63 Comments

    • They should not have won. The room was meh. Maybe they won for size, all the others looked pretty cramped with queen beds.

  1. I thought “ick” for pretty much everything on this video.

    A spinning shoe rack might be needed if you’re Mariah Carey. Me, I have maybe 6 pairs of shoes so a rack would be superfluous.

  2. Harry and Tash Spent $2020 (Budget for this week was $19000)

    The judges walk into the room with uttering their usual wows. It is absolutely beautiful we are assured as the judges note the excessive use of Velux skylights.
    ( FFS, why not have a glass roof and be done with it. How badly will that Grafico non-peacock* wallpaper selected infront of the McCafe van fade due to the Velux skylights?)

    Shaynna is not a fan of TVs in the bedroom, unless it is provided by a sponsor which of course Harry and Tash’s is.

    For Neale there is enough period features without been slavish for there to be luxury and grandeur for a contemporary buyer.

    On to the WIR where it is described as glamourous. Neale likes the profile of the doors. There are pratical flaws…not enough hanging space, too high for Shaynna and the foot through the top of the wardrobe is not the unique feature the judges are looking for.

    Biggest Master always win this week.

    *Peacocks in the house are considered bad luck .

  3. George & Sarah (Spent $25000)

    ‘Oh my God,’ gasps Darren espying the original ceiling rose aka Ceiling Dion. The love affair with the ceiling rose is cut dead when Neale articulates his abhorrence of yet another abstract floral wall. It cancels out everything else in the room.

    Shaynna loves the fireplace preferring it to a TV (now watch every single bedroom hereon in have a fireplace) but Darren adds it is placed 30cm too high.

    Less is more. They should have let the ceiling cascade down and dictate the furnishing of the room and not done the wallpaper.

    Onto the WIR. It is more functional than House One but it lacks the romance sighs Neale and really ugly.

  4. Wolf Creek Farmers ($21800)
    How magnificient is that? Asks Shaynna referring to the inspid “Hollywood” 1930s wallpaper. The judges appear to like everything including the daggy bedside lamps.

    Neale admires their chutzpah for using an over large floral arrangement rather than an artwork on the real feature of their room the ‘stunning cabinet’.

    But they only have a Queen-size bed wails Darren thereby indicating the farmers will not win this week.

    WIR: Darren loves the laminate and handles. It seems to be a better balance between storage and glamour than the previous two houses. It even has an oversized spice rack replete with go-pro cam masquerading as a shoe rack.

  5. Luke & Jasmin ( $20200)

    Oh my goodness, goodness, godness claps Shaynna.
    The strapping, the wainscoating, bay window and white on white is all gelling beautifully. They have found their style. It is the right mixture of contemporary and vintage.

    But they have Queen Size bed…

    WIR: It is styled beautfully. The colour scheme is classy and classic but there is not enough hangng space. If it were not for the problems of functionality in the WIR they would have delivered the perfect room.

  6. James & Tam $32, 700
    Glorious! Look at that fire place. I love that cream brick. The judges praise the architect’s decisions as JT’s own.

    More praise lavished upon the Slims Aaron photo…sponsor deal perhaps?

    For Shaynna the WIR is a disaster. There is not enough space for two people to be in there. For Darren, walking through an ensuite to the robe limits functionality. He has suggested that the WIR be ripped out and placed in its designated spot.

    • I loved this room – the colours and textures were great. Do the teams really not get any help with interior design? This team is doing great, I even loved the bathroom they did last week.

  7. The most ridiculous made for TV drama tonight as the producers ask the contestants to ‘Take Off’. This is where you order the supplies for the whole build. We understand locking in floor/tile/paint choices but making the contestants guess how much insulation, gyrock they need? Seriously? This would have been costed and calculated before the contestants were casted.

    In other news…Harry broke his foot and the QLDers will enlarge their WIR making it accessible off a hallway into the bedroom.

