A B-rated, five-bedroom Cork detached dormer bungalow, on almost 0.7 acres of mature grounds, looks pretty standard outside, but reveals a capriciously spacious interior set to a soundtrack of falling water, thanks to the designer koi-filled pond. The owners hope the successful buyer will want to adopt the fish.
The owners bought the property in the 1990s because "we loved the location and the vibe was lovely,” they recall.
Since then, the house has always had a pond. When they decided to do a big renovation in 2014, a condition of the works was that the existing pond also be upgraded.
Address: Entwood, Bailick Avenue, Midleton, Co. Cork, P25 T296
Asking price: €1.1 million
Agent: Savills
Having secured builder Frank Flannery of Elite Contracting Design, they added a double garage and followed his counsel, extending the house, repositioning the existing rooms and installing the primary bedroom above the garage.
They then handed him the keys and went on holiday, returning to find a two-foot drop beyond the front door and a digger in the middle of the house.
“Ceilings came down, walls went, it was completely rebuilt,” they explain.
It was Frank who suggested Sé Joyce of Designer Gardens to do the exterior. He excavated a large space and installed a square pond, setting it around a curved stone wall.
By piping water to the top, he created the constant and meditative soundtrack of falling water.
They especially enjoy listening to it outside, under the covered area off the lounge.
“It is such a relaxing, reassuring, soothing sound that brings you back to nature.”
When they bought the fish 22 years ago, they were just three inches long. Now the fish will nibble their pellets from the owners' hands.
With additional insulation underfoot and oil-fired underfloor heating throughout, the B2 BER-rated house opens into a roomy hall that sets the tone for the entire house.
On the walls is a textured paper from Eijffinger’s museum collection that looks like a painted canvas.
It means you can have marble tiling on the floors and still walk into a space that feels welcoming.
To the right is the kitchen cum living room.
The kitchen has spring green flourishes; Beverly 310 is the colour by Farrow & Ball that is on the island, which contrasts with the daffodil yellow bar stools.
The rest of the house is bedecked in the softest of neutrals, from the marble dining table to the soft squishy sofas in the adjoining lounge, a room that opens out to the garden.
Smartly decorated, it offers a very fine blank canvas for the next owners to put their own stamp on.
Four of the five bedrooms are upstairs. The primary bedroom is dual aspect and opens to a balcony framing fertile views of the surrounding countryside.
The fifth bedroom is downstairs, has garden views, and, like the study across the hall, are rooms that could have flexible uses.
A key feature of the house is the large, maturely planted garden that extends to 0.67 acres and includes a wellness room, complete with an infrared sauna.
A robot mower maintains its manicured look.
In terms of connectivity, the house is about a three-minute drive to the Midleton bypass, which has you in Cork city in 20 minutes.
The owners are trading down. Capriciously spacious, the B2 Ber-rated residence, which extends to 310 square metres, is seeking €1.1 million through agents Savills.
As for the fish, they’re hoping the next owner will adopt them, for they’ve grown to fit the size of the pond.
“We hope they’re staying.”
