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THE GREAT HOUSE REVIVAL – Series 2, Episode 3

The Great House Revival Series 2 - Ep3-- Image Name: The Great House Revival Series 2 - Ep3--
The Great House Revival Series 2 - Ep3- Image Name: The Great House Revival Series 2 - Ep3-
The Great House Revival Series 2 - Ep3 Image Name: The Great House Revival Series 2 - Ep3
The Great House Revival Series 2 - Ep3.- Image Name: The Great House Revival Series 2 - Ep3.-
The Great House Revival Series 2 - Ep3. Image Name: The Great House Revival Series 2 - Ep3.
The Great House Revival Series 2 - Ep3.. Image Name: The Great House Revival Series 2 - Ep3..
The Great House Revival Series 2 - Ep3... Image Name: The Great House Revival Series 2 - Ep3...
GREAT HOUSE REVIVAL S2 E3 Image Name: GREAT HOUSE REVIVAL S2 E3

Following a hugely successful first series, RTÉ One’s The Great House Revival is returning for another series.  Architect Hugh Wallace will follow the progress of six restoration projects across the country, as owners reclaim buildings on the brink of ruin, to create spaces which they hope will become their dream homes.

This week, Karen Whyte and her partner Donnacha Curley, purchased Grove House a few years ago with a plan to save it from dereliction. Empty for years, the building was damp, water-damaged, and largely unloved.  A native of Westport, Karen is keen to restore the building back to the grand home it once was. 

Purchasing Grove House  for €117,500,  the home is a whopping 10,500 sq. ft. with a further 3,500sq ft. in the basement, so this restoration is no small task. Changing times have meant changing purposes for the building, from private home it became a bank, then a boarding school, and most recently it was flats.

The works completed over the years have added layers to the restoration work that needs to be carried out to strip this property back to its original, period features, which thankfully are still intact.

Having created an apartment on the top floor, living on site means that Karen can project manage the restoration, but with very little heat in the huge home, a dwindling budget and surprising complications along the way, this becomes an incredibly challenging restoration . With the budget of  €300,000 under pressure, they resort to clever ways to keep costs as low as they can.

Having worked in interior design, Karen’s keen aesthetic eye can see beyond the dust, damp, and mess to have a vision for the final design of the building, whereas qualified engineer Donnacha can manage the practicalities… and the bottom line. 

Their ambitious aim is to complete two floors of this house, and to create a ballroom and bar to use as a civic space.