Room to Improve.

spookwoman

road_high wrote: »

I dunno. I'm starting to feel sorry for that girl now. The torrent of abuse and criticism on line is a bit out of hand.
Yes, she was confrontational and annoying but she had an idea what she wanted- just she could have been a bit more diplomatic in discussing it.
I'm not sure ridiculing her tastes in china are entirely fair- she's entitled to be into whatever she likes within her own home.

Just watched it now and have to say she was very rude, condescending and seemed to be going out of her way to choose the opposite of everything Dermot suggested.
Everyone knows Dermot is for open plans and I have to ask why she even applied to go on the show. No one forced them to go on the show and no one forced her to behave the way she did. As the say "what goes around comes around"

tea and coffee

tea and coffee wrote: »

Ok, I have watched the show now, and I think that she was extremely stressed throughout it. Dermot and herself seem to have quite similar strong personalities and are both used to getting their own way. She didn't want to come across like she was saying no all the time, but she didn't like his ideas so she had to. Dermot was also quite rude about her as well tbh. Neither of them came well out of it. He had some good ideas for them, but ultimately I'd say she regrets getting someone with such a different vision in to design the house.
And yes, she is quite "old" in her mindset. I do agree with her about the open plan to an extent; we got it in our house and it's awful- the kids turn up the TV to its loudest when I am baking or whatever, and it becomes this cacophony of noise; the room is not cosy; it's not relaxing at all.

I'd say Dermot was extremely stressed ............. dealing with her negativity every single time they met!

tea and coffee

Yes Sweetmaggie, they both seemed stressed. They should have been morto over the window colour, and I'm not sure if Dermot was hamming it up for the cameras but I got the impression he would have like to walk away; he seemed close to tears at some points when he was speaking about it. tears of frustration at not getting his own way? Who knows.

LirW

I really hate to defend Dermot but in yesterday's episode he was right about a few things that he drew in the original plans.
They both seemed to have a pretty bad imagination in how something could be while Dermot as a professional (I give him that) clearly could see how to improve that farmhouse. Farmhouses in their original state aren't particularly light flooded and airy spaces, there were huge rooms with tiny windows, many bedrooms upstairs crammed into that one level and he could see how to free that up and give it a touch of 21st century.
What bothered me was that she didn't even seem to look, she heard a few trigger words followed by a complete shut-down. He didn't even get the chance to defend his case.
They asked for min 4 bedrooms, he drew 3 upstairs that actually we're spacious enough to fit anything beside a bed in it because it made sense. He put in a big family bathroom, they decided to go for 4(!) Bathrooms.
The original plan I quite liked because the sitting room was around the corner without a door from the kitchen/dining space which also made so much sense and still would divide the living area off, instead the kitchen went where the living area was supposed to be and that was such a strange choice of layout, because the living room with the doors ended off at the very end of that.
The whole house still seemed cramped and Dermot saw it could have been so much more airy and nicer than the client wanted. They went for the exact opposite at the end and I get that this is frustrating because, well, it could have been done so well, but the clients pay so they get their way.
Also that kitchen island was seriously massive. The hob just at the end of it, exposing the area around it to all the grease and the way leading through to the dining area between China cabinets and island too narrow to have a breakfast bar there.

kerry cow

Dermot is not the traditional type architect .he is good in his own glass box add ons and roof light designs .they should have got a designer who would extend in a tradition style .that's what the setting required .

Alas I suppose if you choose a different firm then you might not get on tv .

screamer

kerry cow wrote: »

Dermot is not the traditional type architect .he is good in his own glass box add ons and roof light designs .they should have got a designer who would extend in a tradition style .that's what the setting required .

Alas I suppose if you choose a different firm then you might not get on tv .

Ha ha so true. Her mammy won calor house wife of the year at some stage. I wonder would the daughter win it?
She comes across as very spoilt.

hole in my lovelywall

I thought there was a bit of an attempt at humour in her debates with Dermot.
Was it not obvious that she was playing up to the antagonism?
She even said herself, to be agreeable would make for a boring show.

kerry cow

Do the show come looking for celebs for the show or do want to be 's put their name forward for the spot light .
How does this all come about ?

Galwayguy35

The husband had very little to say and when he did talk it was very hard to understand what he was saying and I'd be fairly used to the accent seeing as it's the next county to us.

As for herself yeah she did come across as rude but Dermot is no shrinking violet either and he can be pushy when he wants to be.

She is being ripped to shreds in the comments section of various articles about the show which I think is a bit harsh as well.

kerry cow

I have been around a few counties today with work and its the talk of every shop and gossip in ireland .
Some people can't be helped .
In the farming community , they say , a ounce of breeding beats a ton of feeding .
How true they are .

kaji

I watched this episode and being a teacher myself, I would love to tell people that they are stereotyping teachers... but she was a typical teacher.

