Kerry residence with LA-style interiors in 'Home of the Year'

We take a look at a contemporary newly built house in Killarney that will feature in the upcoming series of 'Home of the Year'

The kitchen with centre/breakfast island and dining area. Pictures: Joe McCallion

Looking forward to the return of Home of the Year on the small screen is all the more exciting when your own living space is about to feature in it.

Particularly when you’ve been a long-time fan — and especially when to date you’ve tuned in from across the Atlantic.

Imogen, Kai and Tony McManus.

Kerry native Tony McManus lived in Los Angeles for over 20 years and would watch the RTÉ ratings winner from his base there, with his wife Imogen and son Kai.

“We love the show, absolutely,” he says.

Now their own newly minted “forever home” will star in the series as it is one of 21 properties competing for the 2022 title.

I’m strolling through the front door — following in the footsteps of judges Hugh Wallace, Amanda Bone and Sara Cosgrove — as Tony tells me how this contemporary family home came to be.

The traditional-style exterior of the McManus residence. 

The Killarney, Co Kerry, residence is one that walkers pass on their treks to the National Park across the road.

“We had decided to come for an extended vacation to Ireland for six months,” says Tony.

“After three or four months, my wife and son came to me and said, ‘We don’t want to go back.’

“We were going to buy a house, but couldn’t find the right house to buy, so we said we’d take the idea of the house we wanted to build in LA and do it here.”

As well as a background in software, Tony has over 20 years’ experience in drawing plans, and designing and developing luxury properties in Los Angeles, and more recently in Ireland.

The open-plan interiors flow behind the traditional Georgian-style facade.

So, creating their dream home came naturally to both Tony and Imogen, who masterminded the interiors.

Tony, who had attended secondary school in St Brendan’s College, Killarney, was keen to develop a residence that fitted in aesthetically with the Ross Road architectural vernacular, he adds.

“We didn’t want to build a traditional LA box; we wanted something that fitted in with the location,” he says.

The dining area in the McManus residence.

“We decided we would have an LA-style interior but very much a traditional, almost Georgian-style, exterior.”

The property backs on to Killarney Racecourse/Ross Golf Course and its windows frame the views spectacularly.

“We wanted the design to focus on open plan and to be about the stone, the oaks, the materials,” says Tony.

The three bedrooms are spacious.

The wide hallway opens into comfortable, ultra-relaxing ground-floor living spaces, and a kitchen area with a large island, where the family breakfasts.

The movie room in the McManus home.

Upstairs are the three bedrooms, laundry room, walk-in wardrobe, and — piece de resistance — a movie theatre complete with bar and popcorn maker.

“It was a new beginning,” says Tony. “We’ve got a basketball area outside, a gym in the garage and the movie theatre.

“It’s a new home but any time someone steps through this door they say they feel like it’s been here forever.

The kitchen island.

“Inside it’s very much more modern, open-plan living, finished with materials such as oak and stone, and natural clay that comes from Cornwall on the walls, to provide a breathable, sustainable environment — and it gives a lot of texture,” says Tony.

This bedroom features cabinetry for books, as well as farming a window reading nook.

The McManuses worked with architects Dwellspace, based in Kenmare, and builder Denis O’Sullivan, Crossmount Construction, to create the home they wanted.

Building was completed in 14 months and the family moved in in January 2019, two months before the pandemic.

“The timing couldn’t have been better,” agrees Tony.

Building in Ireland was a hugely positive experience, he notes. “I found working with builders here very straightforward,” says Tony.

“I think it is so enjoyable to build here — all the people you work with; they’re fun people.”

A relaxing living space in the McManus home in Killarney.

The family adore the sense of light and space — not least upstairs, where even the bathroom, complete with free-standing bath, and the extensive walk-in wardrobe are roomy and bright.

They also found themselves giving others tips once their home was completed. “We’ve had people knock on our door and ask to walk through our house and we’ve given them advice. We are delighted to help others,” says Tony.

“For my wife and me, design and building is not a job — we wake up and love what we do.”

As for taking part in the show they’ve always enjoyed watching? “We loved it. We loved every second of it,” says Tony.

• The McManuses’ website Beauty In Design Ireland is www.bidi.ie
• ‘Home of the Year’ returns to RTÉ One at 8.30pm from this Tuesday, February 15. The McManus home will be shown in episode one