standard height for a breakfast bar is 3.5ft — but if you’re much shorter or taller, this can be adapted to suit. Invest in good quality bar stools, such as those by French designer Philippe Starck — or you may never use the new addition to your kitchen. Where space is tight, consider a drop-down (collapsible) breakfast bar for two.

Q. With three children to cater for, Santa has arrived a bit early to our house — but can you suggest a stash? A. Under the bed is most common place for Santas who’ve shopped throughout the year to store presents until Christmas morning — but here are a few safer hiding spots. If possible, remove Santa’s presents from the house altogether to a safe haven the kids can’t search, such as a friend’s house or the office. At home, old suitcases, a long zipup suit bag, the attic or boot of the car are some suggestions — basically anything that can be locked. It’s a good idea for Santa to write down everywhere he hides things — just in case. Q. I’m shopping for a new bed, but am very confused by all the different

Colours leap from this site which is a must-see for interior design fans. Gorgeous swathes of fabrics in just about any room are featured in many colour combinations. Check out their avocado greens teamed with rich purple which is adventurous at the best of times but works so well on this site. A library of fabric and wallpaper collections cover so many options you are sure to find something to suit your abode. Set up by a brother and sister, these ideas are sure to complement a family home. ■ www.designersguild.com

Interior designer Deborah Ruddy of Chic Unique, Ratoath, Co Meath, see www.chicunique.ie, answers your questions. Email: interiors@examiner.ie.

ACHINE or Hands? The dishwasher might seem a curious power saver, but it is in fact infinitely superior to washing dishes by hand. For starters, getting soaped up to the elbows over a 12 place dinner setting would take a staggering 42 litres of hot water to complete. A modestly performing dishwasher could handle the same load in just 12 litres. The total energy for heating the water, never mind the potential future cost of the water is 55% with the help of a machine. To snap on the gloves for a whole year and wash the family’s eating and cooking detritus demands at least 300 man hours, more than 10 days of thankless servitude, only ever be noticed if you don’t do it!

A. Although the actual frame may vary in size depending on the degree of ornamentation, beds are sold according to the size of mattress they take. However, as most countries have their own names and standard sizes for the various mattresses available, the whole process can be a bit confusing — especially if you’re shopping online. Here in Ireland, the most commonly available sizes are: Small Single (2’ 6”), Single (3’), Small Double (4’) , Double (4’ 6”), King (5’) and Super King (6’) — but others such as Emperor (7’) may be available on request. For a single person, a small double should be sufficient. For couples, go for a King size if possible. Try www.mattress.ie. Q. We’re redoing our hallway floor and lots of friends have recommended ‘parquet’ — but can you tell me exactly what it is? It’s currently tiled.

Above: Idea for breakfast bar. Left and below paraquet flooring examples.

A. Back in the 17th century, large diagonal squares known as ‘parquet de Versaille’ were introduced as a replacement for marble flooring in Versailles, France. More recently however, parquet flooring has come back into vogue. Basically, parquetry is a mosaic of wood used for flooring or furniture design. For flooring, it comes in a variety of woods, including oak, walnut, cherry and maple and is usually laid in a decorative herring bone design. Although more expensive than tiles, parquet floors usually last longer, require less maintenance and are warmer underfoot.

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

Roche Bobois

For a breathtaking insight into proud European style and form check out this site. Sheer elegance drips from the pages and its furniture collection is a definite must-see. You glide through the selection in a slideshow which whisks you off to another time and space. Products are whittled down into separate sections which include everything from sofas to modular furniture. It refers to having the most avant garde pieces of today’s world and it Is hard to argue with that after a browse on this site. ■ www.roche-bobois.com

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

Machines hands down Kya deLongchamps continues her series in being more energy conscious in the home this winter

mattress sizes available — can you shed any light on the issue?

WEB WATCH Designers Guild

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Willie Duggan Lighting

This lighting company has really moved with the times if this site is anything to go by. The slick website has a mass of images from clients’ completed projects. Pictures from homes, businesses, showhomes, bars, restaurants, hotels and even a theatre grace these pages to give customers an idea of their work. Different styles of lighting are visited with ideas for integrated shelves, staircases, open plan living spaces to family home kitchens. The great outdoors is not forgotten about also as colour options exist to uplift any building. ■ www.williedugganlighting.com

An example of Willie Duggan Lighting for the outdoors.

Help prevent leaks this winter

THERE’S MORE It takes a temperature of around 65ºC to properly clean and disinfect dishes, something difficult to tolerate even in thick rubber gloves and screaming stabs to retrieve the cutlery. Drying with heat takes away streaks and the danger of smearing dishes with a vagrant tea-towel. The only real price of stuffing your slop behind a nice bright white door is the inevitable chore of emptying the blasted thing. IMMACULATE FEATURES When choosing a machine don’t just look at the overall efficiency reading (from A, the most efficient, to C), notice the reading is for its washing and drying cycles, generally stated individually on the energy label. An “AAA” rated machine, which hits the heights of energy, wash, and drying efficiency and performance, is now more widely available. Don’t be dazzled by a machine with eco-this and biothat. Sometimes, the eco-cycle is judged on a small, pre-rinsed load. A basic machine, and this is largely all most of us need, will boast a standard (65ºC), intense (65-70ºC) and economy cycle (50-55ºC). Extra performance cycles for example to put a dazzle on glassware (40ºC and low water pressure) are increasingly popular. As with washing machines, half-loads may only cut your energy draw by 10-25%. One of the significant improvements in dishwasher design is in the reduction of noise thanks to better insulation and smaller motors. Prices run from around €300 to over €1,000 for keenly engineered machines with fuzzy logic allowing full automation from Miele, LG and Siemens. These immaculate beasts can turbo-dry your ware and even soften calcium rich water. In entry level machines Argos offers a 12 place Beko with AAA rating, 5 programmes including a 30-minute quick wash at just €280 in white. Miele have a number of key features marking out their top flight machines including the

Miele G5000 Dishwasher Series. Note the handy height of this integrated machine, practical for loading and emptying without the back strain. From €849.

