Paradise for sale: The glorious Manly home on Millionaire's Row with a $15m-to-$16.5m guide

Rain or shine, it’s an idyllic morning routine that Sydney dreams are made of: run down the steps from the house directly to the beach, have a quick swim, then breakfast at one of our top cafes by the sand while catching up on emails.

And living in a home overlooking one of just a handful of western-facing beaches on the east coast of Australia means it’s possible – even when the worst southerly slams into the city.

“You get so much sun and light here all day but then, if a southerly comes, the water’s like a millpond,” says the owner. “It feels like a swimming pool. It means even in the worst weather you can swim and sometimes you come home, look at the water, and just can’t resist going for another swim …”

But now it’s a dream that’s on the market, with the Manly four-bedroom house, perched above Shelly Beach and the protected marine reserve of Cabbage Tree Bay, going up for auction.

As one of only four houses on the so-called “Millionaires’ Row” – these days presumably “Multi-Millionaires’ Row” – on Bower Street that has direct access, via landscaped steps through tropical foliage, to the beach, it’s expected to excite a huge amount of interest.

“Some people call this the most exclusive pocket of the northern beaches and, while I’ve sold some amazing properties here, this has to be one of the best, with direct north access and so sheltered,” says agent Cherie Humel of Clarke & Humel Property.

“You can sit on the terraces here all year round to look at the view over Shelly and Manly beaches to the ocean and the Central Coast, and you’re away from the tourists but it’s so close to the ferry and the CBD.”

The house is spread across three levels, with lots of living areas, outdoor spaces, a separate self-contained flat with its own entrance and another large storage space underneath that could be converted into a gym.

With panoramic ocean views visible even from the back of the property, and including 822 square metres of irrigated gardens, it feels almost as though it’s balancing directly over the water.

It was designed by award-winning architect Vince Squillace and completed in 2004, as an adaptation and extension of a smaller Californian bungalow sitting on the site. He kept the original building so that the new home, developed as two linked pavilions, could push closer out to the water, go closer to the boundary and could occupy a higher plane.

The new elements cantilever out into the views, hovering over the beach. “We called it The Shelly Beach House as it’s spectacularly located, and I really like the aesthetic that the two pavilions give it as well as the internal courtyard off the kitchen that brings in so much extra light,” Squillace says. “I’m very proud of that house. It’s one of the buildings we still feature on our website and I think it’s one of the best projects we’ve ever done. I wish I lived there!”

With a very contemporary feel, lofty ceilings and glass throughout, the house is filled with light. The lounge room is cosy with a gas fireplace, but is also bright and sunny and flows to another private deck.

The kitchen, which has a Caesarstone island, also opens to a central deck, while the family room has a full kitchenette and accesses a lower seaside terrace. The large study opens to the rooftop terrace, and there’s heating underneath the spotted gum and limestone flooring. The main bedroom has a walk-in wardrobe and en suite and, again, opens to a terrace.

“To have this kind of space in the middle of Manly is so unexpected,” says the owner. “We always had a lot of room and gardens, so we loved this immediately. It’s really easy living in an extraordinary part of the world, with Shelly Beach as our backyard.”

The area is a favourite of the locals as well as being well known throughout Sydney. The owners of the famed series of cafes, The Boathouse, are huge fans, with one of their cafes on Shelly Beach – just below the house for sale – as well as in the other top beaches; Palm, Whale and Balmoral.

“We love Shelly Beach, it is one of the most special places in Sydney,” says The Boathouse co-owner Andrew Goldsmith. “We love that it is one of the few west-facing beaches in Sydney, and that it looks back over Manly with a beautiful sunset.

“It’s a stunning place, with lots of marine life and natural beauty. Yet, it is located so close to Sydney CBD.”

There is parking for three, but five cars have comfortably parked on the property, and it’s just a level seaside stroll to Manly Beach and the ferry. It’s close to shops, schools, the wharf and all the best of Manly’s cafes and restaurants. It’s also a comfortable drive from the CBD.

The owners say they’ll miss the house hugely. “It’s wonderful to sit out on the terrace and watch the surfers and the swimmers and paddle-boarders and, although it’s so private here, you could never feel lonely,” says the owner, who’s lived there for the past six years.

The home is being marketed with a guide of $15 million to $16.5 million through Clarke & Humel Property’s Michael Clarke and Cherie Humel. Jake Rowe of Rowe Partners Real Estate is the co-agent on the campaign.

This feature is part of a Domain Deluxe package