Click through the photo gallery above to see the before and after photos from this week's show.
Home Rescue: The Big Fix has returned to RTÉ 2 with a heart-warming mix of human stories and home makeovers. This season, the team are put to the test, decluttering and utterly transforming homes in just five days.
In this week's episode, the Home Rescue team bring the Big Fix to Karen Fitzgerald and Will Lennon, and their three-bed terraced house in the Dublin suburb of Drimnagh.
Karen, originally from Limerick, and Will, from New Zealand, bought their house in 2006. They now share the house with their two sons, Seb (12) and Ailbe (8), who has autism and is non-verbal.
Ailbe’s additional needs require full-time care, leaving his parents exhausted and isolated, unable to invite friends around or cope properly with the rising tide of clutter filling the house. Right now, Will and Ailbe share a bed while Karen and their eldest son, Seb, have their own bedrooms, both piled with clothes, boxes and bags so densely packed that Karen hasn’t been able to access her ensuite bathroom for years!
Juggling the demands of full-time jobs and caring for their son is challenging - made worse by the dysfunctional layout of a house that is filled with a random assortment of toys, furniture, laundry, food, desks and bikes.
The kitchen is cramped and disconnected from the sitting room. Access to the rear garden, where the kids love to play, is extremely awkward.
Karen dreams of being able to invite friends around for coffee, but they also need their home to be a haven. Determined to give each member of the family the space they need - a proper dining table, a kitchen that makes sense and a sensory environment - Dee plans a new chapter in their story.
Dee's plans to remove a wall, creating a new open plan layout, with a pergola to play in and a sensory wall, presents Builder Pete and the crew with a major challenge.
This is more than just renovation. It’s about transforming the quality of life for a family who’ve been isolated in their own home for too long.
Catch up on Home Rescue: The Big Fix on RTÉ Player.
