Look inside the Kerry coastal house sailing into RTÉ's Home of the Year final
The kitchen area in Toni and Fionán Walsh’s Kerry home. light-filled residence. Pictures: Kelan Molloy/RTÉ
A Kerry coastal house’s sense of calm washes over the three judges the moment they dock.
So impressed are Hugh Wallace, Siobhán Lam and Amanda Bone with Toni and Fionán Walsh’s light-filled residence, they ensure it sails through to the 2026 Home of the Year final on a scoreline of 25. “This home truly has it all. There’s a sense of simplicity, calm and the personality of the people who live here,” says architect Hugh.
Both Hugh and interior designer Siobhán award the Glenbeigh home nine marks each. All three judges love the sense of space and balance. “What stood out to me was the homeowners’ considered use of materials — the use of wood, rattan and natural linens creates a warm, cosy, layered environment,” says Siobhán.
The choice of materials and palette enhances the “overriding sense of calm”, says architect Amanda.
After meeting on a superyacht and working and travelling the world together, Toni and Fionán’s careers were progressing, says Toni on episode two of the RTÉ One series. “We were on the yachts working, and I was diagnosed with stage four cancer, and that’s when we made the commitment to leave the sea life and settle into a more relaxed way of country living.”
The couple designed the house with health in mind, they add. “I think it’s such a gift,” adds Toni. “The home is a good fusion of my South African roots and the Irish lifestyle.”
The couple poured hours of work into creating a home that acts as a hub for their family and loved ones, including their parents, to whom “the door is always open”, adds Toni.
Toni’s dad, together with her husband, worked on much of the house also.
The build is an open-plan, free-flowing home, featuring a warm and contemporary aesthetic with design details inspired by their life on the open sea. “So you can come in and park the car in the car park and keep your hair dry — it’s very functional for the Irish weather,” says Fionán. “We’ve taken what we’ve liked from around the world and made it Irish-proof.”
The couple say their house is everything they love and feel extremely blessed to wake up in it every day.
They have recently started a homestead where they get eggs from their chickens and honey from their bees, and love that they have created such a wonderful and sustaining place for their son Noah to grow up.
The family’s red-dot “favourite” spot in their open-plan living area offers views outside and of the home.
The visual connection between outside and in is what all the judges notice once inside. “I think the homeowners have intentionally kept the palette very restrained, and it’s because the homeowners have put the focus on the landscape,” says Siobhán.
Hugh admires the large, square window which frames the landscape outside “like a painting”.
The kitchen also offers spectacular views. “This room is so special, and it just feels right — the location of the dining table, the sitting area, and the kitchen — from everywhere in this room, you get those views,” says Hugh. Amanda adds: I actually think I said the word ‘wow’, that’s how much an impact it had on me.”
But the finish of the tiles and the countertops are not to her taste. Hugh disagrees with what he praises as “a little bit of bling”: “I think what’s more important is [to ask], would I like to live here? So yes. I’d move in.”
All three enjoy the outdoor space, complete with a barbecue. “I’m usually against cut grass, but for me it works here,” says Hugh. “It’s just spectacular.”
Upstairs, Hugh compares a bedroom to “walking into a luxury hotel”, while Siobhán is a fan of the layers, textures and colours. “It’s very safari,” she says.
Esther and Robyn first bought their home in Dublin in 2019. The property had been empty for some time.
The couple, who share their home with their young son and their dogs Ruby and Florence, set out their renovation in two stages.
The first step was bringing the home back to its bones, removing old interior walls, plasterwork, windows and doors, and ultimately bringing it up to an A2 BER Rating, while the second phase saw the implementation of a two-story steel-clad extension.
The design of the home is a beautiful blend of the traditional and contemporary, feeling comfortable but also opulent in places.
They were diligent with their decisions regarding the material and design elements in their home. They wanted to ensure the home is timeless in that they will still love it in 30 years’ time, and love the home they have been able to create for them and their son.
Kate and Ross live together with their three daughters in a detached new build in Co Cork.
They bought it from the plans, says Kate, who adds: “We put our own stamp on it.”
Kate is really drawn to the natural materials, neutral colours and natural light that modern and Scandi interior styling invokes. She chose a palette of white and organic hues which complements natural materials, including wood. Light woods and white walls also create an airy atmosphere and maximise the sense of light.
Hugh is taken with the use of the porch as a reading nook, and Siobhán admires the slatted wall detail, which is also continued outside in slatted timber fencing.
There is also a “super boot room” off the hallway, notes interior designer Siobhán, with continuity in colour tones.
The scale of the kitchen is a hit with Hugh, as is a hidden coffee station.
The homeowners’ use of colour to define the area is “really smart”, according to Siobhán, but Amanda says she "can't ignore" the orange shade chosen for the end wall in the living area, describing it as “jarring".
The media wall earns praise from Hugh: “You don’t really see the telly; it just sort of disappears into it.” He's also impressed with the "yummy big couch". The house is “very much a family home, about family,” according to Amanda.
Siobhán loves the colours and textures. “It seems very tranquil in here, and then you have those incredible views,” she says.
- Series 12 of Home of the Year airs on Tuesdays at 7pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
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