skip to main content

ROOM TO IMPROVE

Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon Image Name: Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon Description: Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon
Room to Improve - Lisa O'Brien and Dermot Bannon Image Name: Room to Improve - Lisa O'Brien and Dermot Bannon Description: Room to Improve - Lisa O'Brien and Dermot Bannon
Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon Image Name: Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon Description: Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon
Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon and Lisa O'Brien Image Name: Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon and Lisa O'Brien Description: Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon and Lisa O'Brien
Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon and Lisa O'Brien 3 Image Name: Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon and Lisa O'Brien 3 Description: Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon and Lisa O'Brien
Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon and Lisa O'Brien 2 Image Name: Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon and Lisa O'Brien 2 Description: Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon and Lisa O'Brien
Room to Improve - architect Dermot Bannon and QS Lisa O'Brien Image Name: Room to Improve - architect Dermot Bannon and QS Lisa O'Brien Description: Room to Improve - architect Dermot Bannon and QS Lisa O'Brien
Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon Image Name: Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon Description: Room to Improve - Dermot Bannon
Room to Improve - homeowners Cliona and Michael with Dermot Bannon and builder John Walsh Image Name: Room to Improve - homeowners Cliona and Michael with Dermot Bannon and builder John Walsh Description: Room to Improve - homeowners Cliona and Michael with Dermot Bannon and builder John Walsh
Room to Improve - homeowners Cliona and Michael with Dermot Bannon Image Name: Room to Improve - homeowners Cliona and Michael with Dermot Bannon Description: Room to Improve - homeowners Cliona and Michael with Dermot Bannon
Room to Improve - homeowners Cliona and Michael with Dermot Bannon Image Name: Room to Improve - homeowners Cliona and Michael with Dermot Bannon Description: Room to Improve - homeowners Cliona and Michael with Dermot Bannon

Room to Improve, Episode 5 of 7, RTÉ One, Sunday, March 18th at 9.30pm

Recently returned to Ireland after 12 years in London, new parents website designer Cliona and IT manager Micheal have already spent €30,000 renovating a 1950s semi-D at Killester in North Dublin in their own distinctive, industrial style.

Desperately in need of a properly functioning family home for themselves and baby Luan, they want Dermot to complete the job they started, replacing an extension and a motley collection of sheds in a small triangular back yard, with usable family space.

Faced with the limitations of a €150,000 budget, but keen to retain the distinctive 1950s style of the house, Dermot plans a decked courtyard space defined by a sloped extension with dyed brickwork matching the existing façade.

Builder John insists on trying to keep to his eight-week build schedule but the build runs into problems – demolition uncovers the presence of asbestos and there’s the unwelcome arrival of a €20,000 bill for extra costs, which leads to a temporary shutdown of work on site.

Meanwhile, Dermot struggles to reconcile Cliona’s edgy interior design aesthetic with his own vision of how the house should look.

Series Overview

ROOM TO IMPROVE (Series 11)

The nation’s favourite architect is back with a brand new series of Room To Improve. Backed up (and occasionally backed down) by the sobering influence and steely-eyed determination of no-nonsense QS Lisa O’Brien, Dermot sets out to create dream homes for a diverse range of clients in locations from the Dublin suburbs to the wilds of Donegal.

At a farmhouse in rural Tipperary, Dermot attempts to convince his clients – Cork-born Katie and local dairy farmer Padraig – to remove an internal wall and embrace the concept of open plan living, but he and Katie can’t seem to agree on anything.

At a 1960s ‘Semi D’ in Stillorgan, Dermot’s vision of a million euro ‘Malibu style’ house for Rory and Lorna from the west of Ireland descends into an ongoing battle over the style and position of the front door.

How will the urbane architect fare as he accepts a challenge from singer Daniel O’Donnell and his wife Majella to reconfigure their beloved home in Kincasslagh, west Donegal? Daniel pretends he couldn’t care less but, determined to achieve her ideal home, Majella proves more than a match for Dermot.

Time is not on Dermot’s side as he attempts to complete the unfinished renovation of a 1950s house in Killester, for Cliona, Micheal and their new baby.

In Fermoy, Dermot attempts a challenging combination of old and new for his clients Dave and Susie as he merges a high-end, luxurious extension complete with swim spa, gym and sauna with the 170-year-old mansion that Susie fell in love with as a teenager.

At the seaside village of Portrane in North Dublin, Dermot creates a workable home for three generations of the one family under the watchful, budget-conscious eyes of two sisters.

In Clontarf, Christine wants to bring New York style straight from the pages of a magazine to her traditional red brick terraced house. Dermot attempts to reconcile his client’s long wish list with a limited budget but QS Lisa suspects Christine’s dream may never be a reality.

There will be high expectations to meet, dreams to conjure, builders to placate, budgets to massage, clients to calm and visions to sell, as one single-minded architect comes face-to-face with seven of his most demanding builds yet.

Seven designs for life, but you know what they say about the best laid plans!