13 minute read
DERMOT BANNON
Renovating
Pressure a lot of my own home is
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Dermot Bannon talks to us Words: Emer Kelly Pics: Volvo Cars / RTÈ
Dermot Bannon is one of the best known Architects in Ireland and is best known to the Irish nation for his show ‘Room to Improve,’ which is one of the most talked about programmes on the nations lips after it airs on Sunday nights over a six week period. Mr Bannon has also recently been to Sweden, Melbourne and Sydney for his show ‘Dermot Bannon’s Incredible Homes,’ which garnered a lot of attention when it aired in February. As well as running a very busy architectural practice, being a husband and Dad to three young children, he is currently busy working on his new home in Drumcondra but despite all this Dermot very kindly took time out of his busy schedule to talk to this publication. “Renovating my own home is a lot more pressure than I thought it was going to be, I was actually looking forward to the whole process and when we bought the house and we were applying for Planning Permission I got really excited about doing it and I was pinching myself at the thoughts of getting to do this to our own house,’’ said Dermot Bannon. “Now that I’m in the middle of it, it’s incredibly stressful because you know every little detail there is to the project. Sometimes you might let things go on a regular job because it doesn’t really matter and you can’t see it but when it comes to your own home, you can’t un-see these things and I don’t want to be looking at this little detail for the rest of my life so that’s why I’m trying to iron out a lot of these things. “Most of the stress is caused by making sure that you have thought of every little thing. It’s absolutely melting my head at the moment! You want to put in the best of what you can afford when it comes to the house. I don’t think I will be doing anything differently to my own house than I would when it comes to the houses on ‘Room to Improve,’ the finishes won’t be very expensive; I would like some nice finishes,’’ he enthused. “I’ve fairly simple taste and I want this house to be minimal but there are certain things that I would like to put in this house such as a brass splashback,’’ added Mr Bannon. “I’m at the stage where I wish the house was done now and
we could just move into it,’’ revealed Dermot. During the build, Mr Bannon made sure to account for two charging points in his driveway as he is switching over to a Volvo hybrid this summer. “I’m eliminating fossil fuels from the house and we’re taking a G rated house right up to an A rating; there is going to be no gas or oil in the house, there will be a heat pump and it is going to be super highly insulated because I’m determined to have a house where you can walk around in your tee shirt in December as well as having a house that costs very little to run,’’ he explained.
“I’ve been driving a Volvo for a few years now and they asked me recently would I like to test drive one of the plug in hybrids and even though I was a bit dubious (because I didn’t think I would get the range out of it) of taking it for a while, the car really surprised me in a lot of ways!
“The car changed the way I drove; there is a button with ‘b,’ written on it so basically every time we brake or the car slows down we waste that energy normally when we’re driving but with this car, that energy goes back to the engine and then you can plug the car in.
“Generally, for day to day use you get a 40KM range out of it and you have a petrol engine as well. In a day you probably wouldn’t do more than 40KM between school runs and so forth so essentially you can charge the car at night,’’ enthused Mr Bannon.
“I put two charging points into our front garden, whether
or not we will have two electric cars I don’t know but the aim would be to have two electric cars in the next four to five years because they won’t be making fossil fuel cars after 2030. If you are future proofing your house and you are trying to make it as close to carbon neutral as possible then you should be thinking about your car especially if you are living in the city,’’ added Dermot.
“I know that I will have to do a country run in the car and for that I will have to use petrol but to make my life easier, I put the charging points in. It also makes total sense to put the charging points at your house as there is a grant available for it as well.
“I loved driving around in this car, more so because it really changed my driving patterns and I really started to think about how you’re using your fuel. I drive slower now and I try not to use the brake as much. When you see how much energy you waste in speeding up too quickly and braking too quickly instead of trying to keep the car at a slow, regular pace it makes you a more responsible driver. The Volvo hybrid is a lovely car to drive,’’ he stated.
In terms of the reaction to ‘Dermot Bannon’s Incredible Homes,’?
“We picked the houses because they were amazing properties in amazing locations. It was a wonderful trip and I still pinch myself every time I think about it. I think the houses in Melbourne were better; the Sydney trip was great and everyone has an affiliation with Sydney but the houses in Melbourne were cooler. It was my first time in Australia.
We got to see amazing houses and because I was doing the television show it got me access to places that you generally wouldn’t get access to. “The trip to Sweden was an eye-opening one because it showed us how responsible they are.
“They have these luxurious houses with two bathrooms, they haven’t got a clatter of them. The people all live in apartments in the city during the winter and during the summer they head off and live in their summer houses so Sweden was fascinating and it was the trip that I learnt the most from despite it being the closest to home,’’ said Mr Bannon.
As to ‘Room to Improve,’ and problematic clients?
“I’m hoping for more of the same with the show because I think if it isn’t broke, then don’t fix it! We have six new projects and six brand new couples. We have houses in fantastic locations all over Ireland and they are all very different builds to what we have done before. I was excited working on them so I hope you guys are excited watching the show,’’ explained Dermot.
