Inside Dermot Bannon's life - from wife and kids to €1.5m dream home and RTE Room to Improve success

Dermot Bannon is back on our screens tonight for another episode of the ever-popular Room to Improve. The long-running series follows the acclaimed architect as he tries to improve his clients' living conditions by tackling ambitious renovation projects without spending excessive sums of money.

The latest season of the hit RTE show kicked off last week, featuring Karen Mulligan who transformed her family's butcher shop in Charlestown, Co Mayo into a modern three-bedroom townhouse, left some viewers in disbelief.

Tonight's episode will shift the spotlight to Katie and Jason Rehill, who want to renovate their family home in Palmerstown, west Dublin to have more space for their children and to stop the damp creeping up the walls.

Speaking about tonight's episode, Dermot told Chic how the project included adapting the home to the family's busy lifestyle, and it was a "kind of modern interpretation of the Irish house" and "kind of an examination, post-pandemic, of what the modern Irish family needs".

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Dermot has hosted the series since 2007, leaving some fans curious about his personal life away from the camera.

Early life

Dermot was born in Malahide, north county Dublin on May 2, 1972 so will turn 53 later this year. However, he didn't spend his whole childhood in Dublin, and lived for some years in Egypt.

Last year, he opened up about experiencing a "culture shock" when he moved to the country.

At the age of 18, he attended the Hull School of Architecture in the UK.

He currently lives in Dublin with his wife and three children.

Marriage

Dermot married his wife Louise in 2002. The pair grew up together in Malahide.

Dermot and Louise now work together running the business Dermot Bannon Architects.

They have three children together.

Children

Dermot and Louise are parents to three children - Sarah, 19, James, 16, and Tom, 12.

He previously told RSVP Magazine: "I am a busy Dad. I either work or I am a Dad. My social life has fallen by the wayside over the last few years. I have a teenager and the youngest is eight years younger so I realise how fast time goes.

"I want to be around them as much as possible but I am not going to put myself on a pedestal and say that I am an amazing Dad, I do my best."

Family home

Dermot and his family have made their home on the northside of Dublin in Drumcondra. Viewers got to see the €600,000 renovation of the house he bought for €895,000 on Valentia Road in a special two-part series of Room to Improve. It ended up with a final price tag of €1,495,000.

Dermot revealed it was an impulse buy because he hadn’t been looking to move from his native Malahide.

He told The Mirror: “The only reason we moved house was because a house on that road where we’d always said we’d love to live came up, that is why we moved. We weren’t out actively looking for a house. I kind of tend to… as long as a house is cosy I’m content.

“But now that I’m in it I love it, I pinch myself. My favourite spot is to sit on the stool in a double height space looking into the garden. Where we were living was tiny, we’d two and a half bedrooms. The kids didn’t have enough space to have their friends over. And much as I love this it might not be for ever either, we might downsize in 20 years.”

Career

Dermot is both an architect and TV star. He runs Dermot Bannon Architects and hosts shows for RTE.

Room to Improve has been running since 2007 and has over 60 episodes. It has gone on to become must-watch TV viewing on a Sunday evening.

He's also presented his own show called Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes and Dermot Bannon’s Super Small Spaces.

Room to Improve continues on Sunday night on RTE One at 9.30pm.

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