G5000 Series, with its Comfort Close, that pops the door open to release steam and aid drying at the end of the cycle. From €849. www.miele.ie. CAPACITY A setting represents one dinner plate, one side plate, a cup and saucer and a dish, and every machine will have a setting capacity. A fully loaded, full-size machine is the most economic choice if you can justify it.Don’t be overawed by a complicated configuration as extras like cutlery drawers can impinge on over-all space. Even an average-sized family might have difficulty in filling a full-size 60cm machine of 12-14 settings in the course of one day. In that case you can either vouch for a slim-line machine of 45cm with capacity for some 6-9 settings or find a machine with the flexibility of a half load setting which will only wash one basket. The Fisher Paykel DishDrawer has an individual two drawer design as you can split the load

and the programmes for one wash. From €1,089 in stainless steel. www.fisherpaykel.ie.

f you’re worried about leaks from your dishwasher or the spectre of burst pipes this coming winter (and aren’t we all) there are some great new products from an Irish firm on the market, detailed to stop the problem at source before major damage occurs. The Leakstop Autovalve (€290) responds to the pressure and flow of water in your pipes and shuts off the water supply in your home or business when: ● There is a catastrophic pipe failure in the system. ● The air temperature at the valve location drops below 3°C. ● The water is left running continuously for more than 10 minutes (adjustable between 10 min and 40 minutes). ● The water is not in use for 24 hours. Leakstop Ireland, also carry a Floodstop Valve (€145), an electronic device that is wired to the valve installed on the main water inlet. If the Moisture Detection Pads come into contact with wetness, the system will shut the valve off within 10 seconds. You can fit as many pads as you like (€18.40) and even a second valve for peace of mind in a larger property. A wireless whole house kit, including several pads and a remote hub, is available to cover all the home’s major flood danger points, from the kitchen to the laundry (from €385). ● For pricing, delivery and further information telephone 021-4320020 or log onto www.leakstopireland.com

SHY OR ON SHOW Would you prefer freestanding, semiintegrated or fully integrated? In a freestanding model the machine is slid under a kitchen counter leaving every detail of its big flat face on show. If you want something more tailored and certainly more expensive, a semiintegrated machine carries a furniture door to match the rest of the cabinetry of the kitchen leaving the drawer height aspects of the machine including the handle and controls on view. For even greater discretion, the dishwasher can be rendered virtually invisible behind a full cabinet door, the full integration of the machine. In this case the controls are neatly tucked away along the inside edge of the machine door. In terms of cost, the more of the machine you hide, generally the more expensive it becomes.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

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INTERIORS

HOME ECONOMICS

ASK THE

DESIGNER

I’m thinking of installing a breakfast bar in my kitchen — what do you think?

Interior designer Deborah Ruddy of Chic Unique, Ratoath, Co Meath, see www.chicunique.ie, answers your questions. Email: interiors@examiner.ie.

Above: Idea for breakfast bar. Left and below paraquet flooring examples.

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

Roche Bobois

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

Machines hands down Kya deLongchamps continues her series in being more energy conscious in the home this winter

mattress sizes available — can you shed any light on the issue?

WEB WATCH Designers Guild

XP1 - V2

Willie Duggan Lighting

An example of Willie Duggan Lighting for the outdoors.

Help prevent leaks this winter

Miele G5000 Dishwasher Series. Note the handy height of this integrated machine, practical for loading and emptying without the back strain. From €849.

and the programmes for one wash. From €1,089 in stainless steel. www.fisherpaykel.ie.

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

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IN THE GARDEN

ANTIQUES & FINE ART ADVERTISING FEATURE

GARDENNOTES

■ Petals Floral Design Ballinlough Road will hold its Christmas open night on Thursday from 7pm-9pm. Proceeds will fund St Vincent de Paul. Tel: 021 4295040. ■ Ballycroneen National School will hold a flower demonstration with Michelle O’Keeffe of Woodland Flowers on December 7 at 8pm in Churchtown South Hall. For tickets ring 087-9619299. ■ Mitchelstown Flower and Garden Club will hold a Christmas floral demonstration with Enda Thompson Phelan in the Firgrove Hotel on Thursday at 8pm. ■ Bandon Flower Club will hold its annual dinner in The Munster Arms Hotel on Monday at 7.30pm. A demonstration by Mary Coleman will follow. Tickets from committee or from June 023-8842167. ■ A Christmas floral extravaganza by Richard Haslam will take place at the Greenbarn Garden Centre on December 8 at 7.30pm. Phone 024-90166 for tickets.

All flower arrangers use large amounts of distinctive foliage, coupled to many varieties of flowers, chief among these being lilies in season. Here, a highly-scented white variety is seen growing among another favourite choice Opium poppies. Many hundreds of international flower arrangers will visit the RDS Dublin during the forthcoming World Show.

