Rip It Up: The Renovations Podcast

How come some windows are double the price of others? Is doing your own DIY really worth the savings? How on earth do you choose between two wildly different builders' quotes? And is it possible to live on site during a renovation?
Fresh from our very first The HomePage renovation webinar (which we're delighted to report was a success!), we're tackling four of the big questions that come up time and again from homeowners planning a renovation.
This week we're getting into the practicalities of spending your renovation budget wisely, knowing when to pay for quality, and when taking matters into your own hands might actually cost you more.
Kate shares some hard-earned lessons from doing her own demolition work, including a rather alarming incident involving a wheelie bin full of rubble. We also discuss why the cheapest builder isn't necessarily the cheapest in the long run, what to look for when comparing window quotes, and whether living through a major renovation is ever a good idea.
What we cover:
Windows: Is alu-clad really worth twice the price of uPVC? What matters when comparing frames, durability, warranties, and costs?
DIY: Which renovation jobs are worth doing yourself, and which are better left to the professionals?
Builders' quotes: Why can two quotes for the same job be so different? How to compare them properly and avoid expensive surprises.
Living on site: Can you realistically stay in your house during a renovation, especially with young children? When might it work, and when should you move out?
Plus, the importance of proper preparation, hidden DIY costs, and why renovation dust is somehow capable of getting absolutely everywhere.
The HomePage
We loved discussing your questions at our first live renovation webinar this week! We plan to run more sessions, so keep an eye out for upcoming dates.
Our full renovation course, including practical workbooks, checklists, and a builder's quote comparison tool, is also available for presale.
Explore our renovation resources at https://www.thehomepage.ie
As always, we'd love to hear your questions and renovation dilemmas. Get in touch with us on Instagram!
Jenny & Kate
Follow the podcast on Instagram @thehomepageie, or follow us - Jenny is @workerscottage and Kate is @victorianrathmines

We launched a business!! If you are facing a renovation, check out thehomepage.ie, and don't forget to grab one of the remaining tickets to our Renovation Ready webinar on 4th November at 7:30pm. Now, on with the show...
Would we ever buy a new build? We're two women who have spent years renovating old houses, and helping clients do the same, but are we missing a trick? Would life be easier if we just bought something brand new?
This week we're weighing up new builds versus older homes, and it turns out there's quite a lot to love about both.
Kate shares her experience of buying an unfinished new build in Galway, and we talk about how to give a brand-new house some personality without trying to make it look like an ersatz Victorian mansion. From choosing your own kitchen finishes to avoiding endless spotlights and echoey porcelain floors, there are lots of little changes that can make a big difference.
We also get into overheating in modern homes, the appeal of low-maintenance apartment living, and some truly spectacular examples of modern architecture. Plus, one rather extraordinary €2 million house in Limerick that gives us plenty to discuss!
And before all that, there's a healthy dose of Halloween enthusiasm, sick children, and Christmas tree disasters.
What we cover:
New build or doer-upper: what would we actually choose?
Buying off-plan, and which decisions to influence before the developer finishes your house.
How to add character to a new build without forcing traditional features into a modern home.
The importance of flooring, lighting, window treatments, and natural materials.
Why some well-insulated new homes can become unbearably hot in summer.
Beautiful modern houses that have us dreaming of lottery wins.
New builds versus renovating older homes: maintenance, energy efficiency, and sustainability.
Links and things we mention:
Balsam Hill – the artificial Christmas tree brand Kate has ordered from.
HUF HAUS – Jenny's dream modern prefabricated house.
O House, Dublin 6 – the incredible modern house designed around a circular internal garden..
Róisín Lafferty – inspiring contemporary design and wonderful use of natural materials.
Suzie Mc Adam Design – beautiful Irish interiors.
We'd love to know what you think. Would you rather buy a brand-new home or an old house with character? And would you renovate again?
Follow the podcast on Instagram @thehomepageie, or follow us - Jenny is @workerscottage and Kate is @victorianrathmines

