Dermot Bannon leaves no Room to Improve as he unveils dream home
Love him or hate him, as a nation there is something fascinating to us about architect Dermot Bannon, when more than 600,000 people tune in to see him build his new home on television and hundreds more turn up to see his old house at an open viewing.
Last night, the divided nation got to see his newly- finished home, with his trademark floor-to-ceiling windows as well as some other surprises.
If you thought going €300,000 over budget on the house was quintessential Bannon, last night saw him get an estimated bill of about €130,000 for his front and back garden when he thought €30,000 would do.
And what did he think he would get from award- winning garden designer Diarmuid Gavin for that?
A sauna, a hot tub, a firepit, an outback shed, and an outdoor bath is what.
Going over budget on the house build last week and the garden this week were not the only hiccups he managed to surmount, there was also the tricky business of smoke-filled rooms from an ill-thought-out stove.
If Bannon recruited family to help him get over the cash trap for his garden, what did he do about the smoke? He went for a biofuel stove for his new A-rated home that uses rapeseed oil.
There were other surprises including some special type of flooring that begins with the letter T.
There was also the issue of orange walls and green walls in children’s bedrooms which was not solved, because Bannon decided to be dad instead of designer.
If last night’s show didn’t install him as one of the country’s leading architects, it most certainly gave us Bannon, the problem solver.
It has been said that where we see walls, Bannon sees windows, but where we all see problems, he certainly sees solutions.
And he finds a way in the end.
