‘Hollywood Hills comes to Kerry,’ says Home of the Year judge

LA-inspired family home on Killarney’s Ross Road wows the judges and is first through to the final as the 2022 series begins

Wed, 16 Feb, 2022 - 05:22

Eve Kelliher, Home Editor

Gazing around a bathroom infused with natural light, during Tuesday night's Home of the Year opener, Hugh Wallace declares: “Well, I’m just jealous.”

This space is one of many remarkable spots in the LA-inspired newly built family home in Killarney, Co Kerry, that impress the architect and longtime judge on the RTÉ One show, along with fellow architect and returning judge Amanda Bone and new judge and interior designer Sara Wallace.

The residence of Tony and Imogen McManus and their son Kai is first through to the final of the 2022 series.

Originally from Ballyduff, Tony lived in LA for over two decades, but the family moved back to his native county after a holiday here a few years ago.

“We were 20 years in Los Angeles and we decided to come back for an extended vacation to Ireland for six months,” says Tony.

"After four months, my wife and son came to me and said, ‘We don’t want to go back to Los Angeles, Dad, let’s build a forever home here’.”

Imogen says: “It’s just such a wonderful place to live; there’s just such a wonderful lifestyle and community here.”

As the judges enter the Ross Road residence, the first of the three properties in episode one, Hugh notes: “It’s a new home, based on a Victorian estate house — interestingly, there is an American vibe with the carport and the big garage.”

Creating a traditional exterior was exactly what the homeowners had in mind.

“It’s not an LA box: We wanted something that fitted in with the location,” says Tony.

But the interior, he adds, is “very much about us”: “It’s open-plan, it’s about the materials, about the stone, it’s about the oaks.”

Their favourite spot is at the end of the open-plan area on the ground floor. “We sit on the chairs, Kai plays guitar for us, we hear his stories,” says Tony.

“We've got our basketball area outside, we've got our gym in the garage — and we've got a movie room that we go to on weekends to watch a movie and all that gave us the kind of vibrancy that we look in home that we’d seen in Los Angeles.”

Imogen adds: “We love it here, we wouldn’t change it."

And neither would the judges.

Hugh praises the homeowners for their use of black and white walls and timber panelling.

Sara’s eyes are drawn to the generous living and dining areas and “consistent design theme throughout”.

Amanda says she feels uplifted and calm in this living space.

Both she and Amanda comment on the clay material on the walls and, as Sara says “on the fifth wall — the ceiling which is often forgotten”.

By changing the material rather than a paint colour they have enhanced the sense of serenity, notes Amanda.

The scale of the house impresses Hugh — not least the kitchen island.

“It's vast — just like a football pitch,” he adds.

The American theme is echoed upstairs.

In the master bedroom, Amanda perches on the bed to announce: “I actually love this bedroom and I now feel like I'm in Malibu; I'm going to open those doors step out onto the beach.”

Sara adds: This to me feels like a Hollywood set.” The Hollywood-style glamour continues in the walk-in wardrobe dressing room.

“I think I’m a movie star,” says Hugh.

All three praise the “LA beachy vibe”.

“I think the Hollywood Hills has come to Kerry,” concludes Hugh.

The judges give the residence 26.

Home of Camille Lucy Ross in Dublin

Camille, an actor, lives in a terraced home in Dublin along with her dog, Porgy.

She purchased her property in 2017 and began updating the interiors and putting her own stamp on the residence.

She gutted the downstairs area and rebuilt a new kitchen, bathroom and yard, with the refurbishment completed in April 2020.

The living room in Camille's Dublin home.

She took a maximalist approach to the interiors and enjoyed the challenge of combining lots of elements in a harmonious way.

Camille uses her interiors as a way of expressing her creative personality. “I would probably put myself in the maximalist category,” she says.

The two key additions to her home renovation were a bath and an outdoor space.

Her favourite spot is in her bathroom. “I love that I can sit in the bath and look out this big window and enjoy the yard. There’s lots of nature in here, lots of colour, natural elements, glam elements. Who doesn’t like taking a glamorous bath?”

Hugh is a fan of the residence which he declares is dinky and “perfection”, while Sara admires the “layered patterns”. But all of this for Amanda is “just visual noise”.

The judges award it 24.

Home of Caroline Crowley and Jason McCormack, Co Longford

Caroline and Jason with their family at their Longford home.

Caroline and Jason live with their children in a refurbished cottage in Co Longford.

When the couple first saw the house, they said they felt it was in disrepair, but this made them even more determined to give it a new lease of life.

They gutted the property, replacing everything from floors to fixtures and knocked down a wall between the kitchen and dining area to make a family-friendly open-plan area.

Caroline, an interior stylist, didn’t want to lose the cottage’s character in the renovation so she balanced the modern furnishing with old-world pieces including a Dutch door entrance.

Caroline describes the style as old-world charm meets modern twists along the way.

Sara says the stone-clad cottage is “warm and welcoming” while Hugh feels it shows “great functionality and creativity”.

The judges give it a score of 24.