11th world flower show

LANTS have always lent themselves to interpretation and never more so than at Christmas. At other times, and in different lands, people have always taken pleasure to see the rendition in floral displays and to attribute qualities to their character. Many flowers have ‘secret’ meanings, from daffodils which stand for regard and chivalry, to campanulas for gratitude. Plants and flowers even in this 21st century still carry meaning and where best perhaps to see some ultra modern interpretations than at the forthcoming 11th World Flower Show which is being held here in Ireland during the period 2011 to 2014. The Association of Irish Floral Artists (AOIFA) is delighted to have been elected as the

WAFA (World Association of Flower Arrangers) host country for the period 2011 — 2014 and the WAFA Ireland Management Committee has pleasure in announcing that the 11th World Flower Show will take place in the Royal Dublin Society in Ballsbridge, Dublin from June 18 to June 22, 2014. But long before then, many flower arrangers will visit the country for seminars, workshops and related events. The first meeting will commence with a pre-seminar tour on May 8 next at Kinsale, Co Cork. The seminar proper will commence on May 10 at the Fota Island Hotel Cork, with delegates visiting Cork city and county before leaving for Killarney. The entourage will then continue on to Limerick and Clare where

delegates will follow in the footsteps of botanists and geologists on a special visit to the important limestone landscape of the Burren. Throughout these nine days the delegates will attend demonstrations by AOIFA demonstrators and take part in workshops by some of their most talented tutors. Garden visits have also been arranged throughout the tour. The seminar will culminate with the post-seminar tour around Co Galway on May 21, 2012. The tour will pass through some of our most beautiful counties and it is hoped visiting delegates will return home with word of mouth details on their Irish tour, the forthcoming World Flower Show and the welcome afforded them. Their account will surely entice many to

WORK FOR THE WEEK MAINTENANCE: Before the weather closes down completely and puts a stop to any serious gardening, it might be a good idea to get as much tidying up done as is possible. Most people will already have made a start but I would urge others in their endeavours, for to leave it is to invite untidiness for the whole of winter and this can be an annoyance and a worry. Dirt in the form of leaves, dying stems, rotting foliage etc only

encourages slugs, snails and vermin, and nobody wants these. LAWNMOWERS: Now that the mowing season has finished for the majority, the lawnmower should be cleaned and put away for winter. The cutting blades and all raw metal parts should be coated in a film of light grease. If the machine needs an overhaul now is the time to get it done, not during St

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

by Charlie Wilkins visit during the show in 2014. The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) was founded in 1731 to promote the development of Agriculture/Horticulture, Arts, Industry and Science and is one of Ireland’s premier venues for conferences, exhibitions, trade and public shows and, of course, the famous Dublin Horse Show. The RDS is minutes from the city centre and 30 minutes from Dublin Airport. There are a hotels within walking distance and a good transport system links the venue to the city. WAFA Ireland looks forward to welcoming delegates from the 31 countries on what has been called a Celtic Journey, organised by seminar chairman, Cork’s Mary C O’Keeffe. ● www.wafaireland.com

by Charlie Wilkins Patrick’s week. On no account park it in the back of the garage and forget about it until next spring, for here it will deteriorate steadily. SEMI-TENDER garden plants which cannot (from a practical point of view) be lifted for winter can be covered now with bracken; green as when freshly cut, or brown following heavy frosts. I’m thinking now of the likes of the blue-flowered

agapanthus, selected forms of osteospermums, strong growing tender fuchsias and some of the better salvias. Simply lay the fern fronds over their positions and with some short lengths of fencing wire, pin them in position so that the wind won’t blow the lot away. Bracken will be found best of all for it does not allow wet or dampness to ‘stand’ beneath its multi layers irrespective of how much rain might fall.

■ Alpine/Garden Plant Society presents Ciaran Burke of The Garden School (Mayo) to speak on “Woody Wonders” at their meeting on Thursday in the Lavanagh Centre, Ballintemple at 7.45pm. ■ Bandon Art Group has a Christmas exhibition with a coffee morning in aid of the local St Vincent de Paul on Friday at 10am in Hosfords Blue Geranium Cafe and Garden Centre. ■ Mallow Flower and Garden Club host their gala Christmas demonstration in the GAA Complex Carrigoon on Tuesday at 8pm. ■ A talk on “How to protect your garden this winter,” followed by a lunch for €10, takes place at Griffins, Dripsey on Tuesday and Thursdayat 12pm. Christmas Demonstrations every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. ■ Lough Flower and Garden Club will host a gala Christmas demonstration by Una Fleming in the SMA Parish Centre Wilton on Tuesday next at 8pm. Tickets €15 includes supper and aids Cork Penny Dinners and Simon Cork.

Value for collectors in Irish Art and Antique market Quality sells but the price must be right!

EADLINED by the sale of a million euro Yeats a fascinating year for Irish art and antiques has seen good value for collectors, internet buyers from Asia boosting sales, reduced pre-sale estimates and the emergence of the very best pieces as an

Last September at Lynes & Lynes auction a fine pair of mid 19th century ebonized pedestals with ormulu decoration and pietra dura panels estimated at €1000-€2000 made € 7200.

