The Great House Revival: Ireland's Obsession with Renovation Revealed

For those who love a DIY project, whether it’s hands-on or primetime TV viewing, nothing beats a home renovation. The highs, the lows, the ribbon-cutting ceremoniesꟷthe drama never ends!

On the back of a recent episode of the hugely popular The Great House Revival, bespoke kitchen and furniture designer Drumm Kitchens & Wardrobes has their say on Ireland’s obsession with renovation.

Recently, architect Hugh Wallace of The Great House Revival met Kieran Cotter, a young Kerry man who had renovated his late grandmother's cottage. He did so with the help of the Vacant and Derelict Homes Grant which was introduced in mid-2022 and provides up to €50,000 to renovate a vacant property and up to €70,000 for derelict properties. Since coming into effect, 11,327 applications, 7,738 approvals and 1,449 grants have been issued up to the end of 2024. And while these figures look great on paper, the Real Cost of Renovation Report by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) dug up the unpredictability of home renovations, with development costs at times topping €600,000.

Still, research and data shows that interest in renovating remains.

By delving into buyers’ minds through Google Trends results, Drumm Kitchens & Wardrobes found key increases in renovation-related terms.

Data reveals increases in search terms like ‘renovation’ (48%) and ‘home improvement grants’ (21%) YoY between June 2022 and March 2025, the period in which the Vacant and Derelict Homes Grant has been available. Investigating renovation further, data shows that people are also interested in ‘kitchen remodel’ (89%) and ‘bathroom remodel near me’, up a staggering 367%. Google Trends also shows where these searches mostly came from, with cities like Cork and Dublin joined by towns such as Lucan and Letterkenny.

Speaking about renovation, Darren Drumm, founder of bespoke furniture and kitchen designer Drumm Kitchens & Wardrobes, said, “I’ve seen a massive increase in the number of people looking for bespoke furniture, particularly kitchens and storage such as under stairs. When doing up a vacant or derelict house, people want to add their own touch, to make a house feel like a home.”

So, are home improvement and vacant property refurbishment projects for real? Well, data shows that more and more people are looking to renovate a vacant or derelict property, to take control of building their forever home. And with the likes of The Great House Revival inspiring many to take up their tools, it seems the renovation revival is well and truly alive.

Keywords were determined by analysing Google Keywords data from June 2022 to March 2025, identifying trends in year-on-year searches for certain terms. Freely available information such as the Vacant and Derelict Homes Grant and Real Cost of Renovation Report was also analysed.