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.
For the revival, the judges are Jane Larmour, an architect; Patricia McGinnis, an interior designer; and James Fairley, who is an architect-turned-designer, so has a foot in both camps.
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
2024: Melrose House in Holywood, Co. Down, for Fiona and Jonathan
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.