■ Ladysbridge and District Flower and Garden Club meet on Monday at 8pm in Garryvoe Hotel for a Christmas floral arrangements demonstration with Rose Hickey. ■ The decorated home of DJ Murphy at Killumney, Ovens, Co Cork will be open today and tomorrow from noon to 8pm, and from Thursday to Sunday of next week. Proceeds will be shared between Marymount Hospice and Saoirse Alzheimers Unit West Cork.

very much alive. Current reality dictates that if the estimated price is not on the low side an item is unlikely to sell at auction. This is as true of a country sale in Ireland as it is at the dizzying heights of the international market. In New York this month Christie’s sale of Impressionist and Modern Art failed miserably, with 38% of the 82 lots failing to find buyers, including most of the star pieces. Immediately afterwards a dealer remarked that the quality could not have been any worse or the

A lacquer cigarette box presented by the late Emperor Hirohito of Japan made €3,800 at Hegarty's in Bandon in July.

estimates any higher. The market held its breath. Was this sale, which took place against the familiar

contemporary backdrop of financial turmoil, an indicator of yet another dreaded downturn in an international art market

which appeared to have recovered from a downturn continuing to affect almost everything else everywhere? Sotheby’s swiftly came up a resounding “No” to that. They reduced the estimates for their impressionist and modern sale the following day and brought in nearly $200 million with 57 lots sold and only 13 lots unsold. The lesson is clear. It is as apropos at a sale or fair in Ireland as at the pinnacle of the contemporary art market. Quality sells but the price must be right.

LYNES & LYNES

Important Auction

Antique Furniture, Paintings and Effects Next Saturday 26th November At 12 Noon

IRISH ART SALE Monday 28th November 2011 at 6.30pm Auction Venue:

■ Rita Moore will give a Christmas flower demonstration at Douglas Community Centre on November 29 at 8pm. Tickets €10 available from the Community Centre on Church Road. Proceeds go towards new Meals on Wheels kitchen. ■ East Cork Flower Club will hold a gala Christmas demonstration with Bernadette Scanlan on Thursday next in the Park Hotel at 7.30pm. Tickets €15, includes refreshments.

alternative investment for cash buyers. The very top end of the market is performing well, recessionary reality has intervened everywhere else. This far into 2011 it can be said that the Irish market is interesting, challenging and different. Though hard work it is

An oval satinwood inlaid writing desk, probably by Butler's of Dublin, made €2,200 at Marshs in Cork in November.

Radisson Blu & Spa Little Island Cork City Viewing: Sun 27th Nov: 12noon - 10pm Mon 28th Nov: 10am - 6pm Markey Robinson

Over 280 lots

CONTINUING WITH OUR ONLINE SALES Starting on Satuday 12th November at 9am Martin Stone Studio Sale

Music & Film Memorabilia

Visit www.morganodriscoll.com for full catalogue listings Ilen Street, Skibbereen, Co. Cork; Tel: 028 22338 · Mob: 086 2472425 email: info@morganodriscoll.com

Lot 136

Lot 150

Lot 205

Important items from Dunkathel House Glanmire, Rockgrove House Glounthaune (seat of the Dring family), The Castlefreke Seats, Good residual clearances from Castlemartyr, Glenbrook, Crablane and Sundays Well. Good Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian Furniture, 18th and 19th century Mirrors, Porcelain and Paintings. A Globe by C Smith 1858, Engravings and Litographs of Cork interest, childrens books, 2 fireplaces and numerous effects. Removed to our Auction Rooms At: Eastlink Business Park, Carrigtwohill, Co Cork (N25 East , Exit 4) Viewing: Tomorrow Sunday: 12 - 6pm • Next Monday - Thursday: 9.30- 6pm Friday: 9.30- 8pm (Limited Viewing Morning of Sale) Admission By Catalogue €5 Catalogue on Website Tel: 021-4389998 | 087-2531580 Email: info@lynesandlynes.com

www.lynesandlynes.com

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IN THE GARDEN

ANTIQUES & FINE ART ADVERTISING FEATURE

GARDENNOTES

11th world flower show

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

Value for collectors in Irish Art and Antique market Quality sells but the price must be right!

Last September at Lynes & Lynes auction a fine pair of mid 19th century ebonized pedestals with ormulu decoration and pietra dura panels estimated at €1000-€2000 made € 7200.

A lacquer cigarette box presented by the late Emperor Hirohito of Japan made €3,800 at Hegarty's in Bandon in July.

estimates any higher. The market held its breath. Was this sale, which took place against the familiar

contemporary backdrop of financial turmoil, an indicator of yet another dreaded downturn in an international art market

LYNES & LYNES

Important Auction

Antique Furniture, Paintings and Effects Next Saturday 26th November At 12 Noon

IRISH ART SALE Monday 28th November 2011 at 6.30pm Auction Venue:

An oval satinwood inlaid writing desk, probably by Butler's of Dublin, made €2,200 at Marshs in Cork in November.

Radisson Blu & Spa Little Island Cork City Viewing: Sun 27th Nov: 12noon - 10pm Mon 28th Nov: 10am - 6pm Markey Robinson

Over 280 lots

CONTINUING WITH OUR ONLINE SALES Starting on Satuday 12th November at 9am Martin Stone Studio Sale

Music & Film Memorabilia

Visit www.morganodriscoll.com for full catalogue listings Ilen Street, Skibbereen, Co. Cork; Tel: 028 22338 · Mob: 086 2472425 email: info@morganodriscoll.com

Lot 136

Lot 150

Lot 205

www.lynesandlynes.com

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ANTIQUES & FINE ART ADVERTISING FEATURE

Munster's 1978 defeat of the AllBlacks makes the collectibles market

UNUSUAL collectibles have done well this year too. Mealy’s of Castlecomer achieved 2,800 over an estimate of 400-500 for the official progamme for the historic 1978 game at which Munster beat the All-Blacks 12-0 at Thomond Park. It had been signed by the entire team. A group of 14 Irish George II embossed bird pictures c1750 by Samuel Dixon made $98,500 at Sotheby’s in New York. An antique carved rhino horn made 75,000 at Mealy’s, sold on the internet to a Chinese buyer. An Irish round tower made of matchsticks by Martin McGuinness when he was a prisoner in Portlaoise in 1974 made 6,200 at Whyte’s, a lacquered cigarette box once presented as a gift by the late Emperor Hirohito of Japan made 3,800 at Hegarty’s in Bandon, bought on the internet by a collector in Hong Kong.

