By Steph Sandhoff
Welcome back to Week 2 on the Block! I can’t believe we’re already back in the swing of things – Stockholm Syndrome is a seriously powerful condition. I have attempted to pay extra attention this week in order to really lock down the scope of this year’s block. Are the couples designing homes to live in or homes to holiday in? Additionally, The Block specified ‘family homes’ but in 2024, does this mean we want rooms designed exclusively for children. Personally, I would be designing the house based on the idea of rotating guests. If someone were to buy it for their family they would make changes regardless. My focus would be on making the house turn-key ready for a hands-off investor with rental or ‘Air bnb’ intentions. Anyway, it was a bit of a 3 penguin race this week so let’s see how the couples went according to me and the other slightly dubious professionals.
HOUSE 1 // Jesse and Paige
Photo Attribution: Nine
First up is Jesse and Paige, who are graciously taking turns in losing their shit. Hilariously it seems to be working for them as they not only finished their room but finished early enough for dinner at the pub the night before. As we all know, Paige has been struggling to define her style and based on their bathroom, I was worried. Apparently, I didn’t need to be because this room is like a breath of fresh air. That sounds lame, I know… but there is something about the layering of pattern, texture, colour and tone that works so successfully in this space.
Photo Attribution: Nine
The judges dubbed the room a ‘Modern Colonial’ style and I have to agree that it’s leaning more ‘Country Grandma’ than ‘Coastal Grandma’. If you were to switch out the wall sconces for a more coastal option, I think the room would feel slightly more relaxed and ’beachy’. However, the green/blue tones allow the room to sit comfortably in the location and the ‘duck print’ by Anna Blatman, really does bring all the elements together. Going forward, I hope Paige and Jesse stick with wall panelling throughout all their rooms, as it will create some consistency in their home. This might be helpful for the couple that replaces them so the house doesn’t feel like it has separate halves. I can’t give this room a perfect score, due to the mix match of metals throughout but I will give the couple extra points for building a bulk head above the cabinetry. Built in cabinetry, by definition needs to be ‘built in’. Empty spaces above cupboards were one of my biggest issues in past seasons but maybe this is a sign of better things to come.
HOUSE 2 // Courtney and Grant
Photo Attribution: Nine
Our second couple on the judge’s block are Courtney and Grant, who have given us our first kid’s room of the season. On first glance, I love it and although I personally wouldn’t have gone for a kid’s room, I think it’s quite a successful one. The combination of striped wallpaper beautifully references the warm mediterranean tones in their bathroom (which will hopefully follow through the rest of their home). The furniture, lighting and soft furnishings are all well-chosen and layered to perfection, while the low-lying beds are also very clever as they take up less visual space in what is quite a tight room. The room feels like a brightened version of Steph and Gian’s from last year however the one major difference is size.
Photo Attribution: Nine
The room is arguably too small for two separate beds and the size of the arch on the wall makes the room look skinny. I think in order for the room to feel more spacious, the arch behind the beds needed to be wider and stretch from wall to wall. At the moment it feels like it’s strangling the beds and highlighting just how little space there is between the two. At the other end of the room, I would have liked one of the cupboard sections be given over to the desk area. The generous sheers really push into the limited desk space and 4 cupboard doors would have looked better than 5 anyway. Overall, the fact that you can easily turn this room into an adult guest room is the winning factor for me and what puts it ahead of House 3, who are up next.
HOUSE 3 // Ricky and Haydn
Photo Attribution: Nine
We’ve made it to House 3 and unfortunately, there has to be a loser in the Kid’s Bedroom Competition. This room is a bit of a miss for me. It feels like a 24-hour challenge room and considering what Ricky completed by himself the week before, I expected a little more from what should have been double the output this week. The major problem really has to be the layout, which unfortunately makes all the great choices in the room a moot point. The room does seem too small for separate beds, so if they were set on using bunk beds rather than a double, they really needed to think through their placement and what it means for the rest of the space.
Photo Attribution: Nine
What is does mean is that the TV can’t be watched from either bed and it’s also been placed too high to be watched comfortably from the floor. The fact that they’ve recessed it is another problem to add to the list because it’s not the easiest thing to change. Although looking at their plastering, it’s probably the least of their worries. I also have an issue with the wall panelling and believe it needed to be used on all the walls. To use cladding on one wall, like they have, only works when it acts as a bedhead. Bunkbeds are confusing because they have multiple sides that can act as a headboard and hence, we needed to see the grey cladding continued behind the long side of the beds. Finally, the wardrobe mural is not to my taste so hopefully it can be removed, although I do think the boys have used it to create a successful colour palette.
HOUSE 4 // Kylie and Brad
Photo Attribution: Nine
Let’s move on to House 4 and back to some adult guest bedrooms. I don’t know what their room would have turned out like had Shelley not opened her big mouth but it had to have been better than this. You could see it on Scotty’s face when Shelley told the couple to stick with their original plan, that she was leading them astray. I wish I could go back and tell them that the colour black is not the problem, it’s what you pair with it. Black is often used to anchor designs and doesn’t have to look out of place in a coastal or holiday style home… but why does Kylie keep paring it with pink? I think someone needs to take her for a drive around the local area for some inspiration. Make the most of your context, look out the window and centre your layout, concept and design around your environment. At least place your mirror on the opposite wall to reflect the view, it might remind you where you are.
Photo Attribution: Nine
The only thing I like about this room is the black and timber cabinetry (minus the terrazzo handles) so I’m going to take this opportunity to give you guys some tips on designing with black. Black is what you get when you remove all trace of light and hence it can have quite contrasting impacts. A quick google search tells you that black can represent darkness and evil while also symbolising elegance, wealth and power. What makes the difference in how a space feels is one word… restraint. My own personal guidelines I use when working with black in a space are the following:
1. Use it sparingly if you’re not confident.
2. Reduce the shine factor - use a textured or matte finish.
3. Layer it - it’s too bold to be used with only one other colour/tone.
4. Be aware of associations - what does the combination of black and pink remind you of and how does it make you feel?
5. Be aware of your lighting plan - the colour and style of the lighting you choose could elevate your room or leave it looking tacky.
HOUSE 5 // Kristian and Mimi
Photo Attribution: Nine
Last but not least, according to our judges anyway, are 2-week winners Kristian and Mimi. Now before I get started, I need to point out that I understand there is very little you can do to differentiate a bedroom after 19 seasons of The Block. However, offsetting the bedhead and wall cladding would not be my answer. I agree with whichever judge said that it’s design for design’s sake and I’m not sure it has been executed well enough to be a successful feature. Both the bedhead or the cladding would have looked beautiful continued along the entire wall and I think the mismatched lighting would have had more of an impact if it didn’t have to compete with the offset textures. I also can’t even bring myself to talk about how bad those white electrical switches look.
Photo Attribution: Nine
Overall, it’s a solid room – at 7 out of 10 at best, so I don’t understand how it beat House 1 or House 2. It’s underwhelming, we’ve seen it all before and the elements we haven’t seen, I personally don’t need to see again. Similarly to last week, the room is the largest of them all and I see nothing that makes that most of that point of difference. The art could have been much larger, the decorative branches didn’t need to be squished in next to a bedside table and there is no additional furniture, bar the basics. The room needs an ottoman, chair or even vanity area to really utilise the extra space. It’s giving Nick Scali catalogue vibes and that’s not a compliment.
Thanks for reading and see you next week for Ensuite Bathrooms!
Don’t forget if you’re all for working smarter not harder and would like each week’s blog sent straight to your inbox, don’t forget to subscribe.
Which room was your favourite? I’d love to hear your comments and feedback below.
Comments