By Steph Sandhoff
Welcome back to The Block Blog for Week 9. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately for some of the couples, we are about to head into our last couple of weeks of The Block for 2024. This will be the second last week for our OAK + RIDGE Block Blog, as most of you know I don’t judge any landscape weeks; most of our couples hire landscape designers, so it doesn’t seem appropriate for me to publicly review fellow design industry professionals. Having said that, I’m sure I will still have very strong opinions, which will go no further than the four walls of my lounge room. This week our couple’s tackled their mezzanine levels, which ironically caused a huge divide on the resulting scoreboard.
HOUSE 1 // Maddy and Charlotte
Photo Attribution: Nine
Let’s get started with joint winners this week, House 1. Their mezzanine space, which overlooks their living and dining areas felt like a successful continuation of these spaces. The rumpus room had a similar style of furniture and the same shaker style timber cabinets, however the biggest difference was the sage scalloped wall behind the TV. While some of you many be confused why such similar living spaces were judged so differently, I think it’s down to two things. The sage wall feels fresh and lifts it’s surrounds, in contrast to the yellow Venetian plaster which looks ‘muddy’ and sucks the life out of the room. The other thing that helps this room is it’s size. What looked unimpressive and vanilla in such a large room works better in a smaller one because less space requires less impact. Simple and ‘matchy’ furniture also works well in a multi-purpose space because it acts as the link between the different functions.
Photo Attribution: Nine
Maddy and Charlotte took a slightly different approach to the other couples this week and used their second space to commence their separate guest suite concept. While the room itself might not particularly excite you, it’s not really meant to. It’s a space that shows intention rather than providing instant gratification and I can’t wait to see the remaining spaces that make up the ‘suite’. The design of the sitting room references a number of materials used in previous rooms, and it’s the repetition of VJ paneling, layering of calm and earthy tones and textures, the moody green wall and pop of floral art that make this room feel so resolved. It’s an awkward shaped room to work with, which I’ll no doubt touch on in relation to the other houses, but I think the girl’s design makes the best use of the space this week.
HOUSE 2 // Courtney and Grant
Photo Attribution: Nine
Moving on to House 2, where Courtney and Grant stuck with The Block’s original plans and turned their mezzanine level room into an office. Unfortunately for them, this is where they went wrong. Instead of putting some thought into what they thought the house needed or what the space would have suited, they did exactly what was expected. As usual, their finishes and furniture choices were the most stylish of all the houses but the layout and functionality of the space really let them down. The first issue is the amount of wasted space left in the center of the room, while the second was the small seating area, arranged in the corner like a waiting room, for two people. To me, it’s a visual indication that they either weren’t committed to the idea of the space being an office or they didn’t understand what a functional office necessitates. Whether or not you think a holiday home needs an office, Courtney and Grant had a foot in each camp, split their bets and ultimately lost.
Photo Attribution: Nine
For their second space, Courtney and Grant went for a rumpus or secondary living room complete with couch, TV and wall unit. Like most of the teams this week, it’s a strange shape to work with and is limited in what you can create. Although I like the furniture choices, and can imagine kids using it as a TV room, I don’t think it makes sense to have it next to an office, where you would be hoping for quiet. Looking at how the rooms are connected by the staircase, I really do think the concepts for the space need to connect in the same way rather than compete against each other. I would love to see them close in the office space and remove the mezzanine element to create a main suite; including office/study, living room, bedroom and bathroom. The second story area could be used by the homeowners themselves or rented out with the rest of the home. Whether or not the purchasers of the home want to add external access is up to them because at least the home is set up for it.
