Luxury seafront home on Dalkey’s affluent coastal strip for €5.25m

There are only 54 houses with direct access to the sea in south Dublin, says Sherry FitzGerald agent Rosie Mulvany, so it's little surprise that sales of such properties make headlines. Lota, a period house on Coliemore Road in Dalkey, was one of 2018's top selling houses and nearby Iniscorrig one of the top in 2017: Lota sold for €7.5 million, Iniscorrig for nearly €8 million.

Now another slightly smaller Victorian property by the sea a little closer to Dalkey village on Coliemore is for sale for €5.25 million, and even in a market where prices are levelling off, Mulvany says it’s a realistic price, given its location. Above everything, it has uninterrupted sea views from each of its three levels, and direct access to the shore.

Rockview is a 348sq m (3,750sq ft) four/five-bed house on 0.28 of an acre, completely refurbished and modernised since its owners bought it in 2003. Mulvany believes the eventual buyer is most likely to be a local family; the once buoyant market for sales of luxury homes to UK buyers or Irish people returning from England has been dramatically hit by Brexit uncertainty.

Rockview was given a complete makeover and extended by about 93sq m (1,000sq ft) after the owners bought it in 2003. (It had been withdrawn at auction the year before, quoting €3.8 million). Tucked away behind a high timber electronic gate, and located just a short walk from Dalkey village, the house sits on a relatively narrow site sloping down towards the sea. (That’s relative to its neighbours Shiosai and Rarc-an-Ilan, both on around three-quarters of an acre, one with its own tennis court.)

Rockview in its current state is pretty much in walk-in condition: a period house with features like high ceilings, coving and marble fireplaces, with walls painted in mostly bold colours, it also has all the Celtic Tiger conveniences – a large kitchen/breakfastroom with marble-topped island and an Aga, a main bedroom with a large walk-in wardrobe and en suite with sea views. At lower ground level there’s a family room, pantry and decent-sized laundry room. Floors are mainly either cream-tiled or cream-carpeted.

The entrance to Rockview is a little unprepossessing, located as it is to the side of the house, beside a conservatory with an outdoor barbecue area off it. Facing towards Coliemore Road, the conservatory, with a glass atrium, is part of the original house. Steps up lead into the front hall, which has its original yellow and brown tiles.

To the right of the hall is a study which could feasibly work as a fifth bedroom – it has a small bathroom off it. The drawingroom behind it, painted a vivid maroon, has a large box bay window overlooking the sea.

The large kitchen/breakfastroom, off the hall to the left, runs from the front of the property almost right the way to the back: it’s a bright space, with French windows to the front garden and at the back, a glass door into a wide sunroom. The kitchen has grey-painted timber units, marble countertops and island unit, an Aga, Miele double oven, steam oven and an instant boiled water system.

The sunroom features an open fireplace and a wall of windows provides those great sea views. French windows open on to a glass-balconied terrace floored with composite decking like the deck below; steps at the side lead to the lower level.

Steps inside the sunroom also lead to the lower ground floor. A bright family room with underfloor heating directly below the sunroom opens on to the outside deck through wide French windows. Accommodation at this level includes a double en suite bedroom with sea views, the pantry, and a laundry much bigger than the average domestic utility room.

Upstairs, there are three double bedrooms and the family bathroom. A wide arch in the main bedroom opens into a large walk-in wardrobe. The bed overlooks the sea through triple windows; the exceptional views can also be taken in while soaking in the oval bath beside a window in the large fully-tiled en suite.

Outside, the wide deck at the rear of the house opens on to a sloping landscaped gravelled back garden, with paths leading down to a rear wall from where there are steps down to the sea. Hardy owners could clamber over the rocks here for a sea dip though this coastal stretch is not particularly noted as a safe bathing area. High stone walls at both front and back of the house ensure privacy. There’s room to park in the gravelled front garden as well as a large garage.