Backing on to Burrow beach: Refurbished house in Howth for €1.695m

Despite being a coastal city, relatively few properties open directly on to any of Dublin’s many beaches. Train tracks hug the coast so that seaside properties, particularly on the south side, are often separated from direct access to the beach, promenade or coastal walkway by tracks, or a busy road. However Burrow beach on the north side is fringed by properties – typically very large houses, some period, some strikingly modern – with back gardens that open directly on to the sand, with unimpeded sea views.

The long road that the houses front on to is divided into Burrow Road and Claremont Road: the former has a Sutton address, the latter is Howth. Number 14 Claremont Road, called Treborth West since it was built in the 1890s, is now for sale through Sherry FitzGerald asking €1,695,000.

Now a mid-terrace four bed, number 14 was originally one of two semi-detached two-storey over garden-level typical Victorian houses. It also had a very large side garden where previous owners built a new house in the style of the original, turning the semi-ds into a short terrace of three houses.

The present owners of number 14 bought it in 2003, attracted by the style of the house and the seaside location. It was then a four-bedroom house, but as their children left home in recent years they knocked through the two bedrooms to the front to create a large main bedroom en suite.

A more significant building programme took place about seven years ago when they reworked and extended the garden level to create a large, contemporary-style open-plan kitchen, dining and living space with a wall of glazed doors that fold back to open up the area to a large patio and, beyond that, the garden. They chose sleek glossy grey kitchen units from a local supplier in Clontarf and incorporated a large island unit into the plan, as well as a utility room.

To the front on this level is a small living area that opens directly to the front garden, a large storage and comms room, and a shower room.

A staircase leads from the kitchen area up to hall level where there are two interconnecting rooms, divided by sliding pocket doors and with original chimneypieces. The original sash window in the rear reception room, which was quite narrow, was recently replaced with a wider version, modelled on the front window, so as to improve the direct sea views. Also on this level to the rear is a small home office. In all the house has 253sq m (2, 723sq ft).

At the end of the back garden there is a second patio with steps leading down to a gate to the beach.

To the front there is parking for several cars. An air-to-water heat pump heating system has been installed and the property has a Ber of C1.