Celebrity architect Hugh Wallace has revealed he finds it "difficult" to renovate his own home - as he opens up about renovation delays.
The Home of the Year judge and his husband Martin Corbett bought a new home in Dublin over a year ago.
But Hugh revealed the couple are only beginning renovations later this month after major delays.
Read More : Rare ‘blood rain’ could hit Ireland as huge Saharan dust storm spreads
He said: “It hasn’t evolved yet. All we have done so far is the clean-out and the demolition. We had an issue in that the house was the centre-point for all the cables on the street.
“So, all the electrical wires came to our house and from there they got distributed – all the telephone wires, all the public lighting – so it has taken ten months to get all that moved.
“The scaffolding goes up on the house at the end of this month and then we get into it and we can get on with it.”
But he admitted that he finds it very hard to design his own home.
“It is very difficult as an architect to do your own house. Martin puts manners on me. It is a very simple house at the end of the day. It is a two-up, two down cottage with a west-facing garden, which is the dream.
“You can run around naked in the garden and no one can see it. You get all the sunlight, and it is fabulous, he told the RTE Guide.
Hugh returns to our screens on Valentine’s night as a new series of Home of the Year begins.
This year, Hugh, Amanda Bone and Sara Cosgrove return to judge 21 new homes across Ireland and will include re-imagined semi-detached homes, renovation projects, architectural homes, restored period homes and new builds.
The series will feature homes in Cork, Mayo, Kilkenny, Dublin, Down, Wicklow, Meath, Antrim, Galway, Armagh, Derry and Kildare.
The ninth series of Home of the Year, which airs every Tuesday from February 14 on RTE One, will champion creativity and showcase clever design and individuality.
Hugh told us last week how many homeowners are using upcycling skills to personalise their home.
He said: “They’re exceptional. They’re fantastic and they’re amazing and they are so different; I love it. I love the quirkiness of it all.
“They’re going mad. I have to say an awful lot, some of the homes here, you can tell the person made the dining room table. That is what makes the home special because their personality is in there.
“I think in some of the more interesting homes, there is a different attitude to conserving and living with the blemishes and I think that is very important.
“Homes in my opinion have to function. Does it matter if there’s dents in the wall? No. Not if they are part of the original fabric. I think that is the correct approach to some of our old buildings.”
READ NEXT :
Tributes paid as Banshees of Inisherin co-producer James Flynn dies aged 57
Enoch Burke physically removed from courtroom by gardai for second time
U2 confirm Las Vegas residency but one band member won't make it
Christy Kinahan 'being protected by corrupt politicians' in African hideout
Heartbreaking tributes paid to Irish soldier killed in horror skydive accident
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
