Dalkey four-bed focused on the sea

Houses with sea views are at their most alluring at this time of year, and it is no surprise that a number are up for auction within weeks of each other. Number 4 Coliemore Villas is a charming four-bedroom house built in 1847 just off Coliemore Road, a short walk from the centre of Dalkey, Co Dublin.

Agent Peter Kieran of Lisney is quoting a guide price in excess of £1 million for the property, which will be sold at auction on June 22nd.

The four houses on Coliemore Villas are tucked away off Coliemore Road, behind an arch over a leafy lane. The owner of Number 4 says the houses were apparently built by a former surgeon general of Ireland, who lived in the big house beyond the end of the terrace, for each of his four daughters.

The house is a fine property, which would suit a family who loves the sea, but doesn't like gardening: the back of the house is a series of terraces stepping down towards the rocks, and the very bottom terrace gets the sun all day. (A garden is an option, however, and some of the other houses have cultivated lawns at the back.) A clamber over the rocks brings you down to the sea and, if you wanted, you could go swimming, sailing, or windsurfing directly from here.

It is hard to drag yourself away from views like this, and the house is designed to take best advantage of them: the bed in the main bedroom at the top of the house, for example, sits on a raised throne-like dais, so that you can enjoy the view even before you lift your head from the pillow. A pretty galleried veranda runs across the back of the house at this level too.

The large living room, one floor down, looks out through a bank of tall windows, while a small conservatory at basement level has floor-to-ceiling glazed windows and a patio door to the sea terraces.

The spacious 2,500 sq. ft two-storey over basement house includes four bedrooms, three reception rooms, and three bathrooms. The interconnecting dining room and living room open off an elegant hallway, which has original cornicing and a fine centre rose. The reception rooms have polished wooden floors and simple marble fireplaces.

There are two bedrooms and a family bathroom upstairs, and another bedroom and bathroom in a large attic conversion. There is an excellent view up Dalkey Hill hill from a Velux window. New owners may well want to modernise parts of this comfortable but elegant family home. The basement, for example, currently consists of the conservatory, the small galley-style kitchen next door - complete with a real ship's galley table installed by a previous nautical owner - and a spacious self-contained apartment with a large lounge, kitchen, and en suite bedroom, with separate access. New owners might convert the whole space into a large modern kitchen/family room area.

The property is just a few houses up Coliemore Road from Cliff Castle in Dalkey, a 6,000 sq ft home which shares the same stunning outlook. It will be sold at a Lisney auction a few days before Number 4, and has a guide price of £2.5 million.