He’d bang a void into you if you stood still long enough and he’s got very strong opinions about kitchens. So what’s Dermot Bannon’s own house like?
We went around for a nosey…
The results always justify the stress of the Room to Improve experience; there’s no doubt that architect Dermot Bannon knows what he’s at, even if his clients frequently want to swing for him during the process. He can be a bit, shall we say, absent, on occasion. “I’m on top of everything,” he says in his own defense. “Sometimes though it’s just not enough for people, so often they’ll give out to me, saying you weren’t here for this or that, but it always gets sorted and every project always gets finished.”
True story – we’re always impressed at how Dermot can transform even the most uninspired of dingy bungalows into a light-filled space we’d love to live in. So what’s his own Drumcondra domain like? As the owner of his own design firm, DBA (Dermot Bannon Architects) and author of new tome Love Your Home, it’s bloody gorgeous, presumably.
He’s quick to point out that with three kids, he and wife Louise live a very simple life. “My home is a very normal home. I’d love the big swanky house in the middle of a field, overlooking the sea with spectacular views, but we live a very regular life, in a normal house and I like that, too.”
So while you can see that Dermot brings his own design quirks, like that famous wall of glass he’s so known for, into his own space as well as lots of use of white, we’re also pretty pleased to note the toys and evidence of clutter in his kitchen. “I’m not great at cleaning and I’m not good at hoovering,” he admits. “Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever used our hoover! But, I’m good at doing the laundry.” Phew, he does live like the rest of us after all.