O’DONOVAN AUCTIONS Newcastle West, Co. Limerick

Auctions 2nd Saturday of each month of Antiques, Fine Art, Silver, Gold, etc... OUTSIDE LOTS ACCEPTED NO ENTRY FEE - FREE PARKING Tel 069 62713 / 087 9977340 or 085 1389114

www.donovan.ie

Rare Books

FORTHCOMING AUCTION Rare Books, Manuscripts, Literature, Maps & Historical Memorabilia. 13th & 14th December, 2011 @ The Berkeley Court D.4 Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4

We Specialise in the sale of Libraries, Archives, & other Private Collections, Rare Books, First Editions, Signed Limited Editions, Manuscripts, Pamphlets, Maps, Atlases, Newspapers & Broadsides, Autographs, Bindings, Photographs, Historical & Republican Documents, Ledgers, Medals & Coins, Important Flags, G.A.A. & Sporting Memorabilia, Paintings, Prints, Postcards, Bank Notes, General Collectibles, & Ephemera.

Mealy’s Rare Books Ltd., Auctioneers & Valuers

The Old Cinema, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny Tel: 056-4441229 Website: www.mealys.com/rarebooks 20

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

Value for money in a buyers market A seller who demands too much is simply wasting the time of everyone involved

ever is the incurable tendency of the seller to have an enhanced view of the value of what they want to sell more exposed than during a recession. There is an analogy to be drawn with the housing market. Anyone could hang a sign right now outside a house saying: “For sale, first million secures!” As the words on the sign slowly fade away there will be plenty of time to reflect about what might have happened had a more realistic approach to pricing been taken. The situation affecting the art and antique

Shepherding by Walter Frederick Osborne made €23,500 at de Veres in October.

market in Ireland is not too different. At its most blunt a high estimate equals an unsold lot. A seller who demands too much is simply wasting the time of everyone involved. It is a buyer’s market

now. There is value to be had at auctions and fairs the length and breadth of Ireland. Thus far in 2011 many collectors bagged a bargain that they are secretly or not so secretly pleased with. Morgan O’Driscoll held three no

reserve artist’s studio sales this year. Each one bucked the trend by being 100 per cent sold. Every lot was marked down to the highest bidder no matter how far short of the reserve the final bid fell.

AIDAN FOLEY ANTIQUES & FINE ART The longest established family firm of auctioneers in Cork

THE BEST PLACE TO SELL YOUR ANTIQUES & ART IN MUNSTER

Rare Irish Republican GEORGE ATKINSON ‘The Visit of Queen Cork Silver Strawberry Dish Victoria to Cork Harbour’

‘Strahan’ Mahogany Library Table

www.irishcountryhome.com

THE AUCTION ROOMS SIXMILEBRIDGE, CO. CLARE TEL. 061 369533 IMPORTANT ANTIQUE & FINE ART AUCTION

TWO DAY SALE

Monday 21st @ 6pm t Tuesday 22nd @ 10.30am €12,000

€20,000

€7,000

MONTHLY ANTIQUE & ART AUCTIONS:

Held in our city centre auction rooms and in fine residences throughout Munster, Fully illustrated catalogue and website, Very large mailing list – first Irish Website, Twice yearly specialist Silver & Art auctions. NOW COLLECTING FOR NOVEMBER 30th ANTIQUE AUCTION Single items and collections constantly required.

JOSEPH

WOODWARD & SONS LTD

Established 1883 • 128 Generations • First for Results 26 COOK STREET, CORK . tel 021-4273327 Email: auctions@woodward.ie Web: www.woodward.ie

To include t THE TONY MCNAMARA Collection of Irish Books and Cork Glass t THE SPORTING SALE - Fishing Tackle, Taxidermy, Hunting Attire, Prints t A LARGE HOUSE CLEARANCE - On the Instructions of a Lady of Title

OVER 1500 LOTS OF ANTIQUE INTEREST TO BE SOLD Fully Illustrated Catalogue: www.irishcountryhome.com

Day 1: Selling Lots 1-500 Day 2: Selling Lots 500 onwards VIEWING: Today 11am – 5pm, Tomorrow 2pm – 5pm and Monday from 11am to start of First Sale @ 6pm and Tuesday from 9am to start of second day Sale at 10.30

THE OLD SCHOOLHOUSE, DONERAILE, CO. CORK

Next Sale Saturday 10th December 2011

Aidan Foley Antique & Fine Art Auctioneer Tel:022 24755/ 061-369533/ 086 8290680 or email afich@eircom.net

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Chinese collectors boost Irish sales CHINESE porcelain buyers are a latter day force on the global auction market. Ireland is not immune to this trend. A pair of turquoise ground famille rose bottle vases made 170,000 at Sheppards, bought by a London agent for a Chinese client. A blue and white Ming dragon dish at Adams was knocked down on the telephone to a dealer in London for 310,000. At Woodwards a rare Cork Republican Silver strawberry dish, sold privately for 12,000 after an auction, was given on long term loan to Cork Public Museum. Interest in antiques, collectibles and art remains undiminished. There are large numbers of people and the fairs, art and furniture auctions which are such a regular feature of life in Ireland. Collector’s read about the biggest prices, and know that there are bargains to be had at

A million reasons to like Yeats IT is not every day that a one million euro Yeats hits the market. The Dublin firm of James Adam knew they had a good one in September. They estimated A Fair Day, Mayo at €500,000-€800,000. Four bidders competed and the hammer price of one million euro made this 1925 work the highest priced painting ever sold at auction in Ireland. This was a boost for an Irish art market which has lingered in the recessionary despite a strong international art market recovery.

every sale, no matter how big or small. So far there has been only a trickle of fire sales — auctions caused by

Last September at Lynes & Lynes auction a fine pair of mid 19th century ebonized pedestals with ormulu decoration and pietra dura panels estimated at €1000-€2000 made € 7200.

