A house built near the top of a development high above Sorrento Road in Dalkey, Co Dublin, is very early noughties – all timber and glass, with large picture windows taking full advantage of sea views. Designed in 2002 by architects Boyd Cody – who won an architecture award for it in 2006 – Bayview is a 195sq m (2,100sq ft) four-bed spread over three floors, for sale through Lisney for €1.5 million.

The house failed to sell when it went on the market in 2015 for the same price, €1.5 million, but the owner is keen to sell and open to offers, says Lisney agent Stephen Day.

The owner, who works in finance and lives abroad, bought the house in 2007 for about €1.65 million and lived in it for a short while. It has been rented out for long- and short-term lets for the last eight years or so and will need some work to restore it to its original mint condition: walls are painted gleaming white, contrasting with dark polished wood but some of the mostly Iroko woodwork, especially outside, will need to be treated and one of the large picture windows is clouded and needs to be replaced.

Bright and dramatic

That said, it’s a bright and dramatic modern home that will appeal to buyers who favour minimalist décor and large open spaces. There’s a sittingroom and three of the four bedrooms – two of them doubles, one with en-suite, all with built-in wardrobes – are located on the first floor along with a family bathroom.

The main living area is on the second floor up a steep flight of stairs: on the right is a large kitchen/sitting room, on the left, through a wide arch, a sitting/dining room opening onto a large timber terrace that wraps around to a small lawn at the rear of the house.

The kitchen is industrial chic, with white units, stainless steel countertops and a wide island unit. (A washing machine is located downstairs in a closet in the front hall.)

Sixteen more steep steps lead up to the top floor, where a large en-suite bedroom is located with a wide sliding door separating it from a sitting room on the left.

A glazed sliding door opens from here on to the top balcony revealing impressive views over the rooftops of houses on Sorrento Heights and Sorrento Road to the sea. There is room to park one car at the front.