Ballyhooley Road, Cork city €595,000 Size 226 sq m (2430 sq ft) Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 3 BER A2 WHY would you up sticks and leave a home designed around your specific wishes and with the kind of stellar energy rating many households can only aspire to? For the chance to do it all again, as is the case of Alan and Ciara Hoare, with the reassurance that the same design team who served you so well in the first place are also on board second time around. With young kids now in tow, the couples’ needs have changed since they moved into Ard Rua in 2014. One of a trio of lookalike homes in Sunview Place East, off Ballyhooley Rd, designed by Monahan Road-based BRH Design Partners, each has a bespoke façade and internal tweaks.
What they all have in common is the bedroom count (four) and the A2 energy rating. Detached, and staggered for greater privacy, Ard Rua is set further back in the cul-de-sac than its neighbour. It means more driveway for off-street parking, but less garden to the rear.
This suits the couple who are content not to have to maintain a large lawn, but can still enjoy a nice bit of space for the kids to play in. They also have a generous patio off the main living area. Ard Rua has plenty of attractions, key among them the design of the main living area.
The ‘wow’ factor is the floor-to-ceiling glazing that rises into an apex along the rear wall. Light floods in from the garden and through two overhead veluxes. A door in the glazing leads to the patio.
Ard Ru.