'Uplifting' Wicklow farmhouse named Home of the Year

'For us a home is not about the size of your floor plan or budget, what's important is the feeling the house gives you'

Kate and Shane Byrne with their son Max outside their Wicklow farmhouse, 2022 Home of the Year.  Pictures: Joe McCallion

Kate and Shane Byrne say they are “over the moon” that their 150-year-old farmhouse has been declared 2022 Home of the Year.

Kate and Shane lifted the coveted trophy in the finale of this year’s RTÉ One series, broadcast on Tuesday night, after the judges deemed their Co Wicklow home, with modern extension, to be the winner.

"We are just so over the moon and blown away by the reaction to our home. For our farmhouse to make the final, never mind win, is just so incredibly flattering. 

The Byrnes' farmhouse in Wicklow, RTÉ Home of the Year 2022. 

"It is not something thing we could have ever imagined happening,” said Kate.

“Our house is a part of our family’s history and is truly a home, not just a house. For the judges to see and recognise that is amazing.

The open-plan kitchen/living area in Kate and Shane Byrne's farmhouse with modern extension.

“For us, a home is not about the size of your floor plan or budget, instead what’s important for our family is the feeling the house gives you and those that visit it. The other houses in the competition were beautiful and it’s such an honour to have featured alongside them. 

The outdoor living space at the Byrnes' farmhouse. 

"Just being part of the competition is such a great experience and one I would highly recommend."

Shane said: “The other houses were amazing, it could have been anyone but it was us and we’re delighted."

The property has been in Shane’s family for decades but when they moved in, in 2018, they knocked through all the smaller rooms and added an extension to create an open-plan living space with lots of natural light.

The family love the sense of history in their home and that their son, Max, is the fourth generation of the Byrne family to grow up there.

 

The eighth series of Home of the Year saw the three judges Hugh Wallace, Amanda Bone, and Sara Cosgrove visit 21 homes across the country but chose Kate and Shane's home as the ultimate winner.

The 19th-century traditional farmhouse has been refurbished and extended, and is "full of light, spacious, comfortable, uplifting, and has a great connection with the surrounding landscape”, said architect Amanda Bone.

Kate and Shane Byrne mix old and new in their living areas. 

“Sometimes homes are all about how they make you feel and our winner just made you feel good!” she said.

Architect Hugh Wallace said he knew there was “something special” on arrival at this property. 

“And walking through the door I just loved the hall,” he added. “The scale and size of the kitchen was terrific and that big dining room table was smashing!

“It was amazing because once you went through that door you could just feel the heartbeat of this spectacular home. There’s the intangible which is so important, that feeling when you walk around the home: of the family, the fun, the history, the memories that are in that home — that’s what makes a home for me."

For interior designer Sara Cosgrove the winning house was all about "wonderful flow" and "had a lovely combination of old and new". 

"I loved the living areas, in particular, the unique U-shape layout and seamless connection to the outdoor terrace and farm beyond. The bedrooms also had a very serene feel, with the baby’s bedroom, in particular, hitting a cheerful and uplifting note," added Sara.

Winners Kate and Shane Byrne at the finale in Palmerstown House.

The other six finalists at Palmerstown House in Co Kildare were: 

• Tony and Imogen McManus, for their newbuild in Killarney, Co Kerry; 
• Michelle and Rob McNeil, who own a renovated 1920s house in Belfast; 
• Aoife and Gareth Tolerton, for their modernist upside-down newbuild in Co Down; 
• Martin and Saoirse O'Dwyer, for their renovated 1870s cottage with barrel-roof extension in Sligo; 
• Sarah Duggan and Ian McNamee, who have a renovated red-brick property in Dublin; 
• Sinead Murphy, who renovated a chic city home with protected façade in Cork.

In second place was the upside-down home in Co Down, which “maximised its location by grabbing sensational views and tonnes of natural light”, while the minimalist home in Dublin City finished in third place and was praised as “a brilliant example of how clever contemporary design can transform a space”.

• Home of the Year is sponsored by AIB. You can catch up with all the episodes of Series 8 and earlier series of Home of the Year on RTÉ Player www.rte.ie/player