Maybe about a quarter of teachers I have worked with are like this, both male and female. At staff meetings, they shoot down anyone else's suggestions and basically need to be 'convinced' of something, rather than discussing the merits of something like a normal human being. In college, a lot of them were already like this, so I think it's more that these people are drawn towards the profession rather than the training colleges making them like this.

But in saying all of that, some of us teachers ARE nice and try our best to give the kids the best education they can get while making sure they are content! I swear!!

johnpatrick81

Haha it seems the whole country watched it! I switched it on by pure chance, had never seen it before, and couldn’t look away.

What a wagon! Something strangely attractive about her, maybe I’m submissive :pac:

Seems ironic that they’ll need to move house now to get away from this

When they were announcing the budget result at the end, and they declared it “Love all, nobody wins” and Katie voiced her displeasure, it was very telling some woman in the background shouted “KATIE ALWAYS WINS!”:D

Epic stuff. She’d be epic on Big Brother. First Dates perhaps if yer man wakes from his walking coma.

cranefly

All this atitude from posters just because she actually got what she wanted in the first place, how many have watched dermot walking out their front door at the end of a build with a smile on his face because he managed to persuade them his ideas were better, which in some cases they would be, only to wish some of their own ideas were actually listened to and put into practice.

Open plan is good for some people, i get that, but to tell your architect from the get go that open plan is not what she wants, and she had her own ideas of what she could live with, and then for dermot to come back with with a complete opposite of what they talked about, is a bit much in my opinion, if you were not a strong willed person at that stage, some might go along with the professional, and totally regret it when dermot has his cheque in his back pocket never to be seen again.

I get that a lot of this banter between the two of them was for televisual purposes, and staged for the biggest impact on audiences, another thing that got me, was the discussion about the wall, she wanted it, he did not, surely at that stage an architect could give options to satisfy the client, but no, dermot was convinced any barrier between the two living spaces was a bad idea, could he have not come up with the option that was finally done, which to me looked just right, earlier on, that quarrel seemed to last longer than it should have done. Quite frankly if she had not stuck to her guns on what she wanted, her house would be nowhere near as good as she finally got it. I understand if you employ an architect then you should follow his advice, and be prepared to change your mind, but if an architect can see clearly that his ideas are not to the customers liking, then surely at that stage it is up to the architect to heed what the customer wants and plan accordingly, if you are not a confrontational kind of person, and can be easily swayed, then stay away from architects who think they know best.

recipio

Some of Katie's requests were unreasonable - who needs a downstairs bedroom at their age ? I think however Dermot was seriously stung by the '0 out of 10' remark . He clearly came close to quitting the whole project.
Did we ever hear who won the tiles or timber floor argument ? Lastly, the room off the kitchen had a TV so open plan would probably not be a good idea ?

Pretzill

I think you are all giving this woman a very hard time and I don't think she deserves it. Nevermind the distain most of you seem to have for tiled floors - my entire downstairs is tiled, they aren't cold, they're easier to keep clean (as I also have beautiful border collies )

Her and Dermot got off in the wrong foot because she hated his design - yes she should be aware of his style but equally he should be challenged in his design by informing it with the clients wishes - (budget allowed - which it rarely is with Dermot)

She didn't want open plan - I mean who has a separate dining, living and kitchen space these days - I'll tell you who Dermot about 90% of the population not counting the flat dwellers of recent years and of course most of your clients.

I agree with her, open plan has the potential to be colder and noisier and just doesn't suit all and if open plan is the height of Dermot's design technique it becomes boring and boring telly too.

A lot of his style is becoming very samey now. The thing is good design should never get old fashioned but I can see these open plan kitchen/diners glass boxes getting dated - as for her passion for China and displaying it? So what - Dermot just came across really condescending about this and her steadfastness about her design wishes.

We don't all follow trends.

spurious

I don't understand the negativity towards her. She knew what she wanted, she was the customer. She was paying. I'd be raging if he tried to push his open plan stuff on me too.

Is there not a point where a professional says 'I'm not the designer for you' and puts the person in touch with someone who does more traditional stuff?

If someone comes to me for History grinds and half way through decide they want Geography, I'm not going to continue ramming History into them, I'll put them on to a Geography colleague. If Dermot wasn't up to it he should have said it's not his bag, not blame her for knowing what she wanted.

minikin

Watching this now... typical example of S.T.S.
School Teacher Syndrome

They’re so entrenched in the idea that muinteoir is the one who is always right (they take it as an affront to their very being, to have to consider that someone... even a professional... might know better than them).

