By Steph Sandhoff
Welcome back to the OAK + RIDGE Block Blog for Week 5, where we’ll take a look at, shock twist, some more bedrooms but also some walk-in robes. According to Scotty Cam, these main bedrooms are triple the size of an average Aussie room at about 30 square metres with 4m high ceilings. Surely this begs the question, why? Why are they so big, when every other bedroom in Houses 1, 2, 3 and 4, have been so tiny? I would personally prefer to give up a sitting area in my main bedroom in order to have larger guest/kids rooms, but hey, I only do this for a living, so what do I know?
HOUSE 1 // Maddy and Charlotte
Photo Attribution: Nine
Before we officially get started, we also have to extend a warm welcome to our new contestants, Maddy and Charlotte. The sisters from Newcastle (I knew I liked them) are our youngest team to ever join The Block and have some serious ‘house flipping’ experience. It seem this experience also gave them the confidence to ditch the ‘modern colonial’ style home Paige and Jesse had been creating. Instead the girl’s have gone with a modern coastal style that the judges will presumably love. It’s hard to assess this room properly as the girl’s really only had 3 days to arrive, design and execute, and unfortunately they spent most of those dealing with unreliable trades and bratty fellow contestants.
Photo Attribution: Nine
My first impression of the room is that it feels light and bright, calm and relaxing. The girls have gone for a muted coastal colour palette, which will tie in well with Paige and Jesse’s part of the house. However, I would like to know what they are going to do about the half-wall paneling that is already running through the other bedrooms. In my opinion, they needed to continue it through to the main bedroom, but seeing as they opted for a full wall of VJ cladding instead, I’m hoping they remove the half-wall cladding from all the prior rooms. As a whole, I think the girl’s made solid choices for this room but it does feel ‘unfinished’. The judges noted the proportions weren’t quite right but it’s also the large empty space beside the bed that lets the room down. A more dynamic headboard and a re-think of the ‘sitting room’ space could make a huge difference.
HOUSE 2 // Courtney and Grant
Photo Attribution: Nine
Next up is our ‘Moditerranean’ abode, also known as House 2. This week Courtney and Grant really upped their work load with a room that boasts so many features, I need to take you all on a quick deep dive into Maximalism or Maximalist design. If it wasn’t obvious by the name, Maximalism is the exact opposite of Minimalism. The foundation of the style is simply ‘more is more’ and it’s very on trend at the moment. This style is often associated with ‘wealth’ as the room or home becomes like a personal museum for the owners or curators of the space. It’s a visual showcase of personality but you need a real design eye to walk, what is a very fine line, between abundance and chaos.
Photo Attribution: Nine
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room – that fern green, velvet, ruched bed frame from Create Estate. From what I can deduce, The Block community is seriously divided on this one but I LOVE IT. I can understand why some of you don’t – it’s personal taste. However, I think we can all agree that it’s an element we haven’t seen used before and it gives the main bedroom a sense of grandeur that differentiates it from the other guest rooms. The other component of the room that differentiates itself is the ‘sitting area’ and fireplace. While I don’t love their choice of tub chair or art installation on the wall, it’s a clever way to use the extra space and I hope it has a stunning outlook by the end of the series. Finally, I like how Courtney and Grant incorporated a vanity area in their walk-in robe, however it’s size and location mean it’s not particularly functional. I would have made it double the size and positioned it towards the far end of the robe, closer to the window, for natural light.
HOUSE 3 // Ricky and Haydn
Photo Attribution: Nine
Moving on to House 3 and the boys had another unfinished room for us this week. Sounds like the decision to swap carpet for floorboards was what ultimately slowed them down but I’m not really sure that’s a valid excuse. Apart from the obvious missing bed and window furnishings, the room itself has a nice feel, although it’s lacking some ‘personality’. Without their ‘now signature’ palm motif, the room is quite bland. Similarly to the girls in House 1, the boys need a more contrasting bedhead to give the room an anchor and some impact. I also wish they hadn’t continued the wall cladding along the left-hand side of the window. It would have looked cleaner and more intentional without that separate panel but my biggest question-mark this week is in regards to that sphere in the ceiling. It’s design for design’s sake and I would put money on the boy’s inability to explain what it adds to the room.