HOUSE 3 // Ricky and Haydn
Photo Attribution: Nine
Next up we have Ricky and Haydn in House, who have done the opposite of House 2 and ditched the office space for a games room. As I mentioned previously, I don’t think an office in a holiday home is necessary, but it definitely wouldn’t have suited the style of house the boy’s are creating. Whereas some of the other houses could easily be lived in full time, House 3 has always had a holiday feel. Whether it was on purpose, or purely a result of the boy’s lack of design skills, their home has that cheaper, hardwearing and slightly juvenile feel that a lot of holiday homes possess. The games room was a great concept and I can imagine it will get a lot of use; however visually, it’s a massive eyesore. I think in order to deserve the 10 they received; they should have invested in a nicer pool table and plastered the timber balcony to conceal at least some of the coloured plastic.
Photo Attribution: Nine
One thing I will commend the boys on is the connection between both their upstairs spaces. By building only a half wall on either side of the staircase, they created a sense of flow between both rooms. Ultimately, they’ve created one giant rumpus level for either kids or adults, and I think it would have made more sense to have their bunk bed and wall mural room located up here rather than downstairs. Let’s take a look at the actual lounge room they created because although they got the idea right, the execution is shocking. Firstly, they’ve used predominately outdoor furniture to fill the room, which stops the only suitable piece of furniture in the room; the sofa bed, from being used. The Phillip Island map on the wall isn’t the worst use of Graphico I’ve seen but it has a giant air-conditioning unit hanging in the middle of it, and the surfboard mural that stretches between both rooms, does nothing to connect them that hasn’t already been achieved by cutting down the walls. They should swap it out for the same cladding they used downstairs and get rid of the pointless soundproof curtain that defeats the entire purpose of connecting the rooms.
HOUSE 4 // Kylie and Brad
Photo Attribution: Nine
Let’s move on to House 4, where Kylie and Brad have created two of the most confusing rooms we’ve seen this series. I think we all understand that both of these rooms lacked a concept and the requisite planning, but it was made most obvious when Kylie herself failed to introduce and explain their spaces. It’s pretty simple, if you’re not clear on your own idea, then you can’t execute a successful room. Looking at some of the official photos helped to provide me with a better understanding of the mezzanine layout. What you can see for yourselves is actually one large room with multiple zones rather than two separate spaces. It is immediately clear, that these guys should have ditched the glass wall overlooking their downstairs area and closed it in with a full plastered wall. This wouldn’t have worked as well in some of the other houses because they had such skinny rooms, but Kylie and Brad had the perfect space to block off; it already looks like a self-contained apartment.
Photo Attribution: Nine
Whether or not Kylie and Brad were told they couldn’t have/afford exterior access; they still could have created a separate suite with entry via the staircase. Exterior access can always be added and I think these guys have been a bit short sighted. At the moment you have a glass balustrade and tacky looking curtains, a lounge that faces over their living and dining like a viewing platform and a desk placed in a walkway. While there is nothing wrong with the actual desk and chairs, the styling of the space and personal photo wall is uncomfortably personal. On the other side of the room is their ‘rumpus room’ and it looks like something out of an Ikea catalogue. It looks like when you first move out of home and need to cheaply furnish your new apartment as none of your previously owned furniture fits in such a small space so you fill it with flat-pack pieces that are uncomfortable both physically and visually. You tell yourself you’ll eventually replace everything but never get around to it.
HOUSE 5 // Kristian and Mimi
Photo Attribution: Nine
Last and arguably least, as we only have one room to judge this week, is Kristian and Mimi in House 5. As usual, the location and shape of their rooms are different to the other houses and their home was originally designed with an office on the ground floor, overlooking the pool and a rumpus room upstairs. These guys joined the other couple’s, deciding to forgo an office and moved their rumpus room downstairs. While in theory, I think this was a good idea; the rumpus room they created wasn’t exactly suitable for a ‘pool house’. Firstly, the room was orientated the wrong way, with anyone sitting on the lounge able to see directly into the bathroom, but more importantly, there was no attempt to connect the indoor and outdoor spaces. They then filled the room with uninspiring and almost formal furniture, which nobody wants to see wet kids lounging all over. All in all, they had a promising concept, however failed to execute during what was a tough week, for Kristian in particular.
Photo Attribution: Nine
Thanks for reading and see you all next week for our final blog of the season! 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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