While it may seem like someone got their north and south sides mixed up when this Edwardian five-bed with a modern extension was named Dun Leary House, there is a good reason for it. The property on the Sutton seafront looks across Dublin Bay to the spires of Dún Laoghaire; the distant hulk of the Dublin mountains and the Sugar Loaf can be seen from every window to the front of the house.
This house, extending to 282sq m (3,035 sq ft) with a B2 Ber, would be perfect for a tribe of dedicated swimmers with the tail end of Bull Island to the front of the house and Burrow Beach only minutes away. The house has been in the family for two generations, and the artist owner is selling it to embark on new adventures, placing it on the market through DNG Raheny with an asking price of €1.3 million.
Light pours through this property from the deep bay window in the front livingroom to the double-height extension at the back, which was designed by architect Dermot Bannon in 2010 and featured on RTÉ's Room to Improve.
You enter the bright, airy home — with white painted walls and a Merbau mahogany floor that runs through the ground floor — through a beautifully planted front garden. To the front, the house is still very much a period house, with its elegant drawingroom and original features. The extension is spectacular, entering it through the diningroom, it opens into a soaring white cube with a mezzanine floor that has a spiral staircase connecting the ground floor and the mezzanine. High windows over the living area give an ever-changing vista of sky, day and night.
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On the right of the living area with its teak framed French doors and triple glazing is the kitchen, with a granite-topped island. The sleek kitchen units and appliances are from German firm Constructa, with high-gloss, touch-open doors and drawers. A roof light was installed over the cooking area, bathing it in light. A warren of rooms goes from the kitchen back to the hallway, containing a pantry, a laundry room and a wet room.
The extension continues outside and wraps around a courtyard that is currently a sculpture garden, creating a perfect suntrap. One of the two rooms here is in use as an artist’s studio, but the possibilities are endless. It could work as a den or as one or even two home offices; the second room has an ancillary closet perfect for file storage.
The principal bedroom has the same deep bay as the drawingroom downstairs and the views are wonderful across Bull Island to Howth and its Martello tower, and the south Dublin coastline. There are two bedrooms and a newly renovated bathroom on this floor, as well as the mezzanine that could function as a library or another living area.
Upstairs has the final three bedrooms, one with beautifully sloping eaves, another room to the back has a closet that could be converted into an en suite. All of these rooms have small cast-iron fireplaces. The bedroom to the front has a window that opens on to a tiny castellated terrace, which also has great views.
St Fintan’s school is just up the road from this property and a frequent bus service will have you swiftly into the city while Sutton Dart station is a 10-minute walk away.
