The owner of Mantua on Sorrento Road in Dalkey, Co Dublin, grew up in the house next door – and won’t be moving far when he sells his Victorian four-bed. He and his wife, who grew up on Coliemore Road, have built a new home behind that faces onto nearby Rockfort Avenue.

Mantua is a semi-detached 243sq m (2,616sq ft) two-storey over garden level house built in 1870, and it’s for sale through Lisney for €1.5 million.

The couple bought the house in 1989 and have upgraded and extended it since then, starting by replacing the roof. More recently, they extended to the side of the house and revamped the front garden, providing off-street parking and a separate lawn and patio space screened off from the road by hedging.

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Vivid blue

Two interconnecting reception rooms open off the front hall, which has a smart black-and-white tiled floor and walls painted a vivid blue. The sittingroom to the front has a wide and deep box-bay window with a window seat and a marble fireplace with coloured tiles inset; double doors open into the diningroom.

There’s a lovely, modern Rational kitchen off the diningroom in the side extension, built at a slight angle to the house; it’s a long, narrow space with white and silver grey units, grey tile-effect Amtico floor and silestone worktop; there’s room for a small table and chairs at one end. The owners considered creating a large kitchen at garden level, but decided that this would have made the ground floor redundant.

Large arched window

Upstairs, past a very large arched window on the landing, there are three bedrooms, two ensuite; the large main bedroom stretches the width of the house and has an ensuite with a shower and a freestanding bath. There’s a good view from the main bedroom of the telegraph tower on Dalkey Hill, and some views of the sea from the two bedrooms to the rear.

At garden level, there’s a family room, a large double bedroom, a utility area and a study at one side, and, at the other, two shower rooms and a kitchen. It opens into a small courtyard-style back garden laid out in paving, gravel and lawn, a sheltered and private spot, very sunny on a bright May morning. A high white-painted wall separates it from the owners’ new home.