With an unprecedented number of expensive houses being lined up for auction in the month of June, buyers at the top end of the market may now focus on Killiney where two very different houses overlooking the sea have come on the market this week.
Each has a price tag of £3 million and both are being handled by Tom Day of Lisney.
Victoria House, which fronts on to Vico Road, is a striking three-storey modern house with sea-facing terraces on all three levels and an interior of 6,000 sq. ft. Built six years ago on a half acre of land that originally belonged to the adjoining Mount Mapas property, Victoria House is unlike any other house in Killiney. For sheer audacity, it rivals the linear, modern box being built by businessman Joe Donnelly on the sea side of Vico Road nearby - although Victoria House is by far the most visible of the two, with its many-windowed facade.
All those windows make for an extremely bright interior and this is where the house wins out over its Victorian counterparts. Although it looks to be enormous, it is a quite manageable home. The double front doors open into a 40 ft long hallway that ends in French doors leading to a terrace overlooking the sea. Central to the hall is a striking staircase that leads down to the reception rooms and the kitchen on the lower level. Four very spacious bedrooms, all with en suites, lead off the hall. The main bedroom has a south-facing bay window that looks over Killiney Bay to Bray Head.
Another door off the hall conceals a staircase to the attic floor, where there is a fifth bedroom.
There are two very fine reception rooms downstairs - a large drawing room opening into a dining room and a family room - and a smart black and white Italian kitchen. All these rooms open directly on to the verandah overlooking the sea. The lowest level is taken up by one big room, with a bedroom and bathroom off it, and a separate entrance. The gardens are landscaped with terraces marked out by low granite walls and patios. A high, granite wall divides the property from the next door site, where the owners have built a house on land that once belonged to Ayesha Castle.
Far more typical of a grand Killiney residence is Fortlands, on Killiney Hill Road, a Victorian house tucked away on the southern slopes of Killiney Hill. The impressive two-storey house stands on 1.5 acres of grounds that include a grass tennis court, an orchard, stables and a coach-house that could easily be converted to a separate dwelling.
Fortlands is hidden from view at the end of a long driveway, and surrounded by immaculately tended gardens that enjoy that all-important view of Killiney Bay. Inside, this is a fine period house with five bedrooms and gracious reception rooms. The double drawingroom to the left of the hall is a particularly good space for entertaining, and it has a handsome Bossi fireplace.
On the other side of the hallway is a large formal dining room and beyond that is a 27 ft long conservatory.
At the back of the house is the kitchen opening into a breakfast room, where there is a staircase leading up to a family room.
An impressive staircase with Gothic-style carving leads up to a half landing, where panelled walls conceal a lavatory and a row of built-in cupboards.
Upstairs, all the bedrooms are spacious doubles with big sash windows taking in views of the garden or the sea. The main bedroom has a large en suite bathroom. The garden backs on to Villa Maria Avenue, where there is a lane-way leading down to Killiney DART station.
