Show units will be on view for the first time at De Vesci House, an apartment scheme in Monkstown that Dorville Homes has built on the site of the former Top Hat ballroom. Prices for this final phase of 10 apartments start at £260,000 for the least expensive two-bed units and go up to £525,000 for striking two and three-bedroom penthouses. Selling agent Hooke & MacDonald will be staffing the show-apartments from today. The scheme is designed with a nautical flavour and is well-located between Monkstown village and Dun Laoghaire, close to Seapoint DART station. Upper floors have views of the mountains, the sea or of an attractively-laid inner garden.
The style of De Vesci House could best be described as minimalist, with light oak and steel accessories and large windows letting in plenty of light. Window frames are solid timber on the inside and steel-look aluminium on the outside to prevent deterioration from the sea air. The entrance hall is double-height with oak-topped steel stairs and landing bannisters. The seven two-bedroom apartments at £260,000 vary in layout according to their position in the block. A typical unit includes a small entrance hall with a main bathroom off and a good-sized sittingroom with space for a dining-table by the window. The windows span the width of the room and have attractive pine panelling above to ceiling level.
A neat maple Shaker-style kitchen is off the sittingroom. Cream wall and floor tiling is standard and there is just enough room for a small breakfast table. There is one double and one large single bedroom, with the main room en suite.
Two of the three penthouses costing £525,000 are on a single floor level, with sittingrooms leading out to a roof terrace big enough for a party and with very good sea views. These penthouses have three bedrooms, with the main room en suite. The family bathroom has a Jacuzzi bath as standard. The most interesting unit in De Vesci House is a two/three bedroom duplex penthouse at the same price as the more conventional top floor units. This has a circular sittingroom with walls entirely of glass in the style of a lighthouse with panoramic 360 degree views to the mountains and the bay. A narrow deck runs around the room outside. Purchasers may alter the layout of this penthouse if they wish, locating the kitchen on the same upper level as the sittingroom.
Downstairs there are two bedrooms with one en suite, the family bathroom and the kitchen. A large sheltered roof deck is off the kitchen on this level and another leading off the main bedroom catches the morning sun. All residents have access to separate landscaped roof gardens. The very pretty inner garden has a decorative pergola, timber decks and a water feature.
One car-parking space is provided free with each apartment and additional spaces may be purchased for £18,000. R F Management will be looking after ongoing maintenance and will charge an annual fee of about £650 for the two-bed units.