William Conor RHA RUA ROI 1881-1968 Music Session, sold for €13,500 at Morgan O'Driscoll's Auction last May.

William Conor, Bringing Home the Turf made €2,000 at Dolan's art sale in Limerick in October.

financial institutions calling in their loans and forcing owners to sell. The NAMA inspired sale of 14 works of art from the collection of Derek

Quinlan in London and New York is the lead example. The probability is that there will be more in 2012. There is no shortage of sales in Ireland between now and the end of the year. There is available a wide variety of lots to

suit all tastes across various price ranges. This is a really great time to start collecting.

■ Please see our regular Antiques coverage on page 22

KILLARNEY ART & ANTIQUES C R, K

We specialise in small Antique pieces for that special occasion ‘The rare and the beautiful’ OPEN 7 DAYS Tel: 064 6625125 Mob: 087 4125791

SHEPPARD’S Irish Auction House Dublin and Provincial

29 November – 1 December 2011 • Important three-day Sale •

Period Furniture, Fine Art, and Asian Art from private collections and Irish country houses including Doneraile Court, Charleville Castle, Granston Manor, Mourne Park House, and the Perry Collection • located 90 minutes NE of Cork City: M8 (N), at J3 take R433 (R434) to Durrow • VIEWING

2:00–6:00pm Saturday: 26 November Sunday: 27 November Monday: 28 November SALE-DAYS Tuesday: 29 November Wednes: 30 November Thursday: 1 December ORDER CATALOGUE

www.sheppards.ie e-CATALOGUE Free & fully searchable PROXY & PHONE BIDDER

www.sheppards.ie

Bid Live via:

www.sheppards.ie Lot 673: Eighteenth-century French Aubusson Tapestery Estimate: €5,000–8000

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ANTIQUES & FINE ART ADVERTISING FEATURE

Munster's 1978 defeat of the AllBlacks makes the collectibles market

O’DONOVAN AUCTIONS Newcastle West, Co. Limerick

Auctions 2nd Saturday of each month of Antiques, Fine Art, Silver, Gold, etc... OUTSIDE LOTS ACCEPTED NO ENTRY FEE - FREE PARKING Tel 069 62713 / 087 9977340 or 085 1389114

www.donovan.ie

Rare Books

FORTHCOMING AUCTION Rare Books, Manuscripts, Literature, Maps & Historical Memorabilia. 13th & 14th December, 2011 @ The Berkeley Court D.4 Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4

Mealy’s Rare Books Ltd., Auctioneers & Valuers

The Old Cinema, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny Tel: 056-4441229 Website: www.mealys.com/rarebooks 20

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

Value for money in a buyers market A seller who demands too much is simply wasting the time of everyone involved

Shepherding by Walter Frederick Osborne made €23,500 at de Veres in October.

market in Ireland is not too different. At its most blunt a high estimate equals an unsold lot. A seller who demands too much is simply wasting the time of everyone involved. It is a buyer’s market

AIDAN FOLEY ANTIQUES & FINE ART The longest established family firm of auctioneers in Cork

THE BEST PLACE TO SELL YOUR ANTIQUES & ART IN MUNSTER

Rare Irish Republican GEORGE ATKINSON ‘The Visit of Queen Cork Silver Strawberry Dish Victoria to Cork Harbour’

‘Strahan’ Mahogany Library Table

www.irishcountryhome.com

THE AUCTION ROOMS SIXMILEBRIDGE, CO. CLARE TEL. 061 369533 IMPORTANT ANTIQUE & FINE ART AUCTION

TWO DAY SALE

Monday 21st @ 6pm t Tuesday 22nd @ 10.30am €12,000

€20,000

€7,000

MONTHLY ANTIQUE & ART AUCTIONS:

JOSEPH

WOODWARD & SONS LTD

Established 1883 • 128 Generations • First for Results 26 COOK STREET, CORK . tel 021-4273327 Email: auctions@woodward.ie Web: www.woodward.ie

OVER 1500 LOTS OF ANTIQUE INTEREST TO BE SOLD Fully Illustrated Catalogue: www.irishcountryhome.com

THE OLD SCHOOLHOUSE, DONERAILE, CO. CORK

Next Sale Saturday 10th December 2011

Aidan Foley Antique & Fine Art Auctioneer Tel:022 24755/ 061-369533/ 086 8290680 or email afich@eircom.net

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ANTIQUES & FINE ART ADVERTISING FEATURE

every sale, no matter how big or small. So far there has been only a trickle of fire sales — auctions caused by

Last September at Lynes & Lynes auction a fine pair of mid 19th century ebonized pedestals with ormulu decoration and pietra dura panels estimated at €1000-€2000 made € 7200.

William Conor RHA RUA ROI 1881-1968 Music Session, sold for €13,500 at Morgan O'Driscoll's Auction last May.

