Fine views of the bay from home on the hill

Co Dublin: €4.3m A large Victorian home with a pretty gate-lodge on three-quarters of an acre offers fine views of Killiney Bay, writes Rose Doyle

Padua, a large period house, stands facing the sea about half way down the long and narrowly winding Killiney Hill Road.

Built in the 1830s and enlarged later that century, the extension included three-storey bay windows and made Padua what it is today: a house in which six bay windows and a viewing balcony take full advantage of its hillside perch and sea views.

Detached, on a three-quarter acre sweep of descending garden with old trees and long established plants to the front, Padua has a self-contained gate-lodge in Linden Cottage.

With 462sq m (4,972sq ft) of living sapce, Padua has a rambling style with five bedrooms - or as many as eight depending how rooms are used - and there are four or more reception rooms.

HOK Residential is guiding €4.3 million prior to auction on June 8th.

The present owners, who revamped and redecorated Padua five years ago, opted in the main for muted shades of gold and cream with occasional darker hues. Polished timber floors add a honeyed tone.

The kitchen/breafastroom, where fittings have been given a distressed look and which has an exposed brick feature, extends into a conservatory. The diningroom, where there are darkly polished floorboards and a marble fireplace, has views from its bay window right across to Dalkey Island.

The drawingroom has similar bay-window views and arched alcoves on either side of another marble fireplace.

The bay window in the main, first floor bedroom has even more spectacular views as well as an en suite in which there is a free-standing bath and old-style toilet with chain. It has a walk-in dressingroom.

A second bedroom with bay window on this floor also has an en suite while a child's en suite bedroom on the return has a window overlooking the tennis court.

A fourth bedroom has an arched, side window.

The first floor landing leads to the viewing balcony with its white, wrought-iron surround, slatted timber floor and views of Sorrento Terrace and boats on the far horizon.

The garden level rooms include a sittingroom with bay window, playroom and study.

A narrow family bathroom has blue fish hand-painted on tiles and a couple of hot presses.

Linden Cottage is prettily tucked under a canopy of trees and has a bedroom, bathroom, sittingroom with cast-iron fireplace and kitchen with sea views.

There are outhouses and a garage, a recently resurfaced hard tennis court, Japanese slate covering a patio area and plants and bushes in great variety all around.