Homes with views of the sea carry a premium, and 2 Wilmont Avenue, which sits side-on to the sea at Sandycove, Co Dublin, comes to the market with a guide of £900,000. The detached four-bedroom house is due to go to auction on March 15th through Sherry FitzGerald.
The house is at the end of Wilmont Avenue, a cul-de-sac off Sandycove Road. It also has access to Marine Parade, the road that runs by the sea at Sandycove.
Its most dramatic feature is its views of Howth across Scotsman's Bay through windows at the side of the house.
Originally a fisherman's cottage built at the end of the 19th century, the house was greatly extended in the 1920s, and has been extensively refurbished since its current owners moved in 20 years ago.
The result is a quirkily-designed comfortable family home of about 1,600 sq. ft. The front faces on to the garden, which wraps around to the seaward side of the house; the back is virtually up against the wall that separates it from the neighbouring St Helen's apartment development. New owners might well give the house a radical overhaul, and there is the possibility of extending upwards - the present owners put in a structure to support a mansard roof when they recently converted an attic area.
To the right of the front hall is a bright, cosy sitting-room with a cast-iron fireplace, and a large bay window looking on to the garden. It has a tall PVC window to the side looking over to Howth; the bay has its original wooden sash windows. The same view is enjoyed from the dining-room, which opens through double doors and has a short flight of steps down into a large comfortable living-room, with its imposing marble fireplace. French doors open from here into the garden.
The house is higher up than you would think, looking at it from the sea road; this elevation means that the sea views are unimpeded. It also gives the garden, which has a sheltered patio area, privacy.
The reception room at the left of the front hall was long ago divided in two; it is now used as a bedroom at the front, with a bay window matching that in the lounge; behind it is the burgundy-and-pink family bathroom.
There is another single bedroom off the hall, and upstairs, a bedroom in an attic conversion. This is an ideal teenager's room, a white-painted hideaway with deep Velux windows from which you can see the Forty Foot and Sandycove Beach.
The main bedroom is equally private - wide wooden stairs lead up to it from a passageway linking the living-room and kitchen. This bedroom has an excellent view across the sea. It has a large, modern en suite with a timber floor and fully-tiled bath/shower.
New owners might well reorganise the kitchen/breakfast-room. The working kitchen is a compact u-shaped area with a serving hatch into the living-room; the large breakfast-room is next to it, and has a tiled floor. There is a utility-cum-store room at the back of the kitchen.
