{"id":363441,"date":"2026-03-25T00:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T00:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/363441\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T00:30:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T00:30:12","slug":"inside-the-dublin-apartment-and-cork-house-through-to-the-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/363441\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Dublin apartment and Cork house through to the final"},"content":{"rendered":"

A serene city-centre apartment in Dublin and a creative West Cork house have booked their places in the final of the 12th Home of the Year competition.<\/p>\n

Judges Hugh Wallace, Amanda Bone and Siobh\u00e1n Lam appreciate the calm atmosphere of the urban living space while they credit the neo-Georgian Cork property for giving them \u201ca nostalgic journey\u201d back through time on the RT\u00c9 One show.<\/p>\n

Dublin apartment<\/p>\n

Interior designer Siobh\u00e1n says she enjoys the Dublin apartment\u2019s \u201cwarm, inviting atmosphere, thoughtful styling and clever zonings\u201d but feels there is a disconnect between the main living area and the rest of the home.<\/p>\n

But architect Hugh disagrees: \u201cThe homeowners have zoned the space beautifully, giving it a wonderful sense of flow. To be honest, I\u2019m a bit envious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The apartment\u2019s owners, Karen and Paul, have completely transformed the property.<\/p>\n

\"Karen.Karen. <\/p>\n

While it was functional and ready to live in when she first bought it, says Karen, she felt that it needed updating and a new lease of life and decided to renovate.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Dublin home.<\/p>\n

The couple revamped the interiors by creating an open-plan layout with a real sense of space and flow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The design style of the home is bright, modern and neutral with a rustic, earthy edge, and they describe the space as a mix between the relaxed charm of a countryside retreat and the practicality and polish of a city apartment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Architect Amanda Bone gives it a score of nine, and interior designer awards it eight marks.<\/p>\n

The apartment is through to the final on a score of 27.<\/p>\n

West Cork residence<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Hugh uses his \u201cgolden key\u201d to ensure the \u201ccreative\u201d home in West Cork is a finalist.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Cork home.<\/p>\n

Marie and Jo live in this detached, 20-year-old neo-Georgian house with their daughter Emily.<\/p>\n

When they first bought the property, it was structurally sound, but all rooms were in need of a renovation to be more in keeping with their own style.<\/p>\n

The family took on the work themselves, and the interiors are a blend of classical style and artisan quirk, all of which is highlighted by Marie\u2019s own beautiful artwork.<\/p>\n

\"HomeownersHomeowners Marie, Joe and Emily.<\/p>\n

Their home is \u201ca joy to live in,\u201d says Marie.<\/p>\n

Saying he is \u201cthrilled\u201d to give it top marks, Hugh says: \u201cThe homeowners\u2019 creative passion and talent shine through in this masterpiece.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Cork home.<\/p>\n

As they wander through the rooms, he and Amanda reminisce about their childhoods, including Amanda\u2019s fun-fact memory of knitting brown tea cosies.<\/p>\n

All much to Siobh\u00e1n\u2019s bemusement.<\/p>\n

While the interior designer enjoys the \u201cnostalgic journey through time\u201d, she finds it \u201cconfusing\u201d in places.<\/p>\n

The home earns an overall mark of 23.<\/p>\n

Armagh design<\/p>\n

Sean and Catherine, Armagh Sean and Catherine\u2019s self-build journey began back in 2018. After living abroad for several years, the couple returned to Ireland to start a family and build their forever home on family land.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Armagh home. Pictures: RT\u00c9<\/p>\n

Catherine, an architect, designed the home to \u201cfeel like it was carved from the mountains\u201d surrounding it.<\/p>\n

\"CatherineCatherine and Sean and their children. <\/p>\n

To achieve this, the house uses locally sourced stone on the ground floor and is topped with a wild meadow green roof.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The couple describe the home’s interiors as earthy and relaxed, reflecting the quietness of the area and its closeness to nature.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They regard the space as “a gamechanger for a family that has lived in apartments for years”.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Amanda loves the connection with the landscape: \u201cThis home sits within its natural surroundings, and its immediate landscaping, and that\u2019s what makes this house different and gives it its sense of place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Siobh\u00e1n is taken by the homeowners\u2019 use of colour: \u201cI love this comfortable and harmonious family home\u2019s subtle use of colour, particularly pink.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s fun and impactful, although it left me wanting more.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The judges award it a score of 24.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Armagh home. Pictures: RT\u00c9
\n Home of the Year series 12 airs on Tuesdays at 7pm on RT\u00c9 One and RT\u00c9 Player<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A serene city-centre apartment in Dublin and a creative West Cork house have booked their places in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[32816,32817,307,304,305,306,308,93,96709,61,60,164085,152236,152237],"class_list":["post-363441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-home-improvements","tag-home-interiors","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-home-of-the-year","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-organisation-rte","tag-person-hugh-wallace","tag-person-siobhan-lam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}