Homes with a view in Co. Dublin

A garden dome above Balscadden Bay

Plenty of sea-view gardens are glorious in July and abandoned by October. The dome at 19 Asgard Park changes that arithmetic: a sheltered place to sit and eat among lawns and mature planting, with Balscadden Bay below and Ireland's Eye offshore. It turns the garden into somewhere to spend time for much of the year, rather than something to admire through glass. Inside, the house keeps the same view in play. Floor-to-ceiling glazing and sliding doors join the living room to the terrace, and the main bedroom has corner windows onto the panorama. Howth village, the harbour and the DART are a short walk away, as are the peninsula's cliff paths.

Dublin Bay from your own terrace

Ground floor is not the obvious choice for a sea view, but at Pilot View it puts the water almost at your feet. No 2 Inishowen has its own seafront terrace off the living room, looking across Dublin Bay to Howth, with the development's well-kept gardens running towards the shore. The kitchen's large picture window keeps the bay in sight while you cook, with boats and seabirds for company, and an open fire in the living room suits the winter version of the same outlook. Dalkey's shops and restaurants are a short stroll, and Coliemore Road and Vico Road offer some of the south side's best-loved coastal walks.

Herbert Park from the tenth floor

Ardoyne House has stood over Herbert Park since 1961, and from the tenth floor the park reads like a map: tennis courts and mature trees, then Ballsbridge, Donnybrook and the city running out towards the Pigeon House chimneys and Dublin Bay. The living room looks over the park; one bedroom faces Ballsbridge, another the wider city. This apartment needs complete refurbishment, and that is rather the point. The layout is well proportioned and the outlook cannot be renovated away, so a buyer gets to design every room around a view few Dublin 4 interiors share. The city centre is roughly a fifteen-minute walk, with Ranelagh and Donnybrook closer still.

Sea to the front, light to the back

162 Hampton Cove divides its pleasures neatly. The front of the house looks to the sea: the living room, with its stove and marble surround, has the view, as do two bedrooms upstairs, one small enough to make a study with an outlook. The raised position lifts the eye over the coastal grass and the road below towards the horizon. The back is where the extensions earn their keep. A vaulted family room with Velux windows and a glazed corner opens onto the patio and a garden with partial sea views of its own. It gives a household two quite different places to be: one for watching weather come in off the sea, one for gathering everyone together.

Malahide's green side, from a covered balcony

Not every good view involves water. The covered balcony at 17 The Shore looks over parkland, mature trees and the development's landscaped gardens, and it opens from the living room and both bedrooms. That makes it less a balcony than an extra room, used at different times of day by whoever happens to be nearest. High ceilings and a bright open-plan living space keep the greenery present indoors. Beyond the gates, Malahide village is a short stroll, and walks lead on to Malahide Castle, the coast road and the beach. Here the sea is a destination for the afternoon rather than the thing outside the window.

Facing south to the Dublin Mountains

Dundrum is better known for shopping than scenery, which is exactly why this third-floor apartment at Rockfield is worth a second look. Its balcony and much of the living space face south over landscaped grounds, with the Dublin Mountains rising beyond. Trees and neighbouring buildings take some of the foreground, but the hills hold the horizon. The dual aspect does real work: a bay window and floor-to-ceiling glazing, facing south and west, draw light into the living and dining room through the day. Then the practical side. The Luas at Balally is a short walk and Dundrum Town Centre is close by, while Marlay Park and Airfield give the mountain view somewhere to lead.

Three balconies, three angles on the bay

Most apartments offer one view and one balcony. 97 Salthill, on the second floor of Block D, has three, to the front, rear and side, each catching a different angle on Dublin Bay, the coastline or the landscaped grounds. A spacious south-facing terrace off the kitchen and dining room suits long meals; the living room opens onto another facing the bay, where evening sunsets are part of the routine. Even the kitchen has a porthole window over the water. The DART line runs below, visible between the block and the sea, which is both the trade-off and the convenience: Salthill station is next door, with Monkstown and Dún Laoghaire harbour within walking distance.

A bath with a view of Howth

At Rockmount the sea is an upstairs affair. The family bathroom has a large picture window across Dublin Bay to Howth, which makes an ordinary bath something of an occasion, and the bedroom opposite shares that outlook. The principal bedroom turns the other way, towards Dalkey and Killiney Hills. Below, the house is about period rooms and private gardens: interconnecting drawing and dining rooms with marble fireplaces, and a garden-level kitchen and living space opening to sunny patios. Dalkey's main street is a gentle stroll, with sea swimming at Vico Road and Coliemore Harbour close by. Here the bay is something to climb the stairs for.

Worth checking: The sea views are from the upper floor and take in neighbouring rooftops and mature trees in the foreground; the main living spaces are not described as sea-facing.

Bull Island, just across the road

From the enclosed balcony of this top-floor apartment, the view runs over the Dublin Road promenade to Bull Island, with Howth to the left and Dublin Bay opening to the right. The road and some roadside planting sit in the foreground, but the glazing means the outlook can be enjoyed in any weather, which on this stretch of coast is no small thing. The front of the flat gets the best of it: the long living and dining room and the kitchen both face the water, while the bedrooms sit quietly to the rear. Coastal walks start across the road, St Anne's Park and the Bull Island beach are within easy reach, and the DART is close by.

Worth checking: No lift is mentioned for this top-floor apartment, which is worth confirming if stairs would be an issue.

A desk that faces the Irish Sea

St Kilda announces itself with granite steps rising to a sea-facing hall, yet its most persuasive room may be downstairs. At garden level, a large home office has a bay window looking across the lawn to open sea, the kind of working view that makes long days easier to bear. Above, the restored Victorian villa gives its kitchen the front of the house, with a terrace off the dining area towards the gardens and water, and another to the rear for late sun. An acre of grounds brings genuine privacy on Sandycove Avenue East, a road set above the sea with the Forty Foot and the James Joyce Tower moments away.

Worth checking: The heated pool and multi-car garage exist only as planning permissions; their conditions and the cost of building them would fall to a buyer.