There’s something to be said for calling hairdressing a visual art because it’s all about shape and form and expressing yourself through your work. Good barbers certainly exhibit creative flair, and chances are it’s not limited to the barbershop.
The owner of 3 Delfern Grove is a case in point.
3 Delfern Grove, Maryborough Hill
Both he and his partner come from hairdressing backgrounds that require a high level of dexterity and no little inventiveness. The same skills came in handy when he designed his own back garden, in which form and shape are very evident.
“Conor had a vision for what he wanted, and it was essentially two gardens, one for kicking back and relaxing and the other for dining and a BBQ,” says his partner Paul.
What he accomplished in the modest garden of a triple room is quite an achievement. First of all, it was on a slope and had to be leveled. It was then divided into a raised rear section along the rear garden wall and a lower level down a few steps in front of the patio doors.
A selection of towering greenery rises from a raised bed on the back wall, with a kidney-shaped lily pond in front. Lights are hidden in the greenery and lily pond creating a lovely ambiance in the evenings. It’s also a sun trap as it faces southwest.
“It’s just the perfect place to chill and entertain,” says Paul, “and it’s so private here too.”
The lower level dining area is surrounded by a curving stone wall which shields it from the BBQ area. It is all beautifully presented and planted and is visible from the living room at the front of the property as the view is straight through thanks to the open flow between the living room and kitchen diner and on to a lounge at the rear where a huge apex window frames the view the green garden.
The lounge is another element of No 3 that wasn’t there initially. When Conor bought the house 30 years ago it came downstairs with the living room and a dining room and a separate small kitchen. He paid an additional €9,000 for a utility and a shed. It has completely changed since then when the couple undertook a major refurbishment seven years ago, knocking down a wall between the kitchen and dining room to create a more sociable space and adding a beautiful, bright space to the lounge with a vaulted ceiling and Velux windows in addition to the big big top.
Glass paneled French doors lead onto the terrace.
Paul says it’s her favorite room, but he also loves the eat-in kitchen, where a stovetop on the breakfast counter allows for plenty of interaction between whoever is cooking and the guests at the dining table.
The extractor hood above the breakfast bar acts as a statement lamp. In fact, it also has lights and Paul went to great lengths to source it. A kitchen splashback made of light yellow glass is another eye-catching kitchen feature. The living room in front of the house is also very stylish and has a multi-fuel stove in the fireplace.
Off the kitchen is what used to be the utility room but is now more of a pantry, with plenty of space for a double fridge and a door to the outside, and behind the pantry, in a former storage shed, is now an untouched utility room, with Cabinets enclosing the washer and dryer.
Outside in the hallway there is a guest toilet under the stairs and halfway up the stairs there is a lovely sunken alcove. Further renovations took place overhead, with the staircase being moved to allow for an attic conversion. It’s a fabulous room with two Velux windows and a shower room.
Back on the first floor, the master bedroom has an en-suite bathroom and there is a second double bedroom and a single bedroom with a built in bed. The master bathroom is fairly new too, with some useful tiled shelving.
No. 3 Delfern Grove, situated in a quiet cul-de-sac off Maryborough Hill, is immaculate and it is fair to say that every change that could have been made to improve it has been made.
After so much has been invested – new heating, rear conversion, attic conversion, new kitchen, tiles, plumbing – why are Conor and Paul selling? Well, sunnier climes are calling and a permanent move to Lanzarote is imminent. Yes, they love their garden, but they don’t want to keep an eye on the Irish weather forecast as they retire. Lanzarote will largely put an end to this.
“We’ll certainly miss this house, but we’re trading it for life on the beach in Lanzarote,” says Paul.
Jeremy Murphy of Jeremy Murphy & Associates is selling #3 and the guide price for this 145m2 home is €389,000.
He says it is “quite superbly finished” and “completely modernised”.
“It’s an ideal family home,” says Murphy, adding that the location on Maryborough Hill is another bonus, close to the village of Douglas and with good bus links into Cork city centre.
He says the professionally landscaped back garden and ultra-stylish loft conversion and rear lounge make this “a highly desirable property.”
The most recent recorded sale in Delfern Grove was house number 19 which sold for €360,000 last year according to the property price register
: The beautifully landscaped rear garden is the crowning glory of this quality property.
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