William Conor, Bringing Home the Turf made €2,000 at Dolan's art sale in Limerick in October.

financial institutions calling in their loans and forcing owners to sell. The NAMA inspired sale of 14 works of art from the collection of Derek

suit all tastes across various price ranges. This is a really great time to start collecting.

■ Please see our regular Antiques coverage on page 22

KILLARNEY ART & ANTIQUES C R, K

We specialise in small Antique pieces for that special occasion ‘The rare and the beautiful’ OPEN 7 DAYS Tel: 064 6625125 Mob: 087 4125791

SHEPPARD’S Irish Auction House Dublin and Provincial

29 November – 1 December 2011 • Important three-day Sale •

2:00–6:00pm Saturday: 26 November Sunday: 27 November Monday: 28 November SALE-DAYS Tuesday: 29 November Wednes: 30 November Thursday: 1 December ORDER CATALOGUE

www.sheppards.ie e-CATALOGUE Free & fully searchable PROXY & PHONE BIDDER

www.sheppards.ie

Bid Live via:

www.sheppards.ie Lot 673: Eighteenth-century French Aubusson Tapestery Estimate: €5,000–8000

D u r ro w • L a o i s Te l : 0 5 7 8 7 4 0 0 0 0 IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

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ANTIQUES & FINE ART

ADVERTISING

Sale for the true connoisseurs of antiques

IN BRIEF

Des O’Sullivan reports on a Cork sale

OVERS of rare and top quality antique furniture will have an embarrassment of riches to choose from at the Lynes and Lynes sale at Eastlink Business Park, Carrigtwohill next Saturday at noon. This promises to be a recession-breaking sale for the true connoisseur offering Irish furniture with impeccable provenance, some of which can be traced right back to the original maker. Top pieces include a magnificent Irish Georgian three pillar dining table (€40,000€60,000), a large fruitwood bookcase (€40,000-€60,000) and a large gilt overmantle mirror by Richard Harris of Hanover St, Cork (€30,000-€50,000. All are from Dunkathel House. There is a Cork sideboard

with carved head decoration (€15,000€25,000), a rare late Georgian semi-circular butler’s drinks table with fittings (€20,000-€25,000), ten Georgian Cork dining chairs (€12,000-€15,000) and a fine pair of Cork side tables with cross banded tops (€30,000€50,000), all from Dunkathel. The sale includes items from Rockgrove House, Glounthaune, Castlefreke, Co Cork and from houses in Blackrock and Sunday’s Well in Cork city. There is an 18th century Irish blanket chest, console tables and mirrors, a 19th century canopy bed, a 19th century terrestrial globe, a Victorian walnut davenport among a large selection of offer which includes silver, plate, china and glassware.

An early 19th century fruitwood bookcase from Dunkathel House estimated at €40,000-€60,000 available from the Lynes and Lynes sale next Saturday.

The Transat armchair by Eileen Gray to be sold at Sotheby's in Paris this Tuesday. It is estimated at €800,000-€1,000,000.



IRISH ART SALE Monday 28th November 2011 at 6.30pm

M A R S H S



Marshs – the longest established auctioneering ﬁrm in Cork

Auction Venue: Radisson Blu & Spa Little Island Cork City Viewing: Sun 27th Nov: 12noon - 10pm Mon 28th Nov: 10am - 6pm Over 280 lots Peter Curling

Marshs Auction Rooms on South Mall in 1835

‘ServingthePeopleof Corkfor  Years

William Crozier

Mark O’Neill

F u l l c a t a l o gu e c a n b e v i e w ed o n w w w . m o r g a n o d r i s c o l l . c o m online, absentee and telephone bidding available. Ilen Street, Skibbereen, Co. Cork; Tel: 028 22338 · Mob: 086 2472425 email: info@morganodriscoll.com

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

REGULAR ANTIQUE AUCTIONS HELD AT OUR AUCTION ROOMS AT ROCHFORDS LANE (off South Mall/Grand Parade)

Marshs Auctioneers & Valuers Ltd

17 SOUTH MALL · CORK · TELEPHONE 021-4270347

www.marshsauctioneers.ie

Chair may fetch €1m

AJOR works by worldrenowned Irish designer Eileen Gray are among seven Art Deco masterpieces from the 1920s-30s at Sotheby’s in Paris on November 22. Gray’s legendary Transat armchair (estimated €800,000-€1 million) and an extraordinary monumental curved bar by Eckart Muthesius (€400,000-€600,000) were designed for the Palace of the Maharajah of Indore. They were at Sotheby’s Monaco sale of furniture from the Maharajah’s Palace in 1980. Other highlights include a coffee table Gray designed for her home, the villa Tempe à Pailla in France. Of copper and tubular steel it was bequeathed by Gray to the mother of the present owner. It is estimated at €100,000€150,000.

