The sale of a large detached house close to Dalkey village illustrates the ups and downs of the property market over the past two decades. The current owner, who bought it in 2002 for about €1.25 million, renovated and extended the 1930s property while he lived in it, and put it up for auction in 2008 with a guide price of €3.25 million. It was withdrawn at €2.5 million and put back on the market in 2014 at €1.95 million.
It wasn’t sold then, and now Gurteen, Dalkey Avenue, Dalkey, Co Dublin, a 215sq m (2,314sq ft) four-bed on large gardens is back on the market for €1.75 million. It has been rented since 2008 but now, newly painted and freshened up for sale, it’s in walk-in condition. It has a C3 Ber.
The owner renovated it to a high standard, with a copper-roofed extension wrapping around the rear of the house. Features include a hot tub in a sunken area in the back garden, a home movie system, a sound system and central vacuuming. Located on a road that runs from Dalkey village up to the junction with Cunningham Road/Dalkey Park, it has some views of the sea from upstairs bedrooms. It also comes with a separate, good-sized garden room/studio/home office that could be guest accommodation – a shower is being fitted into it.
A copper-roofed porch opens into the oak-floored front hall. On the left is a livingroom/family room running from the front to the back of the house. It’s floored with dark polished American walnut, has a large white marble fireplace and two decorative stained-glass windows, as well as an electric retractable movie screen and a projector.
A sitting room in the extended space at the end of the living room has a wood-burning stove set into a stone chimney breast and floor-to-ceiling glass doors opening to the back patio.
On the other side of the hall is an oak-floored family room at the front of the house with double doors opening into a large kitchen/breakfast room. A timber island unit faces a cream Aga, set into a tiled chimney breast; floor-to-ceiling windows with sliding doors open onto the back patio.
Upstairs are four bedrooms, all floored with French oak and all with fitted wardrobes; two are en suite. The main bedroom at the front of the house has a cast-iron fireplace and is dual aspect, with views over roofs of neighbouring houses towards the sea and up to Dalkey Hill. Bedrooms at the back look over a large green space behind the house. The family bathroom has a Jacuzzi bath and is fully tiled with white subway tiles.
The landscaped side and back gardens are mainly in Indian limestone patio; a line of trees include olive trees and a yew. At the front, a very large lawn stretches upwards from a dry-stone wall, with mature trees and hedging. There’s lots of room to park at the front, as well as a carport.
Gurteen is a short walk from Dalkey village and the Metals, the pedestrian walkway that connects Dalkey Hill to Dún Laoghaire.
