Sandycove three-bed a stone’s throw from the Forty Foot for €875,000

“We are right in the middle of the Dryrobe brigade,” says the owner of 7 Elton Court in Sandycove, south Dublin, “but far enough away to escape the worst of it”.

By that he means the inconvenience many locals have to endure from inconsiderate parking. Elton Court, however, is happily at a remove from the tumult and the fray caused by the hardy tribes who descend on Sandycove and the Forty Foot year round for their daily dips.

The current owners have lived in this three-bedroom three-storey house, built in 2002, for eight years, having bought it for €725,000 in 2015. They love not only the area but the Elton Court development, made up of a mix of young families and older downsizers, which is connected to Breffni Road by a lane behind the house.

“We rented a mews on Elton Court for eight years,” says the owner, “then when we wanted to buy we looked around and couldn’t find anything better. The problem with this area is it becomes very difficult to leave.”

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With their daughter now in university in England, the couple are moving somewhere new.

The property is in good condition; all four bathrooms have been upgraded to look sleek and smart, with decent fittings and subway tiles. There are three good-sized double bedrooms, the principal is on the top floor with an en suite, another bedroom on the first floor also has an en suite, and the third bedroom is doubling up currently as an office.

The house has a C2 Ber and a total living area of 130 sq m (1,400 sq ft). The floors in the hall and livingroom are solid oak, which have been sanded and stained with a white wash to brighten them.

All appliances in the bright kitchen are integrated, making for a seamless finish with attractive units and Corian moulded countertops. There’s a De Dietrich self-cleaning oven, a five-ring gas hob and bright tiling which bounces the light flowing from the skylights and two doors to the garden around this kitchen.

The dark, stained wooden deck outside the kitchen was the owner’s lockdown project, and adds to an already charming garden, with a beech and cherry blossom tree in front of the granite wall and a gate set into it providing access to the lane leading to Breffni road.

“The lane outside will see you at the Forty Foot in four minutes,” says the owner. “It’s a 10-minute walk into Dalkey or Sandycove; with Cavistons and 64 Wine, it’s a foodie and swimmer’s paradise.

“In lockdown, when everyone decided they were going to become swimmers, parking became a contentious issue,” the owner says.

“There is a certain smugness to see people fighting over parking spaces when you walk out the gate, towel over your arm, and within a few minutes you’re in the sea.”

The property is now on the market through DNG Dún Laoghaire, seeking €875,000.