Ravello, on Cunningham Road in Dalkey, is a spacious detached home on 0.4 of an acre at the foot of Dalkey Hill, with a commanding view over Dalkey and Dublin Bay. You really get the views when you look out from the windows on the first and second floors – and you might just be tempted to move the kitchen/dining/family room up to the first floor to get the benefit of the panoramic views across the city and out to Howth, and you might expand the second-floor landing to create a room with an unbeatable vista, subject to planning permission. The option is certainly there to redevelop or rebuild Ravello to open out the front of the house and maximise the stunning sea views.
As it stands, though, Ravello offers luxury living in this desirable south Dublin coastal village. Completely remodelled, replumbed and rewired in 2013, the house is in walk-in condition throughout, with a fully fitted Danish-design kitchen, five generous bedrooms including a large, triple-aspect main bedroom suite with a walk-in wardrobe and large en suite, and a lovely south-facing back garden that slopes up towards Dalkey quarry and castle in the near distance.
It’s just a short walk down to Dalkey Dart station and the village of Dalkey, with its boutiques, gourmet restaurants and cafes, and a leisurely walk up to the winding walking routes of Dalkey and Killiney hills and down to Vico Road and Killiney beach. Ravello extends to a roomy 373sq m (4,015sq ft), and has a B3 Ber rating. It’s for sale through Vincent Finnegan, asking €2.95 million.
The cobble-locked driveway has room for several cars, and steps lead up to a wide front door and into a spacious entrance hallway, with a guest WC. A door to the left leads to the open-plan kitchen/dining/family room space, which runs from the front to the back of the house, with the kitchen looking out to the front, and the dining and family room opening out to the south-facing back patio and garden. The kitchen has an electric Aga and there’s a generous utility and storeroom off the diningroom, with a door leading into the garage.
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A door to the right of the hallway leads into a separate livingroom with a feature marble fireplace with ornate tile surround; this room opens out into a bright sunroom with three large Velux windows bringing in the vitamin D and access to the back patio and garden. At the end of the hallway to the right is a large home office with its own entrance from the front, ideal for keeping business and family life separate.
The back garden is beautifully maintained, and gets the benefit of almost all-day sunshine, and from the upper slope of the garden you can get views out to the city and seascape along with the evening sun. The garden has a rich mix of plants, trees and shrubs, including two impressive magnolia grandiflora trees and a gorgeous wisteria climber. There’s another magnolia grandiflora in the front garden, plus a Japanese pagoda tree.
The first floor has three generous bedrooms, and the main bedroom suite opens on to a wide balcony. The main bedroom en suite is the size of a family bathroom, with fully tiled floors and walls, a bath and a separate shower. It also has a the best views in the house over Dublin Bay. Bedrooms two and three to the back both have en suites; bedroom two has double wardrobe, while bedroom three has a walk-in wardrobe.
The second floor is a spacious attic conversion, with two dormer windows looking out over the sea with lots of eaves storage in between. The landing is wide and spacious, and is currently used as a gym area. There are two bedrooms at this level, one with a walk-in wardrobe, and there’s also a shower room and a luggage room.
