Episode 5:
In this weeks episode Roisin and the Desperate Houses crew join Vivenne, Ger and their five young kids at their mid-terrace three-bedroom house in Leixlip, County Kildare.
Series overview:
Hoarders, take heart. Desperate Houses – the hit RTÉ One series is back!
Let’s face it – as a nation we’re loathe to let things go. We drag everything we own from home to home, filling shelves and spare rooms with knick-knacks, excess furniture and old clothes we just don’t need. One day, a spring clean will come, but somehow, it never does. Until now.
Each week, architect and designer Róisín Murphy and her team bring order to the chaos of a cluttered home – helping hoarders to let go and designing full makeovers of the two worst rooms in the house with a little help from IKEA Ireland.
In this weeks episode Roisin and the Desperate Houses crew join Vivenne, Ger and their five young kids at their mid-terrace three-bedroom house in Leixlip, County Kildare.
Though Vivienne and Ger moved into this house four years ago, they haven’t finished unpacking and inside, there’s evidence of that fact everywhere. The garage is packed with unfinished projects and shoes that don’t match up! The gloomy dining room is filled with toys and devoid of light. The tiny packed kitchen lacks the important basics; storage, worktop space and safety – the kids need to be kept out by a large wooden gate!
Vivienne desires to be better organised and would like to be able to bake with her children someday. A simple pleasure denied by the chaotic space. Husband Ger, desires to hold on to some sentimental items belonging to his deceased father, proving to be a deeply emotional challenge.
Faced with her most challenging redesign yet, Roisin suggests a roof light in the kitchen to illuminate the dark and dreary living room. With such a small space to design for and with so many functional demands, the new kitchen layout is not solved until the last hours of the makeover.
As always Peter and the build crew go beyond their call of duty, this time, by removing a badly built 1970’s archway and find themselves stretched to their limits with extra jobs that crop up.
As the sorting crew declutter the house, memories of the past four years emerge. This family has been through the mill. The ongoing stress of managing their fourth child’s sleep apnea has defined the last four years for Ger and Vivienne. This is why unpacking and organizing their house has been the last thing on their minds.
Rising to the challenge, gently helping Ger and Vivienne to move on, Róisín gets to work, designing the warm and welcoming home this family deserves.
But can she do it in time?
Desperate Houses continues Tuesday, 12th December 2017 @ 8.30pm on RTÉ One