House of the Year
Contents |
Host
Co-hosts
Judges (2010-12): Des Ewing, Michael Dunn, Suzanne Garuda
Judges (2024-): Jane Larmour, James Fairley, Patricia McGinnis
Broadcast
BBC One Northern Ireland, 22 February 2010 to 6 February 2012 (19 episodes in 3 series)
BBC One Northern Ireland, 23 September 2024 to present
Synopsis
Top interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen tours Northern Ireland, visiting three homes in each county. Which will he pick as the best? Strictly speaking it's not up to him: he's the host and all-round master of ceremonies but the actual choice lies with Des Ewing, an architect; Michael Dunn, a freelance property consultant; and Suzanne Garuda, another interior designer.
Fell off air for more than a decade before the success of Scotland's and Wales' Home of the Year prompted a revival. While the House of the Year format is legally distinct from those young upstarts, viewers will find far more similarities than differences, the key point of separation - other than an on-screen host - being that Home has a scoring system (nebulous and subjective though it may be), while House simply has the judges discuss the properties and announce a winner. But it seems reasonable to suppose that it will appeal to the same audience as those shows, and for the same reasons.
Champions
2010: Arts and Crafts-inspired house in Donaghcloney, Co. Down, for Nicola and Angus Waddington
2011: Clifftop house in Newcastle, Co. Down, for David and Frieda Scott
2012: Contemporary barn in Saintfield, Co. Down, for Pamela and Drew Wylie
Web links
Pictures
The original judges. (l-r) Des Ewing, Suzanne Garuda, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Michael Dunn.
And from the revival: Patricia McGinnis, James Fairley, Jane Larmour and the returning Laurence Llewelyn Bowen.