{"id":1038,"date":"2021-03-23T00:19:06","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T00:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sineadcassidydesign.com\/?p=1038"},"modified":"2021-03-23T00:19:09","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T00:19:09","slug":"we-take-you-behind-the-scenes-on-this-weeks-home-of-the-year-irish-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sineadcassidydesign.com\/index.php\/we-take-you-behind-the-scenes-on-this-weeks-home-of-the-year-irish-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"We take you behind the scenes on this week’s Home of the Year – Irish Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Come with us for an insider’s view as we chart one Cork family’s experience preparing for the hit TV show’s cameras and judges<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/
Homeowners Val O’Kelly and Karl Slyne. Pictures: Larry Cummins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One morning six months ago my phone rang with exciting news. Fellow Home of the Year fan, interior designer Sinead Cassidy, was casting a fresh eye over one of the houses being filmed for the spring 2021 series. It was perfect, she told me; the attention to detail amazing, with just a few finishing touches needed, all of which had now been expedited, but would I put my styling-for-the-camera hat on and take a look?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Carol
Carol O’Callaghan, interiors columnist and stylist, with interior designer Sinead Cassidy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Arriving at a sunshine-filled, photogenic house, contemporary in design, but traditional in its atmosphere of a welcoming Irish family home, I met IT analyst Val O\u2019Kelly and husband Karl Slyne, a quantity surveyor, who built the house four years ago at Moneygourney. Douglas, County Cork, for their blended family of eight, including six teenage boys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The hallway, including artwork and fire, and glass balcony on upper floor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Featured in last Tuesday\u2019s episode, it was the show\u2019s production company ShinAwil which contacted Karl and Val in July to ask if they\u2019d be interested in applying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve watched the programme for years,\u201d says Karl, \u201cso we completed the application but because of the pandemic ShinAwil had to do a walk-through on Zoom rather than in-person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The kitchen-dining area with painted mural on exterior boundary wall visible from the window.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe never thought we\u2019d be picked, but we got the call in August to say we were in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The family room \/TV room with wall-mounted, painted plywood sculpture created by the homeowner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With filming taking place in October, time was short to finish off the outstanding jobs every home has but the motivation of something significant happening is needed to take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe planned to do up our bedroom,\u201d says Val. \u201cWe\u2019d already bought the wallpaper but hadn\u2019t gotten around to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finishing off textiles and painting, having everything immaculate for the judges, and making sure it stayed that way with eight people living in the house, meant, Val says, \u201cthe house had never been so clean, so we decided to move out for the filming to keep it like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Interiors
Interiors shot at Moneygourney, Cork.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s hard to imagine when watching an episode and seeing each home getting a mere seven minutes\u2019 screen time that there are two days of filming involved over a weekend. \u201cKarl and I had to be in the house at 7am on the Saturday,\u201d says Val. \u201cWe had two hours of prepping for our interview and we had the giggles at the start.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd I got tongue-tied,\u201d Karl laughs. \u201cBut it wasn\u2019t at all invasive. It was great fun and the crew made us very comfortable. It was like the build-up to our wedding; we were buzzing with excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there were some unexpected things, like Val being asked to take off her jingling bracelet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Interior
Interior designer Sinead Cassidy and Carol O’Callaghan check items and layout in the master bedroom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had to turn off the ventilation system too because it makes a sound,\u201d says Karl, \u201cand I bought a new shirt but they asked me to change it to a different colour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 11am Karl and Val had to leave before the judges arrived, and by the time the family came home at 6pm on Sunday the judges were gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hallway
Hallway and upper-floor glass balconies. Sections of glass floor in walkways to bedrooms.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Surprisingly, no feedback was given and like the rest of the country, they had to wait until Tuesday\u2019s episode aired to know how they fared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, the question is, would they do it all again?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karl jokes: \u201cWe only did it so Val could meet Hugh (Wallace). She loves him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they both give a resounding yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Artwork
Artwork in the home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was an opportunity to get the jobs done,\u201d says Val. \u201c2020 was a very difficult time, so this was a massive distraction and the house has never been so clean.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for the family as a whole, there were other benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll the children are watching the series with us,\u201d says Karl, \u201cand they\u2019re not looking at their phones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Val adds, \u201cWe fell in love with the house all over again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Front
Front of house exterior.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were taking it for granted. It\u2019s a big house but for us, it\u2019s about home. We\u2019ve made it a family occasion house. If it wasn\u2019t for the pandemic we\u2019d have everyone over to watch the episode with us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the TV viewer, the home offered what\u2019s become rare in the programme: the element of surprise as the house is not on social media, so fans couldn\u2019t preview it on Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it seems there was one person who did manage to get a sneak peek of what went on, according to Val. \u201cThe week after filming I met the postman and he told me he saw Hugh walking around my kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Come with us for an insider’s view as we chart one Cork family’s experience preparing for the hit TV show’s… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sineadcassidydesign.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/IMG_3006.jpeg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nWe take you behind the scenes on this week's Home of the Year - Irish Examiner | Sin\u00e9ad Cassidy Design<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sineadcassidydesign.com\/index.php\/we-take-you-behind-the-scenes-on-this-weeks-home-of-the-year-irish-examiner\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"We take you behind the scenes on this week's Home of the Year - 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