    • But they end up with an ensuite with no windows – I think they are crazy to swap the WIR and ensuite around. I do like what they’ve done so far but that decision is stupid

      • It is stupid…….unless you’re building a jail cell.

        Scotty respects Covid and tells the contestants “You need to be with your kids”, the equivalent of showing a vampire a crucifix.

      • Nah…just whack in another Velux.

        I am over the Velux skylights. What a maintenance nightmare to ensure your roof never leaks.

      • I’ve never liked walking through either room to get to the other. I prefer each to have their own doorway off the main. In house 5 they could have done them rotated 90 degrees, side-by-side. Ensuite doors need to be close enough to the bed for there to be only 5-6 steps to throw up in either bath or toilet. Not walk around the corner, you just won’t make it.

  8. Big thanks, Maz for the recaps. Saves the rest of us having to go over what happened.

    Stupid scoring last week. House 2 was by far the worst, despite the beautiful ceiling. That had to be the worst wallpaper I have seen on a reno show, and it ruined every other feature. House 5 was well up there and should have been in the top three. Way too much weighting put on the wardrobe (for all the houses) – do the judges have clothing fetishes? It is like demolishing a house because the laundry is small.

    House One was awful, imo. Teal green wallpaper with scary emus matched with electric blue bed and drab-coloured (yet soft) carpet. I would have marked that room just above house 2. The wallpaper and bed clashed so badly.

    Liked House 4, except for the four-poster. Nice idea, but impractical. They nailed it, though, with the wainscoting, bay window and ceiling etc. House 3 also nice but not exceptional. The wallpaper was okay, but only because all the other wallpaper was hideous. I’d like to know how many people really do put wallpaper in their house now, when renovating? It feels like an affectation on The Block, just there to try to make a bedroom look distinctive.

    So I would have ranked this way: Win=House 4, then House 5, 3, 1 and 2 last.

  9. Ensuite week seems to be dejavu week, in terms of the plans for the rooms. Tash wondering whether to put a bath in, was on par with not installing floor heating in the first bathroom. Luxury houses expect baths in ensuites. In fact, many are now leaving them out of main bathrooms instead. George and Sarah are planning to replicate their first nearly-winning bathroom – smart in the real world, but will the judge’s world see it as a cop-out, or a smart move to keep the house cohesive. Love that Jade has chosen the mermaid tile, I think that will get praise after their marble previously. Mermaid is fashionable atm but also introduces the curved interest of the past. The other houses, just the same-old double floating vanity, double shower, and so far, no stand out feature.

    Take-off thing was silly, but you could see the panic. They were imagining going through the show while Australia ran out of everything. Little did they imagine that the show might shutdown completely (while building supplies are going gang-busters!)

    I find it quite sad, and amusing, to watch this week as it is a reminder of how we all felt back in March. The fear is palpable in not only the contestants but everyone. And yet, last week they were joking about Tash being sick, and Harry coughing (as were we). But there is still the underlying expectation that the crisis would be short-lived, which now feels weird. How many people actually believed the PM when he said this might last six months? I didn’t.

    As I am recording and watching the encores, I haven’t yet seen last night’s ep. I will be interested to see how it pans out.

    • It seems that Beaumont is intend in promoting one particular line of tiles this season.

      Again, Beaumont does itself no favours…surely on a programme that showcase their products they would ensure that the tiles can work together, Both times Harry & Tash have been screwed over with tiles that clash or tiles that can’t co-exist in the same space.

      We think the Wolf Creek Farmers are overdoing it with the Fishscale tiles. They tend to work best as a feature tile not half the bathroom where they appear not to be aligning.

      • I agree. Somehow the tiles are generally off this year, and Beaumont should be a bit worried about how they are coming across – monotone and inflexible. I was blaming Tash for wanting grey in every space. It feels like she pushes it in regardless of whether it works or not. She doesn’t realise that in both bathrooms it is the bland grey tile that causes the clash. All the others are using white to recede, so that the feature stands out.