Jesus wept.

meeeeh

Pretzill wrote: »

I think you are all giving this woman a very hard time and I don't think she deserves it. Nevermind the distain most of you seem to have for tiled floors - my entire downstairs is tiled, they aren't cold, they're easier to keep clean (as I also have beautiful border collies )

Her and Dermot got off in the wrong foot because she hated his design - yes she should be aware of his style but equally he should be challenged in his design by informing it with the clients wishes - (budget allowed - which it rarely is with Dermot)

She didn't want open plan - I mean who has a separate dining, living and kitchen space these days - I'll tell you who Dermot about 90% of the population not counting the flat dwellers of recent years and of course most of your clients.

I would think vast majority of modern builds at least combine dining and kitchen area into one room. Anyway there is nothing wrong with tiles but what they chose made house very cold. There is very little warmth. If you go for large windows, sleek kitchen and white walls you need to soften everything a little bit.

The Talking Bread

minikin wrote: »

Watching this now... typical example of S.T.S.
School Teacher Syndrome

They’re so entrenched in the idea that muinteoir is the one who is always right (that they take it as an affront to their very being, to have to consider that someone... even a professional... might know better than them).

Jesus wept.

And that is a typical example of BPS. (Boards.ie Poster Syndrome)

Generalising thousands and thousands of a particular profession with an insult


Jesus wept indeed.

Alf Veedersane

Briefly saw a mention of tiled floors and being cold. Pretty sure I saw some gear for undefloor heating at one stage when they showed them putting down the subfloor

juneg

jobless wrote: »

nothing to do with her being a woman.... she was rude and obnoxious at times and people would say the same if it were a man

With respect,
I watched the previous weeks episode , the nice couple in Killester who had done a bit of work to their house, edgy design, bespoke furniture they sourced in the North. They had spent 30k so far
In his interview Dermot moaned about their project to date and how was he going to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear
Now in my humble opinion, that's obnoxious

heldel00

minikin wrote: »

Watching this now... typical example of S.T.S.
School Teacher Syndrome

They’re so entrenched in the idea that muinteoir is the one who is always right (they take it as an affront to their very being, to have to consider that someone... even a professional... might know better than them).

Jesus wept.

Yawn.... this has been well covered at this stage. You're late to the party.

meeeeh

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Briefly saw a mention of tiled floors and being cold. Pretty sure I saw some gear for undefloor heating at one stage when they showed them putting down the subfloor

I meant cold as the house having a feel of dentist surgery. I am pretty sure they won't have issues heating it but there is very little softness in the end product.

Alf Veedersane

meeeeh wrote: »

I meant cold as the house having a feel of dentist surgery. I am pretty sure they won't have issues heating it but there is very little softness in the end product.

Oh I didn't mean you per se. Skimmed through and saw it a couple of times but was skimming so possibly took it up wrong (ooh matron)

Klopp

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Briefly saw a mention of tiled floors and being cold. Pretty sure I saw some gear for undefloor heating at one stage when they showed them putting down the subfloor

In another conversation she wanted tiles and Dermot said wooden floors in their main sitting room. I'm pretty sure they had wooden floors down in sitting room and not the tiles.

Penn

recipio wrote: »

Some of Katie's requests were unreasonable - who needs a downstairs bedroom at their age?

It's not an uncommon request, particularly in rural locations. The downstairs bedroom may not necessarily be for themselves, but a parent. After all, the house was the guy's grandparents house, so it may be where his mother or father was raised, and they may still live nearby. It could end up becoming a bedroom for them in a few years if they became infirmed.

Plus ultimately, they don't have a downstairs bedroom, simply a room that can easily be converted to one if they needed, and a downstairs bathroom. It's futureproofing. An absolutely valid and reasonable decision.

foxyladyxx

katie wanted tiles throughout but Dermot took her to another property to look at the wooden floors. .I wasn't sure what the finish was ..but take your word that the sitting room had floors.

prunudo

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I'd say Dermot was extremely stressed ............. dealing with her negativity every single time they met!

Also bare in mind that he had the other projects going on at the same time, with the women in clontarf and issues with the killester site closing up due to extras. Id say he had a pain in his arse running around the place in this series.

BabysCoffee

sentient_6 wrote: »

Anyone else think the production has taken a strange turn this season? Im thinking yesterday with them out using conveniently placed bales of hay for checking out the plans and the wan from fermoy chatting to dermot in a jacuzzi. Awful stuff.

Yes totally agree. Do we really need to see the home owner getting her nails done (Clontarf house) or Dermot watching the cows going in for milking (while decked out in overalls). It's all very staged by the producers and adds nothing to the show imo

BabysCoffee

jvan wrote: »

Also bare in mind that he had the other projects going on at the same time, with the women in clontarf and issues with the killester site closing up due to extras. Id say he had a pain in his arse running around the place in this series.

But surely this is the life or an architect? Working on multiple projects is his bread and butter, it's what he is paid to do.....whether he is on TV or not.