We're back to regular programming after an exhilarating and exhausting week launching thehomepage.ie last week! Check it out if you haven't already, and don't forget to grab one of the remaining tickets to our Renovation Ready webinar on 4th November at 7:30pm. 
OK, on with the show...
It seems like every dream kitchen these days comes with a enormous island, a row of uncomfortable bar stools, and enough worktop space to land a small aircraft. Do we really need all that?!
We love a good kitchen, but we're not convinced that every kitchen needs one. We're discussing what makes them so popular, where they earn their keep, and when they can end up getting in the way of a good kitchen design.
What we cover:
Why everybody seems to want a kitchen island.
The importance of getting your barstools right.
The real advantages, from storage and prep space to entertaining.
The downsides people forget: cost, clutter, awkward seating, and poor layouts.
Islands versus peninsulas, kitchen tables, and other alternatives.
Practical dimensions, clever storage ideas, and tips for planning your kitchen.
What we'd choose for our own homes, and what we'd do differently.
And we barely scratched the surface on pendants...
Whether you're planning a kitchen renovation or just wondering why yours doesn't work quite as well as it should, this one's for you.
Items mentioned:
AYTM barstools.
HAY barstools.

Follow the podcast on Instagram @thehomepageie, or follow us - Jenny is @workerscottage and Kate is @victorianrathmines

We've been keeping something from you…
After over two years, more than 80 podcast episodes, and countless conversations about renovations, we've spent the past year working very hard on something very special.
We're launching The HomePage!
We've taken everything we've learned from renovating our own homes, helping other homeowners, and making Rip It Up, and turned it into a new platform designed to make renovating a home a little less overwhelming.
In this special episode, we're telling you the whole story. How we went from two Home of the Year contestants chatting about renovations over glasses of wine to podcast hosts, business partners, and now founders of The HomePage. We talk about what we've learned, the many twists and turns along the way, and why building a business (and a tech platform!) has been quite a bit harder than either of us anticipated.
Most importantly, we explain what we've actually built and how we hope it will help you plan, budget, and manage your own renovation with more confidence.
What we cover:
How Rip It Up began, and why we decided to take things further.
The biggest challenges we've seen homeowners face when renovating.
How The HomePage evolved from an idea into a renovation education platform.
Our new Personalised Renovation Roadmap, with tailored advice, indicative costs, and next steps for your own project.
Our upcoming renovation webinar, detailed renovation programme, workbooks, and practical tools.
What we've learned from a year of building a business together.
Our first live Renovation Webinar is on Wednesday 4 November at 7.30pm! We'll take you through the renovation process from start to finish, the big decisions you need to make, and the common mistakes to avoid. Places are limited, and bookings will be open from Friday 16th October.
Explore The HomePage, see a sample Renovation Roadmap, and book your webinar place at https://www.thehomepage.ie
We're also officially launching at the Ideal Home Show in the RDS on Friday 16th October, where we'll be joining Jo Linehan on the DFS Interiors Theatre stage at 4.20pm. Come and say hello!
And finally, a huge thank you to everyone who has listened, shared the podcast, sent us questions, or helped us with research over the past year. Your support and feedback have genuinely shaped what we've built.
We're not going anywhere. Rip It Up continues, and we're very excited about what comes next.
Love,
Jenny & Kate.
Follow the podcast on Instagram @thehomepageie, or follow us - Jenny is @workerscottage and Kate is @victorianrathmines

Jenny thinks tiles are one of the great joys of interiors and would happily spend the entire renovation budget on them. Kate… would not.
This week, we’re asking when expensive tiles are actually worth the money, when you can achieve almost exactly the same effect for far less, and which choices we’d make differently after living with our own renovations.
We talk overpriced porcelain, real terrazzo and limestone, Zellige tiles, trends, grout colours, clever layouts, outdoor tiles, mosaics, and the surfaces that are much harder to upgrade later.
We cover:
Why we wouldn’t pay premium prices for ordinary porcelain
How to make cheap tiles look expensive with layout and grout
Where it is worth investing in tiles
Why floors require more thought than walls
Real stone and terrazzo versus imitation finishes
Whether you should avoid “trendy” tiles
Jennifer’s enduring love affair with Zellige and terrazzo
Kate’s limestone floors, and the pattern she’s already slightly tiring of
Why outdoor tiles need particular thought in an Irish climate
The cleaning problem with mosaics and lots of grout
The big takeaway: work out whether tiles are something you genuinely care about. If they are, spend deliberately on materials and areas you’ll live with for years. If they aren’t, simple inexpensive tiles can look fantastic when the layout, colour and grout are well considered.
Follow the podcast on Instagram @thehomepageie, or follow us - Jenny is @workerscottage and Kate is @victorianrathmines