When the home featured here last came up for sale, five years ago, one of the quandaries faced by home hunters keen to buy into the area, was whether to plump for an original Beaumont Crescent do-er upper, or to hold tough for Murphy New Homes to finish out four new-builds across the road.
‘New or old at Beaumont’s Crescent?’ was the question posed by the writer in these pages, when No 26 — a c1940s build, also known as Adare — was put on the market in 2021, the same time the new-builds were under way.
If you opted for the original Beaumont Crescent home, you’d be buying a three-bed semi-d, measuring 1,200 sq ft, with no real energy rating to speak of (BER: E2). By comparison, the detached Murphy homes were a good deal bigger, (1,755 sq ft-2,170 ft), and a great deal more comfortable (BER: A). They didn’t however offer the same degree of affordability as the older Beaumont home, which came to market with a €395,000 guide, and sold in 2022 to the current owners for €455,000. In contrast, the new houses, known as Temple Villa — called after the two-storey bungalow on one third of an acre that they replaced — sold for sums ranging from €750k-€800k.
Fast forward five years and while the four ‘newbies’ are all occupied and well embedded on The Crescent , you’ll be scratching your head looking for the ‘old’ No 26, because head-to-toe renovations have transformed it beyond recognition.
In the place of the dated original is a strikingly contemporary home, much bigger than it used to be; bigger, in fact, than the four newbies, at 2,255 sq ft. What’s more, it has energy credentials to match the Temple Villa homes, having boosted its woeful E2 rating to a best-in-class A1.
Four ‘newbies’ across the road
So what did it take to transform No 26?
Well, the usual blood, sweat, and tears that accompany any substantial house-building project, but also a very substantial ball of cash — as much again as the original €455,000 sale price, and then some.
The garden of Adare 26 Beaumont Crescent in 2021 vs 2026
For the first two years after they acquired the property, the current owners made purely cosmetic changes, while mulling over more ambitious renovation plans. After drafting in Cook Architects, on South Mall, for advice on extending to the side and rear, along with the demolition of a porch and detached garage, builders Gus and Declan O’Callaghan were hired to deliver. It took a year and a half — during which the couple relocated to Midleton, where one of them is from — and, it’s fair to say that, with the exception of the roof on the original house, nothing was left untouched.
The owners say: “We rewired, re-plumbed, put in a new staircase, new floors, windows (Aluclad), doors, new kitchen, bathrooms. All of the walls were replastered. We even had to do pile driving for the foundations.”
To maximise energy efficiency, the house was wrapped externally, floating floors were filled in and underfloor heating installed on the ground floor; 15 solar panels were fitted to the roof, an air-to-water heating system was put in, along with mechanical ventilation. Heating bills are now negligible during the summer, such that the owners got a €300 credit from Electric Ireland. And bills are largely halved for the rest of year.
“During the winter months, the bills used to be up around €600-€700 every two months; now, they are about half that,” the owners say.
“It’s essentially a new home,” they add, and the metamorphosis is obvious, not just in the two-storey extension or the shiny new façade, with its eye-catching, candy-pink front door, but in the wholesale changes to interior layout, where an open-plan arrangement with New York, loft-style appeal has utterly transformed the kitchen/dining/living space, brightly lit by back wall, full-height glazing, and strategically placed roof lights. It screams sophistication.
Even if the rest of the house was nothing to write home about, this great, big open-plan space would be enough. (“It’s where we do most of our living,” the owners say). But the thing is, there is a good deal more to write about: A separate living room, a downstairs shower room (not just a guest loo), a utility, a room that’s currently used as a gym by a couple who like to stay fit, but could easily be a ground-floor bedroom, or a playroom, or whatever it is that’s a priority for new owners.
So why are the vendors leaving this radically transformed home after all their hard work? Why are they forsaking a location cherished for its convenience and the ability to walk, run, or cycle pretty much anywhere?
Well, another life-changing event, even higher on the list than buying a house: The couple became parents. They now have a five-month-old baby and with the nearest (costly) creche place available in Castletreasure’s Bayly, they’ve had a rethink. Everyone recognises the importance of family support when children come along and living near family in Midleton is now a priority.
Moreover, they enjoyed the time they spent there during the mammoth renovations and as both have quite a taste for the East Cork lifestyle, it’s where they are now headed.
The upshot is a ‘new original’ Beaumont home is now up for grabs and if five years ago is anything to go by, interest in this deep southside suburban enclave should be hectic.
Selling agent Michael Downey, of ERA Downey McCarthy says:
“The house is a winner, it’s everything people are looking for: Fantastic location near Blackrock village and the Marina, near schools, retail, and recreational facilities; a low-maintenance garden; tremendous energy efficiency, no retrofit necessary.
“The fact that everything is done means they’ve made it very easy for someone to walk in and hang their hat,” the agent says. He expects “95% of the interest to come from families trading up in the area”, as well as people relocating from the US, Australia, and the Middle East. “We are seeing housing becoming a lot more fluid these days,” Mr Downey says, adding that the notion of a home for life is becoming “a thing of the past”, which is good news for buyers who missed out on Beaumont Crescent the last time around. Maybe now is the chance to make it a home for life?
The price for the new-look No 26 is €995,000.
VERDICT: Super family home in a failsafe location. Nothing to do but bid.