Room to Improve
| Room to Improve | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Makeover |
| Created by | COCO Television[1] |
| Directed by | Luke McManus |
| Starring | Dermot Bannon |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 15 |
| No. of episodes | 90+ |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Linda Cullen |
| Producer | Hilary O'Donovan |
| Cinematography | Piaras MacCionnaith, Andrew Cummins |
| Editor | Stephen Vickers |
| Original release | |
| Network | RTÉ One |
| Release | 20 June 2007 – present |
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[edit]
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 €27,000 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[edit]
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.
Episode list[edit]
Series 1[edit]
The first series had six episodes.[4]
| Date | Details | Location | Budget | Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 June 2007 | Original Archive | Killiney | €20,000 | Complete remodelling of entire downstairs of a two-bedroomed home |
| 27 June 2007 | Original Archive | Glasnevin | €40,000 | Entire downstairs in need of wheelchair accessibility due to client's multiple sclerosis |
| 4 July 2007 | Original Archive | Castleknock | €50,000 | Renovation of dark, dismal, north facing, uninsulated, cold extension used as a kitchen, dining and homework area |
| 11 July 2007 | Original Archive | Enniscorthy | €65,000 | Renovation of an old 1850s cottage in preparation for a new baby |
| 18 July 2007 | Original Archive | Dalkey | Renovation of a dark, cold and unviewable kitchen | |
| 25 July 2007 | Original Archive | Ballygarrett | Creating a kitchen, dining room and spare bedroom without losing the cottage's 1930s charm |
Series 2[edit]
The second series had eight episodes.[5]
| Date | Details | Location | Budget | Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 June 2008 | Original Archive | Donnycarney | €30,000 | Improving an ex-council house |
| 11 June 2008 | Original Archive | Timahoe | €60,000 | Overcrowded house |
| 18 June 2008 | Original Archive | Ennis | €70,000 | Family unable to eat at the same table and to watch TV comfortably together |
| 25 June 2008 | Original Archive | Clontarf | €80,000 | More rooms required |
| 2 July 2008 | Original Archive | South Circular Road | €120,000 | Improve a Victorian house including the demolition of three unsightly extensions |
| 9 July 2008 | Original Archive | Edenderry | €60,000 | Improve previous disastrous planning |
| 16 July 2008 | Original Archive | Rathfarnham | €150,000 | Client has multiple sclerosis |
| 23 July 2008 | Original Archive | Ballinteer | €80,000 | Running out of space |
Series 3[edit]
The third series had eight episodes.[6]
| Date | Details | Location | Budget | Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 June 2009 | Original Archive | Artane, Dublin 5 | €35,000 | Solving the problems remaining following an unsuccessful renovation. Creating a family kitchen/living area. |
| 10 June 2009 | Original Archive | Enniskerry | €90,000 | Full refit of house and maximising the view of Glencree and the Sugarloaf mountain. |
| 17 June 2009 | Original Archive | Killiney | €70,000 | Creating a "bungalow downstairs" for Tommy whose mobility has been impaired by MS. |
| 24 June 2009 | Original Archive | Whitehall, Dublin 9 | €90,000 | Redesigning the rear of the house, which contained "the worst room I've ever seen" |
| 1 July 2009 | Original Archive | Rathcoole | €100,000 | Create a space that is insulated from the sound of the busy M7 motorway |
| 8 July 2009 | Original Archive | Knocktopher | €65,000 | Create a new living area beyond the kitchen. |
| 15 July 2009 | Original Archive | Stoneybatter, Dublin 7 | €90,000 | Extending a very cramped urban cottage |
| 22 July 2009 | Original Archive | Templetuohy | €100,000 | Improving the quality of the family living spaces |
- Christmas Special (2009)
A Room To Improve For Christmas[7]
| Date | Details | Location | Budget | Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 December 2009 | Original Archive | Ratoath | €70,000 | 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. |
Series 4[edit]
The fourth series had eight episodes.[6]
| Date | Details | Location | Budget | Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 May 2010 | Original Archive | Foxrock | €200,000 | Sisters Margaret and Jodie Burke want to renovate the home in Foxrock that they grew up in. |
| 12 May 2010 | Original Archive | Clonakilty | €100,000 | A couple living in a cramped remote hilltop cottage in West Cork need a bigger living space. |
| 19 May 2010 | Original Archive | Laytown | €60,000 | 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. |
| 26 May 2010 | Original Archive | Dalkey | €180,000 | 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. |
| 2 June 2010 | Original Archive | Clontarf | €95,000 | |
| 9 June 2010 | Original Archive | Tullow | €150,000 | |
| 16 June 2010 | Original Archive | Dundalk | [clarification needed] | |
| 7 July 2010 | Original Archive | Sutton | €170,000 |
Series 5[edit]
The fifth series had six episodes.[6]
| Date | Details | Location | Budget | Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 14 September 2011 | Original Archive | Cork (city) | €140,000 | Restoration and extension of derelict 1930s dormer bungalow |
| Wednesday 21 September 2011 | Original Archive | Legan | €80,000 | Dermot renovates housing accommodation attached to a local pub in Legan. |