Photo Attribution: Nine
Let’s take a quick peak at their walk-in robe before we move on, because it’s slightly different to the previous couple of houses. The robe has a ‘T-style’ layout with closed cupboards at one end and open storage down the main passage that leads to the bathroom. I’m not sure why the boys went with predominately walnut cabinetry, when their room has a bright coastal feel and light timber furnishings. The scalloped contour profile of the cabinetry doors in matte white are a much better choice style wise, though I do think it works well to have open storage in the narrow section of the robe. I’m going to go ahead and disagree with Darren about the lack of ‘steam protection’ too, because honestly not needing to iron your clothes would be a dream. Finally, the boys should have remembered to include the walk-in robe when they swapped out their carpet for floorboards and hopefully this is something they follow up.
HOUSE 4 // Kylie and Brad
Photo Attribution: Nine
Next up we have Kylie and Brad in House 4 or as I have begun to think of it, the ‘House of Horrors’. I don’t even know where to start with this room. There is so much to touch on and I’m finding it hard to order my thoughts. Let’s start with what’s in front of us because if I look up, I might shut down completely. The couple have gone back to the style they love and presented us with a dark, moody space that features their signature ‘Shou Sugi Ban’ cladding (which you all know I approve of). What I don’t approve of however, is covering the entire wall with it. I wish they had clad only the bottom half of the wall and left the top half a painted white. With an entire black wall on one side and a large black vanity unit on the other, the room feels claustrophobic to me – as if the walls are closing in.
Photo Attribution: Nine
Although I like the idea of a large vanity area, I don’t love this one, visually or functionally. Visually, it’s big and clunky. It hasn’t been set into the wall properly with a bulkhead and as a result it sticks out and hangs awkwardly off the wall. Functionality wise, no-one wants to look at a ‘working area’ from their bed or sitting room. I wish they had incorporated this element into their walk-in robe where it would have been more disguised. Before we move on, let’s take a really quick look at their walk-in robe because if I spend too much time in there, I will actually lose my mind. The cabinetry itself was a great choice, a mix of black and timber that works well in their home but the rug and wallpaper are simply horrendous. There is nothing more to it, they are both shocking choices that render the room tacky and cheap. The gaudy, yellow gold wallpaper makes no sense in either room and it needs to go. STAT. I will rip it down myself if I have to.
HOUSE 5 // Kristian and Mimi
Photo Attribution: Nine
Our fifth and final couple are Kristian and Mimi in House 5, who have managed to snag another win – a shared one anyway. As we know, the rooms in House 5 have all been slightly different to the rest of the homes each week and this room is no different. The layout shows a more open-plan style of bedroom and walk-in robe. The robe itself is a square design rather than a traditional, 'galley' style which I think is super functional, especially if you have two people sharing the space. As I said previously, I don’t love an open work area in a bedroom but I think the decision to go with closed cabinetry negates this issue. The robe is also spacious enough to allow for the doors to be easily used. It’s definitely the robe I would like to set myself up in, given the choice.
Photo Attribution: Nine
Let’s move on to the bedroom portion of the room because these guys really do have an eye. I think this is their best room yet, due to a number of reasons. Firstly, the colour palette feels warm and holiday-like without being ‘cliché’ beachy. They have layered texture and tone in way that gives the room personality whilst still allowing it to feel calm. Although they have gone with a completely different colour palette to their first few rooms, they all still feel connected and like they belong to the same house. My only issues this week are in regards to placement. Their art needs to be placed on a different wall, as it competes with the timber wall cladding. I would have loved to see the two artworks in place of the round, woven piece opposite the bed. I also think they have one too many pieces of furniture in the 'sitting' corner. Remove the pouf and place the chair and side table directly under the art for a more balanced and spacious result.
Thanks for reading and see you all next week to judge some kitchens. 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.
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