Fisherman’s cottage in Dalkey for €775,000

One of Dalkey’s best-known thoroughfares, Coliemore Road meanders along the seafront offering a breathtaking glimpses of seriously A-list views. Just beyond the harbour, still used by working fishermen, is a house owned by Jim Sheridan. Originally a fisherman’s cottage, it has a brick-fronted extension that conceals floor-to-ceiling glass walls that look out to sea. Opposite it is number 68, The Breakers, a two-bedroom period house that is all front.

The double bay-fronted terraced property has a sizeable and stepped patio where you can enjoy sea views to the north and south. The vista directly in front of the house is obscured by the original part of Sheridan’s property.

The seascape may not be panoramic but the house affords a pretty high end view for €775,000. The catch is that the house is just 74sq metres (800sq feet). It has a fine livingroom that occupies one its two bay windows.

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Painted a deep marine blue, it has good ceiling heights, an open fire and a sash window and shutters. Originally a dual-aspect room, the back window is still in situ but its panes have been mirrored to hide an unsightly extension to the rear. The feature helps bounce light back into the space.

Across the hall is the master bedroom, where the stagers have installed a free-standing wardrobe and a bed that faces the door to make the room look its best, but anyone living here will want their bed to face the window and the fabulous vista. The second bedroom is to the rear of this room. Originally it overlooked the back garden. At some stage the house was extended and the kitchen now occupies much of the entire original rear. The window in the second bedroom now looks into the kitchen, a set-up that won’t appeal to everyone.

In contrast to the light bright rooms to the front, the kitchen is lit from above via a lantern skylight. The room features sage green painted units and laminate counter-tops.

The bathroom is off the kitchen, a layout that has since been outlawed by planning regulations. A back door takes you out into a tiny yard, all that remains of the back garden, and gives the property a side entrance and a place to keep the bins that won’t interfere with the scenic setting to the front.

For someone looking for a small property in Dublin as a pied à terre, The Breakers has some very compelling elements; a seriously desirable address and a front patio that, while exposed completely to the road, has fantastic sea views, but the configuration could do with a rethink.