Room to Improve is an Irish architectural renovation TV series broadcast on RTÉ One. It is also broadcast on the UK's Home channel.
Format
Presented by the architect Dermot Bannon, his aim is to improve his clients' living conditions by renovating their homes without spending excessive sums of money.[2] The budgets differ for each client, ranging from €20,000 to €250,000.
Bannon's architectural designs frequently include box-shaped extensions with large windows and interior 'courtyard' gardens. He favours open-plan interior layouts and spacious rooms and he generally seeks to maximise the penetration of natural light into the plans, but introduces several new steps into the layout. He has a keen interest in gardens and outdoor space and his designs usually provide access to these outdoor spaces and make the most of any views. He has a love of natural materials and often uses timber in kitchens. He has a dislike of fussy ornamentation and ostentatious "bling" and a strong preference for restraint and simplicity. His strong opinions on decor often brings him into conflict with his clients. Bannon is renowned for acting as house hold items such as "I'm the oven" and "I'm the toilet".
Room To Improve often features candid coverage of disagreements or problems on site and presents a "warts and all" picture of the realities of managing a building project.
Broadcasts
From 17 May 2021 Room to Improve was broadcast in a lunchtime slot during the week on the UK's Channel 5, after they had licensed series 8 to 12 from RTÉ.[3] Series 1 began transmission on the same channel commencing Thursday 8 July 2021.
Transform a bungalow that dominated by the abandoned industrial unit to the rear into an elegant home for one that can also accommodate a whole family of visitors.
A family of five live in a cottage they have now outgrown and need to extend, but the problem is that the property is built on at least four levels with some shoddy workmanship during ad hoc extensions. Dermot's job is to level the whole house.
A three-bedroom home is cramped, dark has very little privacy on the estate the house is located on. Dermot's task is to extend the house and rearrange the layout to make the house bright and spacious.
A remote tiny 100-year-old ex-council cottage in the Wicklow Gap is damp and mouldy and is no longer suitable for a family of five and modern day life.
A widow and her daughter want to move out of their huge 13 bedroom former B&B and move into another house they own, a 3-bedroom bungalow that hasn't been occupied since her husband died.
With the pressure of a tiny budget of €150,000, a totally unrealistic schedule and two headstrong clients in Eilín and David who want to manage the entire project themselves while holding down full-time jobs, this is Dermot's most challenging and frustrating build to date.
Dermot is in Brittas with Irish politician Senator Katherine Zappone and her partner of 30 years Ann Louise Gilligan. The couple live in a now dilapidated 100-year-old hunting lodge which is in desperate need of renovation
A family of six live in a large 15-room two-storey property with a warren of disconnected rooms, half of which are never used. They need help turn their huge house into one big spacious fully functional dream home.
A couple live in a compact 1950's bungalow. The house has to be completely redesigned and Dermot has just €90,000 to complete their wish list
Series 8
There were eight episodes in series 8.
Date
Details
Location
Budget
Circumstances
25 January 2015
Dun Laoghaire
€260,000
A couple couldn't afford to buy a proper house as they were too expensive, so they went back to basics and bought a disused commercial lockup in Dun Laoghaire to turn into their first home.
1 February 2015
Kilternan
€360,000
A couple have bought a 19th-century listed former Church of Ireland schoolhouse in Kilternan which they wish to turn into a dream 21st century home.
8 February 2015
Baltinglass
€160,000
Recently engaged Larry McGrath and Elaine O'Neill live in bungalow on a large dairy farm in Baltinglass, Wicklow. Dermot has been called in to blend the warmth of a traditional farmhouse with the flexibility of a modern urban design.
15 February 2015
Malahide
€130,000
Redesign a house for a 12-year-old child who uses a wheelchair.
22 February 2015
Mullingar
€250,000
Modernise and enlarge a 1970s outdated and cold home outside Mullingar in Westmeath for a family of six.
Remodeling of the inside of a '60s bungalow situated in the heart of the village to include two separate living spaces for a mother and son – with his family.
Farmer and Boatbuilder Enda and his wife Mags retire from Brussels Sprout Farm to move home to picturesque seaside village.
