{"id":179398,"date":"2025-11-14T00:36:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T00:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/179398\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T00:36:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T00:36:18","slug":"tiny-5-wide-front-of-house-is-just-tip-of-the-iceberg-at-e295k-city-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/179398\/","title":{"rendered":"Tiny 5′ wide front-of-house is just tip of the iceberg at \u20ac295k city home\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Barrack St, Cork city<\/p>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n

\u20ac295,000<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n

Size<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

76 sq m (818 sq ft) <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n

Bedrooms<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n

Bathrooms<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n\n

BER<\/p>\n<\/td>\n\n

C<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

BOSCO, the redhead TV puppet best remembered for his catchphrase ‘Come with me, through the magic door,” would have had a field day at No 31 Prosperity Square, a house with the deceptive spatial properties of a Tardis.<\/p>\n

\"DeceptiveDeceptive facade at No 31<\/p>\n

Viewed from the street, it seems as though half the house is missing – and that’s being generous. All told, the fa\u00e7ade measures less than 5\u2019 wide.<\/p>\n

When the owner first spotted it in a property advert, he liked the look of the old stone wall that curved around the back garden, but dismissed it on the basis of size. \u201cI thought it was too small, and thought no more of it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

That opinion changed after viewing another house in the Square that had been renovated and modernised. Seeing that the unassuming terraced homes had more to them than met the eye, he took a proper look at No 31. \u201cWe viewed it, and I thought, \u2018Definitely, this could be great\u2019,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"CityscapeCityscape near Prosperity Square<\/p>\n

On a corner site, it\u2019s one of just two homes in the square that still retain a back garden \u2014 the others have been surrendered to extensions \u2014 and it\u2019s the larger garden of the two, a delightful, south-facing nook, enclosed by the old stone wall, high enough to ensure complete privacy for weekend barbecues or morning coffee.<\/p>\n

\"LargestLargest garden in Prosperity Square<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the kind of secluded outdoor space that many city centre dwellers can only dream of.<\/p>\n

The owner\u2019s father, a carpenter, agreed that the house had excellent potential, and so he bought it in 2016 for \u20ac150,000, moving in before Christmas.<\/p>\n

Like any good tradesman \u2014 he\u2019s an electrician \u2014 he followed the sage advice to get to know the house before tearing any walls down or drawing up new floor plans.<\/p>\n

He and his partner (she can take credit for the d\u00e9cor) observed how the sun moved through the rooms, where the draughts came in, what spaces felt cramped or just right, before going gangbusters on renovations in 2018.<\/p>\n

\"AttractiveAttractive hallway tiling<\/p>\n

The house was rewired and replumbed, with much of the work done by father and son. An architect friend translated the couple\u2019s ideas into a thoughtful design; and an existing extension \u2014 galley kitchen and downstairs loo \u2014 was flattened and replaced with a space that wouldn\u2019t look out of place on a 2025 list of Clever Design Ideas for Small Homes.<\/p>\n

\"OpenOpen plan kitchen dining<\/p>\n

\u00a0New windows were fitted and engineered oak floors were laid.<\/p>\n

The house is pretty as a picture now, from the pale-pink front door and attractive, tiled hallway, to the cosy front living room with open fireplace, through to the smartly designed open-plan kitchen\/dining room, which feels more New York loft than historic Cork townhouse.<\/p>\n

\"CosyCosy living room\"StylishStylish kitchen<\/p>\n

\u00a0Warm, oak countertops and inky black cabinetry dominate a space designed for cooking, relaxing, and entertaining. The back wall is fully glazed and slides open to the garden. It\u2019s a light-filled, inviting space and it makes a dramatic difference to what was a two-up, two-down home, where a French polisher called Lester once reared a family of five.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Upstairs, a new shower room was installed (there\u2019s a small downstairs loo, too, with a window that the owner uncovered while scraping off plaster).<\/p>\n

\"Upstairs\"Upstairs\"Downstairs\"Downstairs<\/p>\n

\u00a0Plaster stripped back in the main bedroom revealed a redbrick wall and a redbrick fireplace. It\u2019s very country cottage.<\/p>\n

\"RedbrickRedbrick revelation\"Kid'sKid’s room<\/p>\n

\u00a0A second bedroom was for the children \u2014 they have two now \u2014 hence they are relocating to a bigger home off College Rd, where the handy owner of Prosperity Square has converted two flats into a family home, albeit without his late Dad\u2019s help.<\/p>\n

The owner reckons No 31 Prosperity Square is a terrific house for a young person or young couple starting out, or even a young family. The agent selling it, \u00c1ine McLoughlin of AML Property Services, says bidding has already gone well above the asking price of \u20ac295,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks so dinky out front, but there is plenty going on behind,\u201d the agent says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt ticks so many boxes on so many levels. The location is fantastic: A 15-minute walk from UCC, less than 10 minutes into the city centre.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s such a lovely house, you could literally drop your bags and move in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Its proximity to University College Cork means No 31 is attracting interest from parents of third-level students, thinking of investing in accommodation close to the university.<\/p>\n

But the principal interest in this 76 sq m, 19th-century property is from would-be owner\/occupiers, who love the quaint and quiet square \u2014 originally built to house workers and tradespeople in Cork\u2019s tightly-knit south inner city \u2014 and the sense of community.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Moreover, the neighbourhood is becoming a template for inner-city rejuvenation, with great work done on both nearby Douglas St and Barrack St, turning it into a vibrant city quarter.<\/p>\n

\n VERDICT: A dream starter home, but first-time buyers will have to contend with very competitive bidding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Barrack St, Cork city \u20ac295,000 Size 76 sq m (818 sq ft) Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 2 BER C…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179399,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[1360,7266,18,19,17,101433,786,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-179398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-construction","9":"tag-development","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-permissions","14":"tag-planning","15":"tag-technology"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115545255908825881","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}