■ Please see our extended antiques and fine arts feature on pages 19, 20 and 21

BONHAMS AUCTION IRISH silver, exhibited at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston in 1963, will be sold at Bonhams in London on November 23 to benefit Milton Academy. Among the most important items are a George II mug, by Mark Fallon of Galway £12,000£15,000 (€14,000 €17,500); a set of four George II candlesticks from 1750 by Robert Calderwood, previously in the collection of Earl Fitzwilliam £6,000£8,000 (€7,000 €9,350), and a Queen Anne two handled cup, Limerick 1707 £4,000£5,000 (€4,600 €5,800). The sale also includes a gold Freedom Box (£20,000£30,000) (€23,000 €35,000) presented by the Corporation of Limerick to the Earl of Carrick. ......................................................... TWO DAY SALE AIDAN FOLEY will conduct a sale in The Auction Rooms in Sixmilebridge, Co Clare this Monday and Tuesday. It is of particular Cork interest given that the sale contains the collection of the late Tony McNamara, former Cork city architect and renowned collector of Irish Glass and Irish Books. The sale at Sixmilebridge, Co Clare next Monday and Tuesday features 1,000 lots. The first 500 to be sold on Monday at 6pm features a collection of posters, including Paul Henry designed travel posters, a full lion skin, a collection of fishing rods and reels and about 250 lots of furniture. The sale on Tuesday at 10.30am features Irish glass, furniture including three long case clocks, silver, plate, hunting prints and three horse drawn carriages. ......................................................... LISMORE FAIR THE antiques fair organised by Michael Watson of Lissardagh Antiques continues at Lismore, Co Waterford. An artwork by Cecily Brennan in response to Robert Boyle is on view at St Carthage Hall this weekend.

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

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IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

Zone:XP1

XP1 - V1

ANTIQUES & FINE ART

ADVERTISING

Sale for the true connoisseurs of antiques

IN BRIEF

Des O’Sullivan reports on a Cork sale

An early 19th century fruitwood bookcase from Dunkathel House estimated at €40,000-€60,000 available from the Lynes and Lynes sale next Saturday.

The Transat armchair by Eileen Gray to be sold at Sotheby's in Paris this Tuesday. It is estimated at €800,000-€1,000,000.



IRISH ART SALE Monday 28th November 2011 at 6.30pm

M A R S H S



Marshs – the longest established auctioneering ﬁrm in Cork

Auction Venue: Radisson Blu & Spa Little Island Cork City Viewing: Sun 27th Nov: 12noon - 10pm Mon 28th Nov: 10am - 6pm Over 280 lots Peter Curling

Marshs Auction Rooms on South Mall in 1835

‘ServingthePeopleof Corkfor  Years

William Crozier

Mark O’Neill

IRISH EXAMINER Property&Interiors | 19.11.2011

REGULAR ANTIQUE AUCTIONS HELD AT OUR AUCTION ROOMS AT ROCHFORDS LANE (off South Mall/Grand Parade)

Marshs Auctioneers & Valuers Ltd

17 SOUTH MALL · CORK · TELEPHONE 021-4270347

www.marshsauctioneers.ie

Chair may fetch €1m

■ Please see our extended antiques and fine arts feature on pages 19, 20 and 21

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

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Interior Doors, from old to new!

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Showroom: Colomane, Bantry. After Before

www.portas.ie

TERAPROOF:User:noelcampionDate:17/11/2011Time:13:35:17Edition:19/11/2011PropertyXP1911Page:22

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(approx 6miles outside Bantry, next to Willie Pa’s Rest.)

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TERAPROOF:User:noelcroninDate:17/11/2011Time:14:34:03Edition:19/11/2011PropertyXP1911Page:24

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LISHEEN FIELDS, BALLINCOLLIG, CO. CORK.

• New luxury 4 bedroom detached homes • Choice of 3 house types • High spec finish – Solar Panels SHOWHOUSE TO VIEW ANYTIME BY APPOINTMENT Guide Price: from €290,000

8 OAK AVENUE, BRIDEWOOD, OVENS, CO. CORK.

11 GLINCOOL CRESCENT, BALINCOLLIG, CO. CORK

23 CASTLE GARDENS, STATION ROAD, BLARNEY

• Superb 3 bedroom semi-detached house. • Situated in a walled in corner site. • Facing a large green area • Viewing highly recommended Guide Price: €190,000

• Detached house situated in a quiet cul-de-sac overlooking green • Not overlooked to rear. Minutes from Ballincollig Town Centre. PRICE ON REQUEST

• Superbly presented 4 bedroom detached dormer bungalow with detached garage. • Set in a quiet cul-de-sac. Beautifully maintained front and rear gardens. • Viewing a must Guide Price: €299,000

NEW LINE, CROOKSTOWN, CO. CORK.

• Detached bungalow which has been upgraded and refurbished to a high standard. • Set on C 1/3 acre • Adjacent to Crookstown Village, Bus Route, Schools Etc. Guide Price: €165,000

12 THE MEADOWS, BALLINCOLLIG, CO. CORK

FFER UNDER O

HOUSES URGENTLY WANTED IN BALLINCOLLIG & MID-CORK OVER 50 HOUSES SOLD THIS YEAR!!!!! 2 ROSEWOOD, BALLINCOLLIG, CO. CORK

19 THE BRAMBLES, CLASSES LAKE, BALLINCOLLIG

• Modern 4 bedroom detached residence • Spacious accommodation • South facing rear garden PRICE ON REQUEST

8 RYECOURT MANOR, CLOUGHDUV, CO. CORK.

Excellen t Value

• Immaculately presented 3 bedroom semidetached house

• Excellent 3 bedroom 3-storey house

• Quiet cul-de-sac setting

• Enclosed site

• Facing large green area

• Quiet cul-de-sac setting

• Development of 18 only

• 10 minutes from Ballincollig

Guide Price: €170,000

• Detached house with garage (Suitable for conversion) • Large enclosed rear garden • Ideal family home • Tarmacadam driveway • Superbly located minutes from Town Centre. Guide Price: €225,000

Guide Price: €130,000

BALLINCOLLIG 021-4873466 MACROOM 026-41244 Email: omwreception@eircom.net