      • Yep. Actually, betting on anything. May as well just post your money to the agency.

        At the end of the article they mention Norm losing his job. It amazes me how many people now spend everything that comes in, and then are knocked for six when a setback happens. And while the current govt support was absolutely necessary, I worry that it only teaches people like Norm and Jess that when things are hard someone will always come to their rescue. Good thing that it will be wound back, and hopefully people are preparing for that.

        • LOL. They went on and on about wanting the money for the third child. So heedless of the future.
          Jesse was so manipulative on the Block that any such article should be taken with a grain of salt.

  10. Has anyone looked ahead to see how the crisis pans out for The Block? Don’t tell me, I don’t really want to know, but I speculate that they send the teams home for the first lockdown, bring them back for a few weeks, and then house them together for the second (and ongoing) lockdown. Which would mean that they are still there, waiting to finish. I suppose some might have gone home again by accepting quarantine time.

    In that case, there will come a point where the episodes run out, and there will have to be a hiatus, maybe until next year.

    Scotty’s offer to bring the families into Melb was a nice thought, but a bit of a knee-jerk reaction and poorly thought-out. Why would Daniel and Jade risk bringing their kids from a very safe, isolated rural property into a dense city? I calculate that there are six children (D&J 3, L&J 2 and J&T 1) and out of those only three are possibly school age, so why offer a teacher etc? The offer seemed to be mainly for the sake of the parents (who expected to be away for months anyway) and not really with the best interests of the kids at fore.

    I predict a bathroom win for house 4 with the curved wall this week – great idea if executed well.

    • I don’t know the full lockdown details, but I’m fairly confident in one way or another they finished building before the show started airing.

  11. What was $cotty bullshitting about these contestants and a “triumph of the human spirit over adversity”?

    They’re on The Block, not in a fucking war zone or famine. Embarrassing. These fools signed up for it. Channel Nein.

    • I know. And frankly, they should edit this COVID schmaltz right down. We’ve all had enough of the crap, particularly in regional Vic where we’ve been restricted for a relative non-event.

      • So I could have worded that better… Melbs metro, are still enduring extreme restrictions on their movements, including a curfew. Regional Vic experienced a few hundred cases, the restrictions were extreme in relation to those numbers.
        All in, The Block should just shut down the COVID dramatics.

    • To add insult to injury, the appalling Today show has seen fit to recycle all the Block brouhaha this morning. Fail.

      So Jack Farnham’s pissed off that his lame “anthem” was used by protesters. Yawn. Your manager went to jail for tax fraud, whimpering Jack.

  12. Ensuite Week
    VIC Spend $28450
    Darren begins with his real estate pitch, “I was not expecting these bathrooms to be so massive.”
    “It is a beautiful green (tile),” intercedes Neale reminding the others of their contractual obligations to praise the Beaumont products. The floor tile is perfect. It feels like a contemporary bathroom but has references to the period.’
    Shaynna takes the hint, “OMG, how beautiful is that bath. What a beautful bath? It is most appropriate for the era.’
    Now to the flaws, yes it is a better bathroom to their previous one but they have replicated the mistake of not taking the shower screen up to the tile height. Also resting the sconces upon the tile is just awkward.

    They do site the inclusion of the Great Gatsby as a superb styling touch . It creates an emotional connection but they are so not going to win this week.

    • I quite liked this bathroom, and I agreed that the bath shape was nice (more retro than modern ones eg “avocado-shaped”). I liked the green tiles.

      I can’t believe they went on about the glass height again after being outed for not criticising it in the other house.

      • Yeps, it was a nice small bathroom. The green tiles were nice, I wish they had used those tiles in the first bathroom. Also due to their shape it looked less like a public bathroom. After learning how limited the contestants are when it comes to tiles and bathroom fixtures, they tried the best they could.

