Dalkey: €3.5m:It's all about the view in this 19th century house sitting high on Vico Road in Dalkey, writes Orna Mulcahy
It's all about the view at Wavecrest, on Vico Road in Dalkey - a modest four-bedroom house with a spectacular outlook over Killiney bay.
The terracotta coloured house has 180 degrees of the sea and the added charm of looking down on the far more expensive houses of Sorrento Terrace below.
Wavecrest is for sale at €3.5 million through Sherry FitzGerald, by private treaty rather than by auction, as is the current trend. The next door property, a larger detached house called Sorrentoville, was sold in 2006 for €5.65 million.
The owners, who have moved to the south of France, bought Wavecrest about 20 years ago and renovated it from top to bottom. It is good decorative order, but having been rented out for several years, it has the look of an exective rental rather than a home. Still, there is no denying the beauty of the setting and the location, which is an easy stroll to Dalkey village, with Killiney and Dalkey Hills close by and, below, a railway bridge leading across to a bathing place.
Wavecrest shares a driveway with two other properties but being the end house, it has extra parking space with room for two or three cars. There is also a garage at this level. Steps lead up to the front garden which has a large area of paving in front of the house, a timber deck that overshoots the garden, and good sized patch of lawn. At the back of the house is a narrow patio which doesn't catch much sun, but has steep steps leading up to an upper patio with a splendid slice of sea view, and scope to do some terrace gardening.
Inside, the house is a good size with 207sq m (2,230 sq ft) of living space and an interesting layout. The wide hallway - extremely bright thanks to the the glazed entrance porch - has a reception room on either side. To the right is a big bright drawingroom that is dazzling in the morning light, thanks to the wide bay window. To the left, is a diningroom, with a step leading up to the kitchen. New owners might reverse the order here, by putting the kitchen into the front room to make the most of the view.
At the back of the hall is a large family room that is dark by comparison with the other ground floor rooms, but which would come into its own for cosy winter evenings. It has French doors to the back, a small utility leading of it, and a connecting door to the drawingroom.
Upstairs, the four bedrooms are arranged on three different levels with the main bedroom having its own balcony and an en suite bathroom. All the bedrooms are comfortable doubles - the smallest being a pretty room at the very top of the house that children will love.
