When it comes to houses along the Irish coastline, it’s easy to trot out clichés along the lines of inspirational views, but in the case of Brett McEntagart’s Sandycove home, these are, quite literally true.
After almost a half-century, the artist and his wife, Miriam, are selling their four/five-bedroom Victorian terraced house, with BK Earley for €2.45 million.
Nevertheless, they will be able to carry memories of its views of the James Joyce Tower and across the bay to Dún Laoghaire, with them in the form of McEntagart's wonderful paintings, inspired by the scene in many seasons.
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‘Bank strike’
“I bought it in 1970, I remember it was during the bank strike, it cost me about IR£8,000, and I put at least the same in again.
“Central heating, the kitchen extension, restoring the plasterwork, replacing the ceiling roses. I think it worked out well.”
The artist describes the location, between Sandycove Road and the seafront at Marine Parade as being both convenient and beautiful, and the same could be said of the house.
It’s an elegant Victorian three storey over basement end of terrace, with lawns to the front and a small patio garden to the rear, which in turn leads on to a two-bedroom modern mews house. In all there’s 232sq m (2,500sq ft) of accommodation in the main house, with another 74sq m (800sq ft) in the mews.
As you go higher, the views continue to improve, and each time you think: this must be the principal bedroom, you discover another good one, higher up and just as lovely.
The front door, reached via typical Victorian granite steps, leads to an elegant hallway, with mahogany floor.
Off this is a sittingroom, leading, via panelled doors to a diningroom. Each of these spaces have very nice Art Deco fireplaces, which may be of a slightly later period to the house, but which fit right in.
Beyond these rooms, the kitchen runs along the rear of the house, with a utility room off this that accesses the patio garden.
The first floor has another living/diningroom, which seeing as you already have a nice one downstairs, could be used as a bedroom.
Basement area
The basement area has separate access, and could be sectioned off, though as you also have the two-bedroom mews at the end of the patio, you can already divide up family living – or rent a room, depending on the situation. McEntagart, who was head of the print department at NCAD before joining the Graphic Studio on his retirement, also works from a space in the house and speaks warmly about the changing light in the various rooms.
“It has afforded me a lot of food for thought, motifs for all seasons.”
Take a look for yourself, you may well find it highly inspirational too.
