€1.6m Hettyfield Park house in Cork blends Mediterranean design with modern luxury

LIKE its sunny namesake on the Portuguese coast, this bricks-and-mortar Estoril is a bright and vibrant spot.

Even though its current owners inherited the name when they bought the house in Hettyfield Park 35 years ago, it’s grown into it under their stewardship.

Like a bit of imported sunshine in these days of endless rain, it offers light, warmth, colour, and escape. For good measure, it’s the height of style.

The stylish hallway at Estoril

A good deal of effort and investment went into creating the honeyed home that Estoril now is. The first big re-jig came two years into the current owners’ residency.

“When we bought it, the original house had a two-storey flat roof extension. There was a gap between the main house and the extension. Looking back now, I don’t know how we got a mortgage to buy it,” the owner says.

“We lived with that set-up for two years, and the roof was leaking.

“We got an architect to take a look at it with a view to re-roofing and ended up knocking the original extension.”

They commissioned now retired architect Tony Dennehy to design a new extension, a practical addition that carried them through the child-rearing years.

Then, half a dozen or so years ago, they decided on a bolder transformation. Architect Liam Hickey, of LH4 Design, was hired to re-imagine the main daytime accommodation on a larger, more ambitious scale.

“Our request to the designer was to create a bright, open space that combines structural openness with natural cosy materials,” the owner says.

A wraparound glass extension blurs boundaries between inside and out

Mr Hickey followed the brief to the letter and came up trumps. The main open plan living space is a knockout, featuring a wraparound glass wall. It’s a sort of sensory collage of light, colour, and warmth, more Mediterranean in spirit than traditional Irish homestead.

The work done on the house was not limited to the open plan kitchen/dining/living room.

The couple moved out for nine months and, during that time, the main upstairs bedroom was also extended to the rear, creating a spacious suite, complete with walk-in closet and deluxe en-suite.

The principal bedroom was extended into a suite

Throughout the house, doors, and windows (now all timber) were replaced, while Blarney-based joiners refreshed the skirting boards and added panelling to the hallway and staircase, giving the interior a carefully crafted finish.

Even the banisters got an upgrade, and the detached garage got new doors.

While the open plan space is the star turn at this 242sq m Hettyfield home, the front living room holds its own.

 The renovation work included the installation of tall, graceful French doors that open from this elegant room to a south-facing patio that runs the width of the house.

Graceful French doors open from the living room to a south facing front patio

 You’re spoilt for choice for sitting out. 

Front patio

The front patio has the better aspect and mature planting — including a lofty willow tree and apple blossom — that screen it from passersby; the rear patio is fully enclosed and feels like a natural extension of the indoors.

Secluded rear patio

All you need do is slide back the hulking glass door fitted by Classic Windows, and any notion of a boundary between inside and out disappears.

Fans of entertaining will love this flexible space, surrounded by thoughtful planting, connected to nature, and favoured by garden birds.

Come evening, downlighting along the boundary fence creates a soft, atmospheric glow.

The owners have nothing but praise for the workers who laid the porcelain patio tiles to the front of Estoril, to the rear, and at its attractive side entrance where a zinc-clad overhang provides shelter from the elements.

Side entrance and detached garage

“They spent about three weeks doing the slabs and, if you look at it, you can see that all the lines are dead straight,” the owner says.

The colour of the porcelain was chosen to complement the solid wood herringbone floor in the kitchen/dining/living room, which continues into the hallway.

While the glass wraparound extension — with stylish roof lights over the dining table — is the most striking part of this open plan space, there are lots of other features worth noting.

The kitchen, by O’Driscolls in Midleton, is extremely well crafted and includes both a concealed coffee bar and a hidden, full-size utility.

Both are behind doors that match the overall kitchen cabinetry, painted in Farrow & Ball “Railings” — a name inspired by the black-painted iron railings with blue undertones that are often seen outside London townhouses and Georgian buildings.

The doors concealing the coffee bar slide neatly into the joinery, avoiding the need for outward swing, while also saving space.

Hidden utility

 The utility is like entering Narnia: Instead of a simple pantry, you discover an entire room.

Every element of the kitchen is bespoke. The Silestone quartz countertops by Hickeys Stoneworks in Ballincollig are as durable as they are sleek.

“You could take a sledgehammer to them, and they wouldn’t break,” the owner says — though there’s little temptation to test the claim.

An AGA, with the owners from the get-go, was repositioned during the renovations to suit the new layout, as well as being reconditioned and fitted with a new front.

 Now finished in Pearl Ashes and fuelled by natural gas, it remains at the heart of the home. The energy rating is a snug B2.

“It makes the house really toasty during winter.

“We only turn it off around May,” the owner says.

As a counterbalance to the dark hued kitchen, the lounge area is bursting with colour. Ochre walls, orange sofas, and colourful artwork energise the room. 

A focal point is the feature gas fireplace which, on a practical level, offers instant warmth and an end to the mess of solid fuel, but also creates a more sociable space.

A huge chimney that used to run right up through the centre of the house has long been removed.

During the earlier extension, the attic was converted and an additional bedroom added, with the chimney — which had effectively split the roof space in two — demolished to open it up. It’s capable of accommodating two double beds. There’s attic space across the landing.

The middle floor hosts two more double bedrooms and the main stylish bathroom (which, like the en-suite, has underfloor heating), although the ground floor guest loo tops it for interior flair.

An additional room on the first floor is a polished home office/study.

The entire property – which comes with separate garage – sits on about 0.16 acres.

Top dollar house sales are the norm in this very attractive neighbourhood, where the majority of properties are big, detached, and handsome. Factor in proximity to strong retail in Douglas village, to good schools, to a wealth of green space, and to multiple recreation and leisure activities, and it’s not hard to see why life in Hettyfield holds quite an appeal.

“Our favourite thing about the house is its close proximity to all amenities, with many excellent schools, play areas, and sports clubs on our doorstep, while Douglas village and Cork city centre are only minutes away,” the owners say.

Selling agent Sam Kingston, of Casey & Kingston, believes Estoril — “a house with a classic, modern look” — will appeal to anyone shopping for a home in the Douglas or Blackrock area. Given the superb condition it is in, he expects interest from well-heeled Irish buyers returning from overseas or relocating back to Cork from Dublin.

With a guide of €1.6m, it ain’t cheap, but it’s the way prices are headed in Hettyfield. In nearby Hettyfield Gardens, two new houses, on far smaller plots, each sold for approximately €1m.

More established Hettyfield homes have also hit the high notes. For instance, a detached four-bed called Richmond, admittedly with a very big garden, but in need of some modernising, sold for €960,000 in 2023, while an older home called St Joseph’s, on a large corner site but in need of upgrades, also passed the €1m mark.

VERDICT: A home to buoy the spirits, Estoril is a beacon of light, colour and style. It would do well anywhere, but in Hettyfield, it will excel.