“I pick my battles and I do get frustrated with the clients but I wouldn’t give up with them. I would email them in the middle of the night and I would ring them, if they are married I would talk to the husband or wife and try to get them to not give up on an idea I’ve put forward and then there are other times when you have to say right I’m done here if you’ve really fought a battle,’’ concluded Dermot Bannon.
Inconversationwith JERRY WILSON of Bespoke Sofa Company by Emer Kelly
Bespoke Sofa Company are Ireland’s leading manufacturer of quality Bespoke Sofas using local Irish Craftsmanship to create this luxury brand.
bespokesofa.ie pride themselves on a steadfast commitment to quality handcrafting sustainably sourced hardwood frames which are structurally guaranteed for 25 years.
Some of their staff are fifth generation Navan furniture makers, “it is in their very DNA” says Jerry proud of it’s Irish dimension. Continually striving to offer a flexible and modern approach to a memorable buying experience. Bespoke Sofa encourages visitors to their Showrooms in Dun Laoghaire to bring along any design ideas, photographs, which may help in the selection of the perfect fabric and Sofa for your room. Helping to create a relaxing stylish balance of class and functionality.
The company is owned by Jerry Wilson. After a brief stint working for Macy’s in the USA, Jerry discovered his passion for designing bespoke furniture. After returning home, he set about offering handmade Irish sofas in the traditional way. Often ahead of the curve in design choices, shapes and fabrics he has proved that after 20 years of manufacturing, it is possible to offer hand-crafted sofas at reasonable prices.
When purchasing at Bespoke Sofa, they can manufacture to any size that you require to best suit your room. An extensive fabric selection is available to create that perfect dream sofa or chair for several generations to come. “It is important to purchase comfort first, then style” suggests Jerry and whilst price is always a consideration you certainly get what you pay for when it comes to sofas in particular. “The choice is simple handmade luxury or mass produced. Bargains are a falsehood you get what you pay for.”
We’re in business almost 30 years and we’re expanding the business later this year opening a flagship showrooms in Galway in the Autumn.
As a company we’re in a very blessed position in that we have 100% stock ownership, this is very unusual in business and is due to being careful in how and where we expand’’ said Jerry.
“ I don’t sleep much preferring to create new designs at night so maybe that has something to do with the success of the business! I’ve got some great staff alongside me. We have retained all staff through the recession and now Covid-19 and we would be devastated to break up our team which is like family.
“we blessed ’re
in a very position
“When I came back to Ireland having worked in America for a number of years “I came up with what is basically an American customer service based idea”. Offering a higher quality sofa service overall to client’s who would rather have exactly what they wanted when it came to them spending their hard earned money on furnishings. To that end I set about learning how frames were made, where fabrics came from etc. so I could become the direct source of high quality custom made sofa’s in 14 days. “A tall order in Ireland but after almost 30 years we do it for clients all over the 32 counties. Of course I had to go as far as setting up our own factory to do it, but we got it done. Now that we have grown we take more like 4 to 6 weeks to meet the demand but it is still so much better then the normal four month wait for standard sofas through outlets.
In terms of the future of the business?
“We’ve just recently did Ireland’s first virtual online home show with Lorraine Keane. We will probably look to do something like that again in the not too distant future as you have to have a presence within all media/social media sources. We’re obviously focused on expanding the business later in the year and we are very proud of the fact that everything we make is all Irish made,’’ he enthused.
“We are fast becoming one of the biggest furniture re upholsterers as we’re doing a lot of re upholstery. We’re covering everything from boats to boardrooms and we’ve also recently launched a full curtain shop in our Dun Laoghaire store headed up by the wonderful Orla Mangan and Vivienne Kenny. They measure clients homes and oversee the manufacture and installation of high-end curtains into people’s homes including automation,’’ concluded Jerry Wilson. Galway will be headed up by a an equally experienced guy when it opens who boasts over 35 years experience in dressing the most modest to high end properties when we open in Sept.
We look forward to seeing you all in Dun Laoghaire or Galway soon.
Inconversationwith ALAN O’SHEA
ABS Construction is a family owned con struction business based in the heart of Co. Wexford. At ABS Construction they have a flexible client focused approach which ensures our projects whether small residential or commercial projects are carried out professionally.
With more than 30 years’ experience within the construction industry ABS pride themselves on customer satisfaction with an unrivaled aftercare service.
Their services include commercial services, residential services, renovation and extensions and plastering works.
“The company was established in 2017, I come from a Quantity Surveyor background and my two brothers are plasters by trade. It’s a family business and we mainly specialise in renovation and restoration work,’’ said Alan O’Shea of ABS Construction.
“Business is very busy and we’re currently working on a renovation project on a house in Waterford where the house originally had an energy rating of G and we are trying to get it up to an a1 energy rating so there are substantial elements going in to this project as we are trying to keep the original aesthethic of the house but it is a nice job to be working on.
“We are also working for the Local Authority in Carlow where we are renovating three apartments,’’ added Mr O’Shea.
“Going forward we want to move on to bigger projects because we have the capabilities and skill set. We’re in business three years and we want to grow our name. Currently most of our work is word of mouth. Most importantly we always want to do good work and build up good relationships that way,’’ concluded Alan O’Shea.
“ABS Constru their work A,B & C!”
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“ I really LOVE my HOME.”
