Room to Roam

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Knott's Landing, back on your telly

Everything that involves expenditure must allow for these straitened times and interior design shows are no exception. Neville Knott hosted Showhouse (and last year My Showhouse) for six series but this time around he felt that the recession very much called for a different type of show. "The whole concept of doing up a full house has become extravagant and unrealistic in today's economy, where people just don't have that money."

As part of the new economy, each episode of Roomers features three homeowners who want a room done up. "The rooms aren't the same - one week it could be a kitchen up against a bedroom, up against a bathroom." The homeowners are each allocated one of three designers, who rise to the challenge of renovating unsightly living rooms, bedrooms and outmoded kitchens. Neville has immense faith in the three design specialists, the 'roomers' of the title, who are Joseph McCann, Karl Fradgley and Anne-Marie Hamill, each of whom has appeared on Showhouse over the years.

The designers are giving their time and expertise for free, but it's the homeowner's own budget that's crucial. There's no funding to help them, although designer discounts help make materials and decorative objects cheaper. "You could have a huge budget up against a tiny budget, and some weeks the bigger budgets don't win", reports Neville. "This is real: they can't go over budget, it's the homeowner's money. So we look to the designers to work with what they've got. If the homeowner doesn't like the way things are going halfway, or they think the designer is going to spend too much, they will let them know."

The money spent in the series ranges from E2,000 for a bedroom, up to E 30,000 for a kitchen, living/dining area renovation. "The designers usually responded with shock or horror at the rooms they were given. Even if they thought the rooms had potential, the budgets were very small and they got very concerned about that. But when I'd go down at the weekend and see the finished result I was always amazed at what they had managed to achieve", says Neville.

In the first episode, the programme team were in Galway, where Neville challenges each of the three roomers to save a kitchen which is mired in a '70s rut; to re-invent an unlivable living room; and to transform a bedroom on a bargain basement budget.

In later shows, the homes are in Galway, Monaghan, Mullingar, Sligo, Cavan, and Dublin, but the homes in each programme are located within 30 minutes of each other. Each room has to be renovated in five days. "Five days for one room isn't too bad - in Showhouse, we used to do a whole house in seven days." When the rooms are finished, Neville brings the homeowners around to see what they think of each other's rooms. They duly mark the renovations out of ten, so there is a winning designer each week.

If you are about to embark on a renovation, Neville recommends asking the contractor if they can show you examples of their previous work, the last job, for instance. Indeed, people are tending to do up their houses at the moment, rather than selling. "This is where it's at the moment", says Neville. "Interior design is all about just doing up a room. Extensions are thriving, that's what I hear from builders."

Those maligned design decades, the 1960s and 70s have their uses. "So many elements that we hated, if you take them out individually, and put them together in a more contemporary way, they look fantastic. Take the old heavy pattern, graphic print wallpaper - instead of having it on the four walls, put it on one wall to allow it to breathe. Then it can look really cool, as might a '70s coffee table mixed in with a contemporary sofa. A great way to add value is to put a really good quality flooring down. It doesn't have to cost a lot of money, you can pick up unbelievable bargains in the sales, in January and in July/August. You can even get things at below half-price in the tile, wood flooring and carpet companies."

Tired looking pine furniture, bookshelves or a table, can be transformed with just a pot of paint, Neville suggests. An oddment or a remnant could be picked up for E10-15 in a fabric shop, enough maybe for a Roman blind and to re-cover the dining room chairs too. "A pretty good tip in the kitchen is just to get your old-fashioned wood doors replaced with cool, slick, high gloss ones." Cost should always be carefully considered - can that sofa be re-upholstered rather than replaced?

Design for life: The Roomers, the Three Interior Designers of the Piece

Anne-Marie Hamill
Mayo-woman Anne-Marie lives and works in Co Louth, and was first introduced to the idea of a career in interior design during a year spent in New York in 1998. Once back home, she embarked on a diploma in Interior Architecture. Anne-Marie has completed interior fit-outs for hotels, shops and beauticians, as well as residential projects. She has also written for magazines and newspapers.

Joseph McCann
Belfast designer Joseph McCann studied Interior Architecture at Griffith College in Dublin. He specialises in both residential and commercial interior design and he recently set up his own Dublin-based company, J Design.

Karl Fradgley
In 2004, Karl qualified at the Limperts Academy of Design with an International Diploma in Interior Design. In 2007, he received a Higher Diploma in Interior Architecture and Commercial Design. He lectures in Interior Design at Griffith College Cork. Karl has blogged for Ireland.com and has been published in House and Home, In Style magazine and the En Vie online publication.