Spectacular vistas over the village and out to sea await the new owners of this renovated and extended property in a hilltop location, writes BERNICE HARRISON
ALTAMONT ON Knocknacree Road is aptly named – the house is near the top of this hilly road in Dalkey and that means spectacular views over the village and out to sea from just about every window.
Built, like many of the houses along this stretch of the road, in the 1980s, it last changed hands just seven years ago.
The new owners were then downsizing from a much larger house in the area and bought the two-storey split-level house, which they renovated and extended.
They are downsizing again – Altamont has 372sq m (4,000sq ft), so it’s far from being a small house – and it is for sale through joint agents Sherry FitzGerald and Knight Frank for €2.85 million.
Extending to the side and the back has made a huge difference to the feeling of light and space in the house. It made space at the side for two new double bedrooms, one upstairs, one down.
The largest one is a particularly luxurious bedroom suite, complete with bathroom and dressing room, and the picture windows give full-on sea views.
This main bedroom opens out onto a newly-built upstairs terrace and, where possible, all rooms open onto a terrace, either this one or the one down at garden level.
Altamont is laid out as a three-bedroom house, though this has more to do with the present owners’ personal requirements than the available space – it could easily be reconfigured as a four- or even five-bedroom house.
They prefer more living space and so there is a formal dining room, a drawing room, large den, modern fitted kitchen and study. All are good-sized rooms.
There’s also a fully fitted second kitchen downstairs – useful for large-scale entertaining – a wine cellar and storage rooms.
The style throughout is more traditional than the age of the house would suggest, with period fireplaces in several rooms as well as coving on the ceilings.
Part of the renovation included replacing several windows with bay windows to maximise the space and the views. The property is in walk-in condition for the new owners.
Altamont is on a steep site and the mature and well-kept gardens are terraced with lawn areas, stone walls and a large sandstone flagged area.
There’s parking for several cars – the gravelled bay just inside the electric gates could easily take four vehicles – and there’s more space just beside the house.
