Room to Improve: Inside the 'cluttered' semi-detached transformed into stunning family home

In the second episode of the new series of Room to Improve on RTÉ One, Dermot Bannon and Co addressed what many families up and down the country have to deal with – bigger kids with bigger lives, and with that comes less space for everyone.

In 2019, Katie and Jason Rehill and their two children moved into their new home in Palmerstown. They had come from a one bedroom apartment in Kilmainham, and this 1970s semi-detached was everything they wanted it to be, including a long garden. 

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Cut to five years later and what was originally a dream space turned into a damp, cold and cluttered house, in need of a complete renovation.

When meeting Katie and Jason at their house for the first time, Dermot is taken on a tour of a very cramped household. The front room is filled with children’s toys and accessories, from a gymnastic mat to a goalpost.  As Dermot says, the house is a shrine to the kids’ family life.  

Dermot wants to add a large extension from the kitchen down one side of the house, taking it into the long unused garden. This will be a kitchen and living area where the family can relax. In the original downstairs area, there will be a kids’ room and also a cosy room for Katie to relax in.  There will also be four bedrooms and an office for Jason.

With a deadline looming – getting in before Christmas, a decision is made that affects the build but ultimately makes everyone happier.