Search begins for the finest home in Ireland... will Cork feature?

WE’VE just had an election in which housing was the stand-out issue — and the Irish obsession with property can be seen in the success of the RTÉ series Home Of The Year.

The hit show is back for a sixth run on RTÉ1  tonight, Tuesday February 25, Tuesday at 8.30pm.

The three judges — designer Hugh Wallace, interior designer Deirdre Whelan and architect Peter Crowley — are back to cast their critical eyes over 21 more properties over eight weeks.

From restorations, new builds, renovations and re-designs, all the contenders from across the land have been built by people who have created their dream home.

The series will include a lighthouse keepers’ cottage, converted buildings such as a former carriage house and a former shop, re-imagined semi-detached homes, architectural homes, DIY homes, and new builds.

In the first episode, we get to view two houses in Dublin and one in Meath.

Interior designer Kerry Hiddleston and Patrick O’Grady bought a 200-year-old home in Dublin in poor condition for their family of six. They gutted it, renovated and added an extension.

Kerry designed fun bedrooms for the children with bunk beds with a fireman’s pole and a secret door in the wardrobe that interconnects two of the bedrooms.

Interior Designer Alannah Monks lives with her husband Patrick and her two daughters in a new build home in County Dublin. It has evolved over the years and each room has its own style and colour scheme.

Building contractor Seamus Harrington wanted to create a home for his family that nestles into its Meath landscape.It looks like three separate barns from the outside and is minimalist.

The judges are looking for individuality, functionality and clever design, and score each of the homes out of 10. The one with the highest combined score in each episode will go through to the final, where the ultimate winner will be crowned.