| Wednesday 28 September 2011 | Original Archive | Wicklow | €120,000, then €150,000 | 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. |
| Wednesday 5 October 2011 | Original Archive | Dundrum | €190,000 | A family rebuild and extend their cottage built in 1914 by their great grandparents. |
| Wednesday 12 October 2011 | Original Archive | Dalkey | €250,000 | |
| Wednesday 19 October 2011 | Original Archive | Blackrock | €160,000 |
Series 6[edit]
The sixth series had four episodes.[6]
| Date | Details | Location | Budget | Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 14 October 2012 | Original Archive | Tipperary | €180,000 | |
| 2012 | Original Archive | Bishopstown | [clarification needed] | |
| 2012 | Original Archive | Finglas | [clarification needed] | |
| 2012 | Original Archive | Donnybrook | [clarification needed] |
- Christmas special (2012)
Tallaght's National Children's Hospital commissions Bannon to create a playground and garden.[8]
Series 7[edit]
The seventh series had six episodes.[6]
| Date | Details | Location | Budget | Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 17 November 2013 | Original Archive | Mullingar | €250,000 | 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. |
| Sunday 24 November 2013 | Original Archive | Clane | Final budget €185,000 | 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. |
| Sunday 1 December 2013 | Original Archive | Brittas | €160,000 | 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 |
| Sunday 8 December 2013 | Original Archive | Killawalla | €150,000 | A family of four have outgrown their tiny cottage and need a remodel and an extension. |
| Sunday 15 December 2013 | Original Archive | Firhouse | €150,000 | 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. |
| Sunday 22 December 2013 | Original Archive | Stillorgan | Final budget €120,000 | 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[edit]
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. | |
| 1 March 2015 | Portmarnock | |||
| 8 March 2015 | Nenagh | |||
| 15 March 2015 | Dundrum |
Series 9[edit]
There were five episodes in series 9.
| Date | Details | Location | Budget | Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 7 February 2016[9] | Original | Puckaun, County Tipperary | €200,000 | 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. |
| 14 February 2016 | ` | Drogheda | ||
| 21 February 2016 | Baldoyle | |||
| 28 February 2016 | Maynooth | |||
| 6 March 2016 | Three favourite builds |
Series 10[edit]
Series 10 has six episodes.
| Date | Details | Location | Budget | Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Amazon Prime Season Ten | Malahide | €180,000 | Robbie and Julie from North Darndale in Dublin saved for 20 years to buy their dream house – a 1940s cottage in the North Dublin Suburbs. |
| 2017 | Amazon Prime Schedule | Rush on Irish Coast | €260,000 | 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. |
Series 11[edit]
There were seven episodes in series 11.
| Date | Details | Location | Budget | Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 18 February 2018 | Original | Kincasslagh, County Donegal | €200,000 | Singer Daniel O'Donnell's wife Majella upgrades and reconfigures their four-bed detached home in Kincasslagh, West Donegal. |
| Sunday, 25 February 2018 | Original | Fermoy, County Cork | €650,000 | Bannon has a large budget available to add a series of high end, modern extensions to a house in Fermoy, County Cork. |
| Sunday, 4 March 2018 | Original | Clontarf, Dublin | Final budget €170,000 to €180,000 | Bannon has only €130,000 to realise ambitious plans for a red brick terraced house in Clontarf, North Dublin. |
| Sunday, 11 March 2018 | Original | Portrane, County Dublin | €250,000 | An old cottage in Portrane on the north Dublin coast needs an upgrade to accommodate a three-generation family. |
| Sunday, 18 March 2018 | Original | Killester, Dublin | Final budget €180,000 | 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. |
| Sunday, 25 March 2018 | Original | Tipperary | €220,000 | A dairy farmer hopes to create a 'forever' home by renovating a recently inherited farmhouse on a half acre of land. |
| Sunday, 1 April 2018 | Original | Stillorgan, Dublin | Final budget €300,000 | 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[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
| Date | Location | Budget | Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|
| 07 Jan 2024 | Urlingford, County Kilkenny | Dermot Bannon & Claire Irwin are in Urlingford, Kilkenny, to work on an old farmhouse. |
References[edit]
- ^ "RTÉ Reveals Summer Schedule". Irish Film and Television Network. IFTN. 9 June 2008. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
- ^ "Home Renovation without Money". Investopedia. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ "Channel 5 finds Room To Improve". RapidTV News. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- ^ "Series One". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
- ^ "Series 2". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
- ^ a b c d e "Programmes". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
- ^ "The Christmas Special". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
- ^ "Room to Improve – Christmas special". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Archived from the original on 1 March 2015.
- ^ Meadhbh McGrath (7 February 2016). "Dermot Bannon: 'At school, nobody ever saw me as a serious contender for a boyfriend. I wasn't popular and I was quite overweight'". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 February 2016.