“Dermot time”: Viewers delighted as Room to Improve returns

RTÉ is really coming through with helping us beat our January Blues.

They have plenty of incredible shows coming out to keep us entertained night after night.

And Sundays are the cherry on top as not only do we have Dancing with the Stars, we also have Room to Improve.

Yes! Dermot is back!

For the first episode, he headed down to Kilkenny, where he met Gráinne Murphy and Ivan Williams.

The couple have been dreaming about renovating Ivan’s forefather’s old farmhouse for many years.

Gráinne is a schoolteacher and teaches yoga and Ivan is a full-time farmer. They have two boys, six-year-old Senan and 10-year-old Luan. When Dermot first visited the house, Gráinne and Ivan had started renovating the exterior of the farmhouse with a limestone render, with the help of a local council grant.

Yes, they started without him!

Inside, they were working on the preliminary demolition of the interior of the farmhouse in their spare time.

Gráinne and Ivan managed to attain the vacant homes grant due to the fact the house had not been lived more than two years.

Given that the house needed structural work they were able to attain a top-up, as well as an SEAI grant. Their budget was very tight, but the grants have really helped them with this project, as well as their mortgage.

Dermot warns them that their budget of €200,000 could easily be “swallowed up”. While they do manage to get their dream home, they end up going over budget. Something that isn’t a rarity in the show!

Viewers took to social media to share their opinion on the season premiere! And made sure to really channel the stress of each episode!

Ah lads, the budget!

Room to Improve continues on RTÉ One on Sunday at 9:30pm