With uninterrupted sea views out over Scotsman’s Bay in Sandycove and across to Howth, Fastnet is ideally located on the south Dublin coast, in a highly sought-after neighbourhood nestled between Dún Laoghaire and Dalkey. This fine 1940s house was previously owned by Cork-born developer, the late Robin Power and his wife Michelle Kavanagh, who had a prime property portfolio stretching along the coastline from Sandycove to Dalkey.
They sold it to the current owner in 2017, and in 2018 it underwent a huge renovation under the skilful supervision of Lyons Kelly Architecture & Design. Rather than impose contemporary features on to the house and risk creating a Frankenstein home, the architects kept it classical all the way, making sure to fully upgrade the property while preserving its mid-century style and elegance.
The south-facing conservatory-breakfastroom to the rear of the house could easily have been knocked down and replaced by a bold new structure, but the temptation was avoided. With its vaulted roof and bespoke solid-oak bench seating with storage underneath, it is a charming olde-worlde spot to relax with your coffee and catch the morning sun.
Both upstairs and downstairs, the ceiling coving is present and pristine, while the floors in the reception hall, reception rooms and bedrooms are all a luxurious solid oak herringbone. The entrance hall has a Victorian-style tiled floor, and the livingroom has its original feature open fireplace. The house has been completely rewired and replumbed, the walls dry-lined and the original sliding sash windows reconditioned, the attic insulated and underfloor heating installed downstairs, bringing the house to a Ber rating of C1.
Housing in Ireland is among the most expensive and most affordable in the EU. How does that happen?
One in five people expect to pay mortgage in retirement, survey finds
Irish architectural great Ronnie Tallon built a home far superior to Mies van der Rohe’s original. Time to protect it
Sherry FitzGerald CEO Steven McKenna to leave firm to ‘explore new opportunities’
At 206sq m (2,217sq ft), Fastnet is an ample-sized family home on a large site on the corner of Ballygihen Avenue and Otranto Place, with the added benefit of those stunning views. It is for sale via Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty, seeking €2.75 million.
It can be a bit confusing at first to tell the front of Fastnet from the back. You come in to the property from the side, through a secure electric gate on Ballygihen Avenue. The spacious driveway offers off-street parking for several cars, and the entrance hall is where you expect the back of the house to be. You go past a guest toilet and cloakroom into the inner hall. The interconnecting livingroom and diningroom look out to those stunning sea views through large bay windows, and a French door opens from the livingroom out to a large terrace where you can entertain al fresco in the sort of setting you see only in TV ads. Steps go down to a large lawn that sweeps down to Otranto Place and is surrounded by mature hedges to ensure privacy.
The kitchen is refreshingly classic, with stone tiled floor, lovely oyster-coloured bespoke hardwood fittings, marble countertop and top-of-the-range Miele appliances. This was probably a separate room in the past, but is now perfectly connected up with the livingroom and diningroom via a large breakfast bar with feature pendant lighting above. Off the kitchen, a large utility room with washing machine and dryer leads into that cosy breakfast-sunroom. There’s also a large study/TV room on the west side of the house that is versatile enough for various family uses, whether that’s a home office, a gym or a kids’ hangout area.
The stairs to the first floor are well lit by a large window, and lead up to four large double bedrooms, two of them with en suites. The principal bedroom has bespoke wardrobes and recessed lighting, and superb views out over Scotsman’s Bay via two large windows. Bedrooms three and four also enjoy those sea views, and bedroom two to the back has a window to the side looking out on to Ballygihen Avenue. The family bathroom has tiled floor with underfloor heating, a bath with a Grohe shower, tiled walls and mirrored medicine cabinet, while the main bedroom en suite has marble wall tiling and his and hers Canova Royal wash-hand basin vanity unit.