2017
Moate
€250,000
Irish Gaelic football star Dessie Dolan and wife Kelly, who are both teachers, turn a property on a dilapidated plot on the outskirts of the town of Moate in County Westmeath into a spectacular family home
2017
Sutton
€200,000
Married couple James and Hannah modernise and extend a 1960s suburban house owned by Hannah's parents and which she inherited after their deaths
2017
Kildalkey
€200,000
At Kildalkey in rural East Meath, Dermot Bannon renovates 'Cois Shruchan', a farmhouse and barn gifted to newly engaged childhood sweethearts David and Celine, a family home at one time by occupied by her Granny and Grandad.
2017
Templeogue
€153,000
Newlyweds Rosie and Keith want to modernise a typical 1970s cold, dark and uninsulated suburban housing estate semi-detached property which is in need of a radical modernisation.
A couple have returned from London to Ireland after renovating a 1950s semi-detached house in Killester, North Dublin in an industrial style, with a budget of €150,000 to complete the project.
Bannon has to bring 'Malibu style' living to a 1960s home in Stillorgan, Dublin, on a budget of €180,000, but rising to €290,000 due to client changes.
Series 12
There were eight episodes in series 12.
Date
Details
Location
Budget
Circumstances
8 September 2019
Athgarvan, County Kildare
Final budget €298,000
Nessa and David have bought a 1990s split level bungalow and have a budget of €290,000 to transform it into a modern extended dream home.
15 September 2019
Borrisoleigh, County Tipperary
€215,000
Dermot heads to Borrisoleigh, County Tipperary, to meet retired bakery salesman Joe Kenny who has lived in his bachelor pad since 1980. He is about to marry his long-term girlfriend Mary Hayes, but before they marry, Mary insists that the house needs to be dragged into the 21st century.
22 September 2019
Rathfarnham, Dublin
Final budget €390,000
Dermot Bannon travels to Rathfarnham to meet a couple who live with their daughter in their detached 1930s two-bedroom home, and he helps the family transform and extend it on a budget of €285,000.
29 September 2019
Ashford County Wicklow.
Final budget €375,000 plus €195,000 on clients' optional extras.
Nigel and Frances Coffey live in a bungalow built in 1997. It was perfect for them 20 years ago, but with 5 children ranging in ages from 9 to 26 and with girlfriends the house is just too cramped and they struggle for space. Budget is €450,000.
6 October 2019
Tramore, County Waterford
€290,000
Tom and Claudia bought a 1920s bungalow near Tramore Bay 8 years ago, but the house is now too small for a family of five, the layout is dark and cramped and most of the property does not face the sea. Dermot plans to redesign the interior and add extensions with sea views.
13 October 2019
Drumcondra, Dublin
Final budget €240,000
Glenn and Gustav need to redesign a house previously split into two self contained apartments. The house is so utterly disconnected and no longer works as a single residence Dermot needs to re-evaluate the layout within their budget of €155,000, but hidden structural, roof and chimney problems are putting a strain on their budget.
5 January 2020
Special: Dermot's Home – Part One
N/A
12 January 2020
Special: Dermot's Home – Part Two
N/A
Series 13
There were five episodes in series 13.
Date
Location
Budget
Circumstances
20 Feb 2022
Kilmacud, County Dublin
Architect Dermot Bannon returns to help people to improve their homes, beginning by giving Marc and Lisa Daly advice on their property in Kilmacud, Co Dublin.
Howth, County Dublin
Blessington, County Wicklow
Thurles, County Tipperary
Constructive Criticism
N/A
Series 14
There were four episodes in series 14.
Date
Location
Budget
Circumstances
09 Nov 2023
Tullamore, County Offaly
16 Nov 2023
Lucan, County Dublin
Dermot tackles a project with an incredibly tight budget.
23 Nov 2023
Blessington, County Wicklow
30 Nov 2023
Castleknock, West Dublin
Dermot helps a couple extend their 3 bedroom semi-detached home in Castleknock, West Dublin.
Series 15
Date
Location
Budget
Circumstances
07 Jan 2024
Urlingford, County Kilkenny
Dermot Bannon & Claire Irwin are in Urlingford, Kilkenny, to work on an old farmhouse.
