STANDING IN the enormous open-plan kitchen and dining area of Weston, a five-bedroom family home in Howth, you could mistakenly think yourself in a luxurious Hamptons holiday home, with all of the markings of a hideaway by the sea. Accessed by a private road – with about 10 other houses and little traffic – the house looks out over a view unrivalled in commuting suburbs.
On one side is Arklow Bay; on the other, the stretch of coast that leads to Dublin Airport. On a fine day, Aviva Stadium is visible on the horizon. When Croke Park is in use, its lights illuminate the far distance.
The kitchen is surrounded by a spacious, south-facing deck, bathed in sunlight all day long and, as well as looking out on to the bay, overlooks a lush, mature garden with winding paths and leafy shrubbery. Basalt counters from France give the fully fitted kitchen a Mediterranean feel, and a central island adds bulk to the very spacious room.
The house, which is for sale jointly through Sherry FitzGerald and JB Kelly in Howth, is near its centenary, and care has been taken in improvements to preserve original details. The utility room is accessed off a tiled hallway, while the living room benefits from a large, original fireplace, with modern marble tiles updating its dark wood finish.
The five bedrooms of this half-original, half-modern home are divided between two floors. At ground level, a front room is used as a boy’s bedroom but, with ample storage space and two large desks, fitted side by side, would make an ideal home office. Another ground-floor room is used as a study, but could make a fine bedroom for a privacy-conscious teen.
Upstairs, a bedroom on mezzanine level has windows on two sides and offers a bright but cosy space with plenty of storage in the form of built-in wardrobes. Two more bedrooms – one, again, with built-in wardrobes and the other, a master bedroom with a fully tiled en suite and walk-in wardrobe – are side by side with a smaller bathroom on the top floor.
But the house – bought by its current owners in 1998 for £692,000 and currently asking €1.6 million – will be bought and cherished on the strength of its enviable views, extreme privacy and the potential for its five bedrooms to be utilised as desired by a family with a variety of needs and, of course, a not unsubstantial sum of money.
Weston, Baily, Howth
Description: five-bedroom family home with Dublin Bay view
Agent: Sherry FitzGerald and JB Kelly
