Living at the dock of the bay

Sandycove/€2.2m: A six-bed Victorian house in a magical setting has a garden running right down to the sea. Orna Mulcahy reports.

Sherry FitzGerald is quoting €2.2 million prior to auction for a six-bedroom Victorian house with a garden running down to the sea at Sandycove, Co Dublin.

Owned by businessman Gordon Colleary, but rented out in recent years, number 4 Bayswater Terrace is a three-storey over garden level house at the end of a terrace of four, set back from the road with a communal front garden and off-street parking.

Behind the house is a 150 ft landscaped garden with direct access to the sea and a small boathouse. It's a magical setting, with water lapping up against the garden wall and, to make the most of the stunning view across the bay to Howth, the open view will be on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, to coincide with evening sailing from the Dún Laoghaire yacht clubs. The auction is set for June 29th.

Number 4 is an impressive house of around 372 sq m (4,000 sq ft) with a self-contained one-bedroom flat at garden level. Granite steps lead to the front door with its fanlight overhead. Inside, the high ceilinged hallway has a view through to the back of the house and the sea.

To the right, the two interconnecting reception rooms are arranged as a livingroom to the front, and a kitchen overlooking the garden and sea. The livingroom is a big, almost square room with a modern raised fireplace, and a wide opening through to the kitchen.

Here the green painted units are a little dated, but the layout is good, with storage behind high oak doors in a larder that has a ladder to help you reach the top shelves. Glazed double doors open to a big decked patio. There is also a toilet at this level, access to the ground floor flat, and a back door with steps leading down the garden.

Upstairs, past a high arched window that frames a view of the garden and sea, the first floor has the drawingroom and the main bedroom. The drawingroom runs the width of the house with two tall sash windows to the front, and a marble fireplace with a gas fire. It's a very fine room with its original pine floor mellowed to a honey brown, and intricate ceiling cornices.

The main bedroom is a lofty room to the rear, with a walk-in dressingroom where steps lead up to an en suite. The top floor has four bedrooms, two to the rear. All share a small bathroom on the top return.

The garden level apartment is a good size, with a large livingroom, a bathroom, kitchen and bedroom. A utility room and a wine cellar under the front steps complete the layout on this floor. The back garden has a curvaceous design that breaks up the length nicely, though the focus is always on the central view of the sea. A large greenhouse at the end catches the evening sun and has been used as a garden room.

Off-street parking that runs alongside the house is an extra.