RTE viewers were blown away by the “inspirational” renovation on the final episode of The Great House Revival tonight.
Renowned architect Hugh Wallace returned on air to transform a derelict property into a stunning dream home.
Renowned architect Hugh Wallace returned on air for the final episode tonight[/caption]
Hugh helped Kieran renovate his grandmother’s old cottage[/caption]
Kieran renovated the house as authentically as possible[/caption]
For the final episode of the new season, Hugh travelled to Knocknagoshel in Co Kerry to meet 26-year-old Kieran Cotter.
Kieran, who recently returned home from living and working in Europe, took on the ambitious project of renovating his grandmother’s old cottage.
The traditional stone farm cottage was situated on the family farm and lain empty since his grandmother passed away 13 years ago.
Purist Kieran wanted to renovate the house as authentically as possible, reviving it stone by stone.
Although he had a close bond of family and friends on hand to help him when needed, Kieran, who had little building experience, tackled this project for the most part on his own.
Community, family and friends are hugely important to Kieran and he has witnessed first-hand the effects of an ageing population and emigration on his community, Knocknagoshel.
Knocknagoshel is a village on life-support as the shops and pubs on the main street have closed down and the school and GAA team are struggling to keep up numbers.
Kieran and his friends are fighting to reinvigorate their beloved village and to bring back some youth and vibrancy.
They want to make their village a place where young people want to stay, and make a home.
Taking this idea on board, Kieran began working on his grandmother’s cottage with a budget of €75,000.
After months of hard work, he fell two or three weeks behind where he would have liked to be due to “burn out”.
He explained: “There’s a reason why people don’t build there own houses, even though it’s such a fundamental need.
“It’s proven to be so difficult in the modern age and especially as a young person on your own.
“Everywhere you look there’s hurdles. Between financing, material costs, shortages of trades people – it’s just the sign of the times unfortunately.
“And right now I am struggling to stay motivated.”
The home was cut of by snow drifts at the beginning of 2024, but Kieran and his girlfriend continued to work to finish the renovation.
As the snow melted away, Hugh returned to Kerry to view the home.
HOUSE THAT
They first entered the kitchen which was “as bright and fresh as a spring flower”.
Kieran’s grandmother’s bread bin was proudly back in place, offsetting the buttercup yellow kitchen beautifully.
Down a short corridor was the “surprisingly bright bedroom” which had been completely transformed.
With help from friends and family, Kieran also constructed all of the wooden ceilings, floors, and doors.
As well as this, there is a second sleeping space upstairs, which is only reachable by a ladder at the moment.
At the other end of the house, the sitting room is also unfinished, but Kieran was pleased with his temporary identity.
The initial budget for works was €75,000 but Kieran spent around €80,000 since he began the project.
‘HARD WORKER’
He will be receiving a derelict property grant, which will bring his spending cost down to €30,000.
Reflecting on his experience renovating the home, Kieran said: “When you’re building something yourself, you shouldn’t be afraid that it’s not going to be perfect.
“You should have self belief, be willing to learn and fail, and eventually you will succeed at it.”
RTE viewers were blown away by tonight’s episode as they raced to social media to praise Kieran’s hard work.
One viewer said: “What a beautiful job Kieran did on the cottage. Absolutely wonderful to see him use the natural and traditional materials.
“He worked hard, and refreshingly had zero notions, but had a lot of respect to the heritage of the house. Well done lad.”
Angela wrote: “I’d be so proud of him if he was mine, it can’t have been easy, such a hard worker. He should be very proud of what he has achieved.
“What a beautiful warm home steeped in love and history. Loved this episode, he made a gorgeous home for himself.”
Philip said: “What a fantastic young man Kieran is – passionate about heritage and community. All in all, this has been a hugely enjoyable series of #TheGreatHouseRevival.”
Bob added: “Inspirational, if only we could do this right across the country, keeping our young people where they want to live, if they wish to do so.”
RTE viewers all said the same thing after tonight’s episode[/caption]
