Private setting adds to four-bed dormer bungalow

Roancarrig, off Harbour Road, in Dalkey, Co Dublin, is a house that few people know exist. The four-bedroom dormer bungalow is reached via a lane off Harbour Road, opposite the Pilot View apartments. This lane once led into a quarry but in the last 50 or so years the quarry was sold off bit by bit as sites and Roancarrig was built by the current owner's parents in the 1950s.

It is a neat and unassuming dormer style house that stands on a site of around a third of an acre. Its big advantage is privacy. Although there are several houses in the old quarry, Roancarrig is not overlooked so, while there are neighbours nearby, it is an enviably private property. This, and the fact that there is enough space around the house to extend or redevelop it, should ensure lively interest in the run up to its auction on September 22nd. Selling agents Sherry FitzGerald are quoting a guide price of £500,000-plus.

The house sits on an elevated site with much of the garden in front along the driveway. There is a pleasant back garden that slopes up from the house, and has a small pond. A long gap in the hedge reveals an absolutely beautiful garden next door, which is at a much lower level. This is a far larger garden planted with a fascinating array of trees and shrubs that must have been cultivated with a huge amount of effort since the ground gives away to solid granite. The view alone should be enough to encourage new owners to start gardening in earnest.

The house itself is surprisingly spacious with just under 2,000 sq ft of living space. The accommodation is fairly basic with a large living-cum-diningroom leading off a nice wide hallway. This room has French doors leading to the garden. The wellequipped kitchen overlooks the front garden and has a view of Bulloch Harbour. The kitchen leads off to a breakfast room with space to seat eight or 10. A rear corridor leads to a bedroom and bathroom and there is also a small pantry and hot press at this level. Upstairs there are three bedrooms, all pretty cottage-style rooms with sloping ceilings and dormer-style windows. The middle bedroom looks out to sea, while the two other rooms face the back garden.

While the house is in good decorative order, in this price range buyers are inclined to have a budget for decorating and extending. Very much a family home at present, Roancarrig would also suit a couple keen to take on an interesting garden in a private location that is also extremely convenient to shops, restaurants and the DART.