Makeover in house 'built out of love' creates reconnection space

Home Rescue: The Big Fix devises plan to help grieving family reclaim their County Kildare home from clutches of clutter

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A home makeover team swooped and helped recover a family residence from the clutches of clutter in County Kildare.

The rooms had become cluttered. 

Their spacious property was intended as a forever home but when Siobhan and her three children suffered the tragic loss of their beloved husband and dad, clutter started to take up more room.

The family live in a large house in Kilmeague in Co Kildare, built by Siobhan's late husband Vin.

The house after....

Siobhan, Ella, Faye and Ben. 

It’s been eight years since Vin passed away from leukaemia and Siobhan has never quite recovered from the grief of their loss.

As she devoted all her energy to keeping the family together, rooms in the house became packed with clutter, as well as neglected and disorganised.

And with a space forever empty at the dinner table, the family rarely ate together. 

Dominating one entire room, Vin’s beloved snooker table was covered and forlorn.

The question was: Could architect Róisín Murphy and builder Peter Finn devise a better layout plan as the family and their home featured in episode three of Home Rescue: The Big Fix this week? 

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Unlike other Home Rescues, Róisín knew that this project was more about reconnection than decluttering. 

“I loved Siobhan, her bravery in letting us into her home and sharing her story,” said the architect on Instagram following Thursday’s episode.

“Her home was beautiful and built out of love, so we had a lot of live up to. But as usual the team rose to the challenge, all things sorted, tidied and a home that would help her on the rest of her journey. And get the laundry of her bed!

Róisín devised a plan to link three rooms with new doorways, creating new space for the family to dine together.

Ben, Ella and Faye.

As Siobhan’s daughters Ella and Faye came to terms with their unruly collection of dolls and teddies, son Ben took up his dad’s mantle, helping carpenter Philly create a rack for the snooker room.

A bedroom after. 

Meanwhile, Róisín came up with an innovative design for the kitchen area and an eclectic approach to seating, where no two chairs look the same.

In the end, though, this whole project was dedicated to helping Siobhan move forward and embrace the future — something she can with the support of friends, family and a team determined to take as much pride in their work as the beloved husband and dad whose legacy and craftsmanship is still all around them.