The Great House Revival

Fiona Kelly has serious ambition having purchased a dilapidated Georgian terraced house in the heart of Phibsborough in north Dublin dating back to 1826. Once an impressive townhouse for a well-to-do tradesman, Fiona’s house has been witness to the passing fortunes and misfortunes of Dublin over the centuries, and was occupied as a tenement home right up to the 1960s. With slanted door frames, crooked floors and a tumbling roof, Fiona and her building contractor friend Philip, have taken on a building on the brink of collapse. Her timeframe for the project starts out as an ambitious 6 months, but with problem after problem, the timeline expands to deal with the challenges the building presents. Rainsoaked and rotten in parts, the building presents one of the biggest challenges we have ever seen on the Great House Revival.

This week’s episode follows the transformation and restoration of three 1790s agricultural barns into a family home. With three children all under the age of 5, Belinda and Lorcan Carpenter have decided to convert three farmyard barns into their dream family home. Set in the picturesque hills of the Wicklow Carlow border on the grounds of Belinda’s childhood home Munny House, the barns need extensive renovation and conversion work in order to transform the dilapidated donkey house into a bespoke family home. Their plan is to convert the three barns into an open plan living room / kitchen, three family bedrooms, bathroom and a small office, with an additional outdoor living space.

This week sees the restoration of a historic building in the heart of Westport Co.Mayo, dating back to 1770. Empty for years, the building was damp, water-damaged, and largely unloved. 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. 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. Their ambitious aim is to complete two floors of this house, and to create a ballroom and bar to use as a civic space.

This week’s episode follows the restoration of a former Church of Ireland rectory from 1800. Ronan and Charles are the proud owners of Kilglass House in Longford, an 18th century former rectory in dire need of rescuing. From the bustling streets of central London to the quiet rolling hills of Longford, the culture-shock is the least of their concerns – Kilglass House requires urgent attention to save it from the encroaching damp, falling ceilings and crumbling rendering. With an almost spent budget, Charles works 3 weeks a month in London and Ronan works 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off, in order to fund the rest of the restoration through their wages. Ronan takes an extreme DIY approach to this restoration project. When complete, Kilglass House will feature four bedrooms, two living rooms, a library, dining room, kitchen, and bathroom over four floors.

This week sees the restoration of a historic doctor’s house and dispensary dating back to the early 1800s. With a coach house and numerous outbuildings, Frances plans to have the project finished in time for her imminent retirement. Being a listed building means that strict guidelines and traditional methods will have to be followed and used to bring this property to comfortable living standards, whilst retaining its original quirks and features. With a roof to repair, 23 windows to restore, walls to knock, rotting timbers and decaying bricks to contend with, a collapsing staircase and dangerous working conditions for the building team, their restoration is no simple task. Frances and Tom plan to turn their hand to whatever work they can do onsite to help with their budget, which is €240-250k. This means that they will be able to keep a keen eye on the budget while engaging with very part of the restoration process.

Hugh follows the restoration of a palatial 1850s Westmeath regency style mansion. Its size makes restoration a challenge, even before differences of opinion among the new owners.