RTÉ Relove My Space: Fionnuala Jay and Paul Kinsella share home makeover ideas

Home Editor Eve Kelliher talks to Cobh presenter Fionnuala Jay and Dublin designer Paul Kinsella who show their own revamps 

Fionnuala Jay and Paul Kinsella.

We all have that dream of opening a door in our home to a room that we never knew we had.

But even in the most regular of houses, there they are — those nooks and crannies that can be re-purposed and re-used.

And it’s all in keeping with the zeitgeist. Because presenter and influencer Fionnuala Jay and design maestro Paul Kinsella are keen to upcycle as much as they possibly can as they transform corners of homes in Relove My Space.

Dublin designer Paul Kinsella's living room. 

The one-room makeover series, on RTÉ Player, is short and snappy and focuses on repurposing second-hand finds.

Designer Paul, from Dublin, and presenter Fionnuala Jones (AKA Fionnuala Jay), originally from Cobh and now based in Dublin, meet four people who have fallen out of love with their spaces. “We use clever design to transform unloved rooms into dream spaces,” Fionnuala says.

But these fantasies are grounded in reality.

We’re talking about the sort of zones many of us have: One episode focuses on a student bedroom in a busy family home, another on an attic space that serves as a workspace, storage area and chillout room.

Paul Kinsella and Fionnuala Jay with homeowner Sarah Lovely, Cabra, on Relove My Space.

The duo is also called in to work their magic on a sitting room that doubles up as a home office but has never actually been converted, and to transform a box room into a dressing room.

“It was such a privilege to be involved,” Fionnuala says. “I am really into second-hand stuff.

“Paul and I had never met before we worked on this series. Now he’s my best mate!”

The kitchen in Paul Kinsella's home.

Filming the series took place around the same time as the Cobh native bought her own home with her boyfriend, Cian, from Beaumont in Dublin.

Prior to that, they had been renting in Castleknock and had been looking for somewhere to buy.

The yoga shelf Paul created for and yoga instructor Margaret Young on Relove My Space. 

“It was all very serendipitous,” she says. “Renting and looking at properties — it was all getting a little bit nuts. This was the last place we looked at.

“We’d lost count of the number of properties we’d looked at, it was into the tens, close to 20. And I’m sure people have viewed more. The viewings were taking up our weekends, as we joined the long queues of people and families. And we’d think to ourselves, they need a house more than we do.

“We were saying to ourselves: We’ll look at this later, maybe we’ll put it on pause? We can move in with Cian’s parents or with mine.”

But they now have the keys to their own home in Finglas, a house Fionnuala describes as “not quite a full fixer-upper”.

“We did want a relatively blank slate,” she says.

Sarah's dressing room in Cabra from Relove My Space.

“Prior to this, I wasn’t into DIY, and I am now, thanks to the show.”

Fionnuala adores upcycling. “I gave up fast fashion just before the pandemic,” she says.

“I wondered: How could I bring that ethos into decorating our home and furnishing the gaff? I love being able to find something really unique and to extend the lifecycle of things.”

A full-time influencer and content creator, as well as a TV presenter, Fionnuala enjoys decorating her own home. 

“We got an amazing team of painters in. We were just very keen to get into the house as soon as possible,” she says. “It’s been a lot of fun.

“Cian has taken on the garden and I’m kind of looking at the interiors. I’ll have the big ideas. At the minute I’m looking to get a built-in shelving unit into the living room.” 

Fionnuala describes her own interiors style as “colourful, eclectic and comfortable”. “I’m all about soft furnishings,” she says.

A favourite perch for Fionnuala — and for her cat Whiskey — is in the living room.

Fionnuala Jay perched in a favourite spot in her own home.

“It’s very cosy, with dark blue walls to match the dark couch, which is covered in green quilted leather, with a yellow throw and gorgeous yellow cushions.

“I have a gold lamp next to it. It’s the dream. I’m so obsessed with it.”

As for Fionnuala’s most memorable revamp on Relove My Space? “I probably shouldn’t say this, but there’s a bedroom transformation and the colour scheme was very me,” she says.

The bedroom transformation from RTE's Relove My Space.

“I loved it so much I could see myself sleeping there — but the person who owns the bedroom would have objections to that I would imagine.”

The wardrobe in the bedroom in Dundrum.

Paul Kinsella is an interiors influencer best known for renovating the 1900s home that he shares with his husband, Mark.

He has always had a creative eye and a talent for finding a good bargain.

Paul and Mark at home.

Like Fionnuala, the Crumlin native, who previously worked as a dance professional, is on a mission to spread the word about upcycling and repurposing pre-loved furniture.

He has also made a name for himself for his inspirational DIY hacks.

Paul Kinsella.

Of the room makeovers, Paul says: “I was passionate that when we leave, we leave the occupant with a wow room, that it should be a room that they can use,” he says.

Does he have any favourite transformed space from the series? “I love them all; they were so not my typical aesthetic and it was a great challenge to step outside my own comfort zone,” says Paul.

The designer describes his aesthetic as “minimal and clean but also functional”.

“I would be quite safe with my colour choices but standardised and I like that calm serene vibe in my own home,” he says.

Paul Kinsella's living space.

Paul, who works as a retail trainer in his day job, honed an interest in design and DIY from a very early age thanks to his mother, Susan.

“I looked up to my mam from a really young age, I learned everything from her,” he says.

“She was a single mum and she did everything around the house herself.

“When we moved into our first home we renovated it — we looked at what we could do ourselves versus what we had to get tradespeople for.

“Where we had to get tradesmen in we did, but we did a lot ourselves.

“One of my earliest and fondest memories is stripping the stairs with my mom. I loved being creative; I just had such an interest in it.

Paul Kinsella's living room.

“I painted my bedroom so many mad colours when I was growing up; I think at one point, the walls were red on top and blue on the bottom, with an old-fashioned dado rail in the middle.

“I was delighted with life — I thought there was nothing better; I’d say interior designers would turn in their graves.”

It was when he and Mark bought their house, in 2018, that Paul’s profile on social media grew (home and interiors fans follow him on Instagram at @lifeatno2).

Paul Kinsella and Fionnuala Jay on Relove My Space. 

“We recently moved, last May, 500m away in Drumcondra, to a bigger house with more projects and this is our forever home,” he says.

Does he have any key advice to share? “My top tip? I try it once and if it works it works, if it doesn’t work I get a tradesperson in.”

• Relove My Space is an RTÉ Player original series