Click through the photo gallery above to see all the before and after photos.
In the new series of Room To Improve, architect Dermot Bannon returns with four new designs for four incredible properties.
With soaring costs on materials around the country and budgets being pushed, Quantity Surveyor Claire Irwin has to work harder to make sure everyone gets their dream home on budget and on time. To achieve this, Claire will have to keep Dermot on his toes.
Don't miss tonight’s episode! 🏡#RoomToImprove | Tonight at 9:30pm on @rteone & @rteplayer pic.twitter.com/Gxj5IXuW9l
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) January 12, 2025
In tonight's episode, Dermot visits Kate and Jason's 1970s semi-detached home in Dublin.
In 2019, the couple and their two children moved into their new home in Palmerstown. They had come from a one bedroom apartment in Kilmainham, and this semi-d was everything they wanted it to be, including a long garden.
Cut to five years later and what was originally a dream space turned into a damp, cold and cluttered house, in need of a complete renovation.
When meeting Katie and Jason at their house for the first time, Dermot is taken on a tour of a very cramped household.
The front room is filled with children's toys and accessories, from a gymnastic mat to a goal post. As Dermot says, the house is a shrine to the kids’ family life. In the kitchen, the adults aren’t doing much better, with this small space barely able to seat people at the table.
One of the most distressing parts of the house for Katie, is the damp. With their son Harry having asthma, it’s a constant worry to Katie and Jason, seeing the damp creep down the walls.
Dermot understands all their concerns and so gets to work on the design.
Dermot wants to add a large extension from the kitchen down one side of the house, taking it into the long unused garden. This will be a kitchen and living area where the family can relax.
In the original downstairs area, there will be a kids’ room and also a cosy room for Katie to relax in. There will also be four bedrooms and an office for Jason.
Katie and Jason live extremely busy lives and the decisions that come about are overwhelming. With a deadline looming – getting in before Christmas, a decision is made that effects the build, but ultimately makes everyone happier.
Watch Room to Improve every Sunday on RTÉ One or watch it back on the RTÉ Player.
