A 1930s house with stunning sea views has its own bridge across the Dart line and access to a private beach – all for €1.625m, writes ORNA MULCAHY, Property Editor.
VIRTUALLY EVERY room looks out to sea at The Towers, an unusual Art Deco style detached house in Blackrock, Co Dublin that’s come on the market at €1.625 million. For sale through Savills, the five-bedroom house at Maretimo Gardens West has over a quarter of an acre of gardens sloping down to the railway line.
A striking feature of the garden is a footbridge leading to a remarkable Victorian railway bridge, complete with twin towers that presumably gave the house its name. Each tower appears to have a couple of rooms, one of which opens directly from the lowest part of the garden.
The bridge, which is in need of repair, is supposed to be maintained by Irish Rail. However, as a structure it is included in the deeds of The Towers, along with a strip of land on the other side of the railway line. The land connects with a private pathway to which Maretimo residents have access. It leads directly to a private bathing place and jetty.
The story goes that The Towers was originally the home of the builder responsible for the Maretimo estate – a series of cul-de-sacs, two of which face the sea, off Newtown Avenue. He kept the prize plot of land for himself and built his house in 1930s, in the style of the leading Irish architect of the day, Michael Scott.
The house, which is not listed, has been modernised and extended over the years. All the windows have been replaced and a modern kitchen extension knocks out the original ground floor layout. The entire house needs renovation, while a look over the wall into the neighbour’s stunningly landscaped garden will show just what can be achieved with a sloping site.
Maretimo Avenue West is a short cul-de-sac with The Towers at the end. There’s a drive-in entrance and a large covered parking area.
The house is entered through a porch, with access on one side to the drawingroom and on the other to the Tiffany blue hallway. The eye is drawn immediately towards the back of the house where the spacious kitchen/diningroom has glorious wraparound views of the sea towards Howth.
A set of metal double doors – originally the patio doors – leads through to a large airy sittingroom, where there is access, via a trapdoor in the floor, to the cellar. The drawingroom is a big comfortable room with one window angled to take the evening sun, and a picture window for the sea view.
Upstairs, the first floor has four spacious bright bedrooms leading off a small landing. The stairs continues on to the second floor where the main bedroom suite has 180-degree sea views, a large en suite bathroom, and access to two separate balconies, one for the morning sun and one, at the front of the house, to catch the afternoon rays.
The garden zigzags down over 100ft to the railway line. At the bottom level is a large area of lawn and a summer house.