  13. NSW Spend $21700
    Wow, This is palatial. (What does that mean? asks George)
    These tiles are so beautiful continues Neale in his never ending quest to undo the bad rep Beaumont has doing this show. Shaynna notes that they have four different tiles in the bathroom and tries to convince the viewer at home it all blends beautifully.
    Shaynna quickly finds fault and believes that they should have incorporated a shower door to minimise the splash in a high traffic era.
    We are told the judges really struggled to find flaws as it has a level of sophistication in its planning and execution. It is an exceptional bathroom.
    Ahh…so the dead γιαγιά card works.

    • This is the very first time, in years of reno shows, that someone has acknowledged that doorless showers drench the bathroom! I really can’t see how this configuration would be more likely to spray than any other. People just seem to accept wet towels and slippery floors.

      I did agree this bathroom had the wow factor, and deserved the win, despite no reference to the house period (this team were slammed for that in the first reveal). It was quite monotone for me, though. I liked the coloured tiles in the other houses. It needs some vibrant towels and accessories.

      • Ooops, got mixed up. That second paragraph refers to house 4, not 2.

        House 2 did have the pink tiles, but somehow they were the wrong shade for me. They should have used the same tiles as their first bathroom, which were more clear pink. In this bathroom, the pink was really dull, almost a pale brown. Kudos once again for hiding the loo – a big plus for the buyers, I believe.

  14. Wolf Creek Farmers Spend $27250
    What an entrance through the Narnia door into the jewellery box.
    Aren’t they beautiful? queries Neale remembering his scripted line for the fish scale…though slips in they can be overwhelming if used in the wrong space.
    Awesome choice, quickly agrees Darren…praising the matt floor and the glossy wall tile as sexy and expensive.
    Shaynna not to be outdone, notes the softness of the curves of the bath and basin. Who knew that bathroom critiquing could be so gendered.
    Darren hates the nanna slippers and the vanity is too short for the space and his massive cosmetic collection.

    • I thought Darren was criticising the glossy walls, not praising them. He liked the floor tiles. I didn’t like the glossy tiles on the wall but the rest was good. The mermaid tiles worked well. I really question Shaynna’s “terrazzo is so 1920’s” claim. Seriously, how many people even knew what terrazzo was? When did vinyl come in, hailed as the saviour to put over timber boards on kitchen and bathroom floors?

      Apart from that, this bathroom disappointed me with its lack of colour. Even aqua or pink shade towels would have helped. It was nicely laid out and finished but too bland.

      • We don’t believe terrazzo is so 1920s either. Not in a domestic setting in Australia at least. Yes, terrazzo became popular in 1920s America but the buildings they cite are the flooring in public spaces. Banks, Museums, Cinemas, public conveniences and the like.

        Perhaps it became more domestic in the mid century but not certainly not in the application presented on the block.

        http://ntma.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/History-of-Terrazzo.pdf

        Maybe we misinterpreted Darren. Usually, the judges dislike glossy but Wolf Creek farmer is the type of person if you cross you will need to sleep with one eye open for the rest of your life. Like Harry. If looks could kill, Harry would be dead.

        • Funny characterisation of Daniel 🙂 . Must be just me, but he is by far my favourite this year. Very like my DH, and it is hard to resist someone who doesn’t overdramatise, has a huge work ethic, and still helps others out when needed.

          • He makes my skin crawl to the point we would prefer to FF any portion of the Block that screens them.

            We think he would be a scary person to deal with in real life.

      • Yes…lino may be more appropriate…Restored style….but shouldn’t the toilet be outside if we are really going to channel the 1910s and 1920s.

        LOL. Can you imagine if any of the contestants were brave enough to put lino down in the kitchen. LOL.

