'Wonderful home on the hill' Inside the Carlow house that was on RTÉ's Home of the Year

On this week's episode of hit RTÉ One programmed, Home of the Year, Carlow couple, Mark and Gemma Purcell's home was featured on the programme.

Their gorgeous modern house on the hill received glorious praise from the judges throughout the episode but was not enough to make it to the final of the programme.

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When speaking about their home Gemma said: "It was about capturing the views, the landscapes are just gorgeous."

And Mark defers any praise to his partner: "All the accolades go to Gemma and our architect."

Gemma has a background in design and was very passionate about taking on the job of building their own home. For the self-build, she worked closely with their architect and builder on the plans and building design. She really enjoyed designing the fit-out and interiors throughout the house. 

Gemma was heavily influenced by Scandinavian design as she loves a simple, functional and warm decorating style, which mixes neutral colours, and natural woods with simple lines to create a fresh and cosy aesthetic.

On first arrival to the home, judge Hugh Wallace says: "What a wonderful home on the hill." and describes waling into the home as a "fantastic entrance hall."

The home managed to score a very good score of 25 with Siobhan Lam a little disappointed as she would have liked to have seen some "bold colours" and felt it was a little "too muted".

There is not shame on missing out on the final as the home that eventually won the episode was also a beautiful home. The eventual winner was Jenny-Anne in Dublin who lives in a contemporary new build home in Dublin.