Handyman's Ballymakeera home is a €675,000 delight 

One of the many remarkable features of this spacious contemporary property at Shanacloon in Ballymakeera is a full wall height, almost full room width, set of oak carved bookshelves, which have a rolling hook ladder of the type you usually only see in libraries.

The house’s library – which accommodates the lady of the house’s 2,000 books – was included in the design when the owners built the property in 2008 to give themselves all the comforts and features they wanted in a home. Viewers will be even more impressed with the hand-crafted library shelves when they discover that they were built by the man of the house for his wife.

“He’s not a carpenter but he does have carpentry skills from a former occupation,” reveals the book-loving half of the couple, explaining that her husband was the one who drew up the design for the spacious four-bed house – an upside-down property which has all the main living areas, as well as a very sizable 49 sq m tiled balcony, on the first floor.

“From the balcony we have views of fields, hills and forests. On the western side we can see the Paps mountains in the distance and also woodland; to the east we have views of a wooded hillside at Buragh and to the south we can the Sullane River which is just a field and a half away,” the couple say.

 In addition to being scenic and private, the balcony is, the owner says, a good spot for observing wildlife.“ The woods are running with deer and we often see hares, foxes and red squirrels.” From the roadway, the property looks like a large conventional two storey home and it’s only from the rear that the large first floor balcony comes into view and it becomes obvious that the house is more unusual than might have been expected.

The balcony can be accessed from a glass balustraded concrete staircase at the side of the house. This is usually used by guests entering the house while the owners mostly come in at ground floor level through a door by the carport underneath the balcony.

The property’s interior is strikingly stylish and contemporary with cream floor tiles in every room, oak doors and architraves, oak Aluclad windows and a hand crafted oak dog-leg staircase with glass balustrade. 

Most rooms, with a few notable exceptions, have neutral colour schemes and there is an African theme to the décor in the hallway, which has a large Masai warrior tapestry above the stairs.

The hub of the house is a huge L shaped kitchen/dining living space which can be accessed from the hallway and also from the balcony through a huge set of folding doors.

 “We leave these open to create one large space in the summer,’’ reveals the owner.

Ultra-modern, with tiled flooring and pale grey and off white walls, the living dining space has an archway opening into the kitchen at the rear. 

Fitted with smart black and red high gloss units, black marble countertops and stainless steel splashbacks, it’s a well-equipped cooking space which has both a double oven and double gas hob. “It was designed by my husband – he is the cook,’’ reveals the owner, explaining that the red kitchen is one of the few splashes of colour in their mostly neutrally decorated house.

The first floor has a pantry/utility and a guest WC as well as three reception rooms including a formal dining room.

The library which doubles as a living room and a home office can be accessed from the hallway or the balcony. The walls are painted a shade of forest green except for one which is almost given over entirely to bookshelves. The room has a second cabinet to accommodate CDs, DVDs, as well as books and several large windows with views of hillsides, fields and distant mountains. The third reception room is a neutrally decorated space the owner says is a calm area used for relaxing, yoga or watching TV.

At ground floor level, the house has four bedrooms including a large master suite with a walk in wardrobe and an en suite with black tiling and a jacuzzi bath. One of the other three bedrooms also has an en suite and there’s also a bathroom and a large well-equipped utility/ laundry room.

The property is surrounded by slightly more than an acre of mature gardens where the woman of the house likes to spend time when she isn’t reading in the library or relaxing on the balcony.

“We have a glasshouse with tomatoes, courgettes, basil and grapes as well as a fruit cage with blueberries, raspberries and blackberries,’’ she reveals, adding that she has also planted vegetable plots and flower beds.

A section of the garden has been allowed to grow wild to promote biodiversity and the couple have put seating under the huge mature oak tree in the centre of the garden which is popular with the red squirrels.

The site also has a small two storey traditional cottage, now used for storage, where the couple lived when they first bought the property. Since building the house they have added a plant room/workshop as well a steeltech shed.

Located at Shanacloon within a ten-minute walk from Ballmakeera village, the property is 15 km from Macroom and a 50 minute drive from Cork city via the recently opened Macroom bypass.

Listing it with a guide of €675,000, Karl O’Reilly of Savills describes it as a high spec sophisticated home which offers its purchaser the opportunity to experience the best of country living. It would, he believes, be perfect for remote or hybrid working.

VERDICT: Stylishly different, this one-off home in Shanacloon will look especially attractive to book lovers and gardening enthusiasts.