Pics: Ireland’s Home Of the Year has been revealed and it’s lush

RTÉ's Home Of The Year has been keeping us happily entertained for the past few weeks, as we take a step inside some of the most beautiful homes around the country.

However, the results are in and we couldn’t be more delighted for the well-deserved winner. The 2021 Home Of The Year winner is Jen Sheahan, and her late 1800s artisan cottage in Dublin.

The seventh series of Home of the Year saw the three judges Hugh Wallace, Suzie Mc Adam and Amanda Bone visit twenty one homes across the country but chose Jen's home as the ultimate winner.

Jen wanted one of these little cottages for a long time and was delighted when one came on the market in 2019. It needed a lot of work as it was damp, had no central heating and the toilet was outside. However, Jen did a complete renovation — she knocked all internal walls, dug up the floor and lowered it, plus added on an extra floor to make it a two-storey house. 

There are clever storage solutions throughout this home which Jen describes as modern, playful and colourful. She loves that it’s fun, comfortable and loves to see people’s reactions when they see a feature such as her disco ball light in her brightly coloured downstairs toilet.

Speaking of her happiness at winning Jen said, "I feel… I don’t even know how I feel yet! Complete and utter shock — I’m floating on air I’m so thrilled to pieces I can’t believe it! My home is little and it needs to have a lot of dual functions so it might be small, but a lot can be done in a small space that’s really just made for me.”

“It’s just incredible — I would never ever have thought that it would be me standing here.” Meanwhile, Home Of The Year judge Hugh Wallace proudly said, “You know arriving up to this cottage was a treat. You knew something special was going on! Entering the living/kitchen/ dining area was terrific because it’s such a small footprint of the house.”

“They created so much space in that area around the dining table with all their memorabilia pictures, little bits and pieces and I thought it was terrific. The home has been re-imagined and oozes with the personality and style of the homeowner – the design, layout and functionality of this home was a real surprise.”

 

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