Home of the Year: See the seven super spaces vying for the title

Ahead of the final on Tuesday, Eve Kelliher takes a look at the dwellings that impressed Hugh Wallace, Amanda Bone and Siobhan Lam

Interiors of finalists selected for the 2025 Home of the Year. The final airs this Tuesday on RTÉ One and on RTÉ Player. Pictures: Joe McCallion

Sofa snoops across the land will be sitting pretty, popcorn in hand, this Tuesday, April 8, at 8.30pm as we tune into the grand finale of Home of the Year 2025.

We’re obsessed with our annual peek beyond hall doors and the RTÉ One ratings winner, as expected, rallied the troops for our vicarious tour of Ireland in the wake of the judges, architects Hugh Wallace and Amanda Bone and interior design consultant Siobhan Lam.

So, here's a reminder of the final seven houses vying for the title — in Tipperary, Wicklow, Dublin, Limerick and Kildare.

Claire and Sean's Tipperary home was the first through to the final.

Claire and Seán Fox, Tipperary

Claire and Seán live in Tipperary in a former shop which they have turned into a home.

The property was built in the 1860s, and they purchased it in 2020, getting stuck into renovations the following year and creating a layout which suited them.

They kept as much as possible from the old building, repurposing dressers, wardrobes and the original spindles from the shop.

Claire worked with her dad, a retired engineer, to adapt a lot of the furniture, including making a backsplash from the copper water cylinder and turning a bunkbed into kitchen cabinets. The couple love how comfortable they feel in the home and are proud of the effort they put into every part of it.

Lynn and Nick's home was the finalist in the second episode.

Lynne Clarke and Nick Drew, Wicklow

Lynne and Nick live in Wicklow with their young daughter and dog.

Their home, built in 1862, was formerly a nursing home which had been left vacant for nearly a decade. 

The couple bought the house in 2022 and with it, took on a massive project.

Over the next two years, an extensive renovation took place where they demolished the entire rear, built an extension, and replaced all windows with appropriate period-style sash windows while retaining any original features they could.

The family also worked hard to bring the entire house up to a BER A3 rating.

Jenny-Anne's home was the finalist in episode three.

Jenny-Anne Corkery, Dublin

Jenny-Anne lives in this contemporary new build in Dublin with her husband and two children.

Jenny-Anne had always been passionate about wanting to build her own A-rated home, and so, when this site in South Dublin came up, she jumped at the chance.

Kitchen living space in the third house, in Dublin.

The design makes use of a site previously containing a derelict garage structure to the rear of an existing property, subdividing a single plot into two dwellings. The residence, winner in episode three, displays a novel approach to city living as it is a 2-bedroom infill dwelling on a very restricted site that is designed to provide generosity and great comfort to its owners.

The family love the clever design and how it allows for every corner of the dwelling to be used efficiently and practically.

Amy and Eoin's home in Limerick went through to the final in episode four.

Amy and Eoin Martin, Limerick

Amy and Eoin live in Limerick with their two sons.

The couple fell in love with this 1970s-built house and set to work completely gutting and renovating the home and bringing it from a D3 BER rating to an A3. 

The property, finalist in episode four, is an upside-down home with the main living and kitchen on the first floor, making the most of their spectacular garden and the natural light.

The home is a passion project for Amy, an interior designer, who loves having the space to unleash her creativity and is always in the middle of a project in the house!

The family never feel blue coming back from a holiday as, for them, it’s the nicest place they could return to.

Roisin and Matteo's home was episode five's finalist.

Roisin Collins and Matteo Bandiera, Dublin

Roisin and Matteo live with their two sons in Dublin. The couple bought their 1930s home in 2020 and began refurbishments, tackling it in stages over the next few years and turning it into their dream family home.

They were a great team as Roisin, an architect, designed the renovations while Matteo is handy at DIY.

They worked hard to redesign the layout and maximise space, and got interior influence from their mid-century furniture and the Scandinavian design style, with their focus being on clean lines and the use of natural materials and textures to add warmth.

The Dublin home owned by Mary and Aiden was the sixth finalist.

Mary Phelan and Aiden Fitzpatrick, Dublin.

Mary and Aiden live in this period home in Dublin. 

The couple purchased their home in 2005 and undertook extensive renovations, doing most of the work themselves over a four-year period.

Mary says she brings the creative ideas, which Aiden turns into reality.

The couple always aspired to own and renovate an old house, and while this was a huge labour of love, two decades later they still love everything about their dream dwelling and what they’ve achieved. 

Vivian and Philip's home in Kildare was the finalist in the seventh episode.

Vivian Wong McKendry and Philip McKendry, Kildare

Vivian and Philip live in Co. Kildare with their three dogs. During the height of the covid pandemic, Vivian and Philip moved into a completely empty shell of a house with no kitchen, flooring, or even a functional bathroom.

After eight months, their redesign began, with the couple having worked hard on design plans and the layout, completely changing the internal function of the house.

Vivian and Philip went for a contemporary mid-century style, creating a cohesive yet visually stimulating aesthetic throughout the house, which was the seventh and last to make it to the final in the 2025 series.

• The 2025 Home of the Year 2025 series finale airs on Tuesday, April 8, at 8.30pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player with architects Amanda Bone and Hugh Wallace and design consultant Siobhan Lam as judges