  15. WA $24500
    What? What? echo Shaynna and Darren.
    Look at the curve and that skylight! It is so elegant and heavenly.
    The (black) bath is the one contrast point that this room needed.
    This room exceeds expectations. They have delivered a modern bathroom but have remained faithful to the period cues. There is exceptional craftmanship in the bathroom.
    The functionality of the bathroom is compromised. The vanity is far too close to the shower screen and the toilet roll holder is awkwardly placed.

  16. QLD $18950
    This bathroom does not have a bath. Shaynna doesn’t think its absence is a killer but they will need to ensure that they have one in the house.
    The colour pallette is divine. The vanity is beautiful and its reference back to the bedside tables is clever in creatng cohesion.
    The tiles are cheap but they have been used effectively.
    The choice of sconce is disappointing for Neale. Shaynna thinks the lighting is inadequate.
    Again…reference to the Slim Arrons photo…can this ensuite belong to the woman in the photo? Yes, it does. Will this kitchen in house belong to this woman? LOL…she was more likely to have an Eichler home if we are playing that game.

    • The reference to photo was silly. Maybe if the girl had been dressed to the period, but it was just a generic pic.

      I loved the pink tile in here – they nailed the retro colour but modernised with the texture of the tile. Not a fan of the vanity (nor the sister ones in the bedrooms, they look like Fijian holiday room fittings). But I generally liked this bathroom, although the lack of bath would be a deal-breaker for me.

      Why didn’t the judges reference the best feature of this room – the internal window between the ensuite and bedroom. Very true to this era, and a great idea for sharing light. Great idea.

  17. Keith goes all Kevin McCloud by pretending to be interested in the True Core manufacturing process.

    If you are playing by this season’s drinking game you will be smashed before the first ad break.

    • Hugging when they are supposed to be social distancing. They have that garage set up as storage for masks, face shields and hand sanitizer but most are walking around unmasked and not practicing social distancing.

      Dan needs a shave.

      • Just shows how instinctive it is to hug when you or someone else is distressed. But, for us, six months on, there is a gut reaction when you see people doing it.

        Looks like tonight we will jump six weeks and suddenly they are back at work. Not sure if it will work for tv.

        Scotty tells them that they are doing a bedroom and bathroom next, yet no discussion at all about plans etc. Not even an indication where this bedroom is, and is it just another guest one? Will all the teams turn it into a study and home-school hub instead?

        (sorry, I realise you guys have probably already seen the next ep)

        • Mon night ep: totally agree with Maz – the most boring 50 minutes of the series so far, culminating in the “dramatic” lockdown scene we have all seen fifty times. At least we did see where the new rooms are, and got some information about what the teams are planning, but too little of that and too much hand-wringing over possible changes. However, the twenty minutes after, showing the teams back home was fun. I liked the competition, but liked even more that they only showed a bit of it. End of the ep sets up Harry for a fall, who used his proximity to the location to do a bit of out-of-lockdown prep. Really?

          This ep just showed how far we have moved from the mood of April-May. All the lockdown activities, workouts, bin-dressing that we used to cope then – all gone now. Remember doing Anzac Day on your driveway? Second wave was much more drab.

          • We don’t think what is shown on the Block regarding Covid is a universal experience.
            Yes, there are restrictions on travel but the minutiae of day to day is unchanged…no working from home…or dressing to put out the bin….

  18. Nothing happened in this episode:
    *Anti-climatic body corporate meeting to allow Harry to extend bedroom by 400mm.
    *Team WA pull the Hi-Pages Lever.
    *Team Vic use their once-off feature to install a ducted vacuum system.

  19. Tonight’s Block was brought to you by Accent Paint and Masks by Ford Millinery.

    Jasmin stole Jade’s appointment at Freedom Furniture so Jade got the first appointment at Auru Home.

    Harry brought a sprayer from home. His biggest sin it was not sourced from an approved supplier.

  20. Who decided that getting a real estate licence immediately bestows you with the wisdom of twenty years experience? Shelley has no right to give any opinion except her personal preference (as she has for all past seasons). One of the reasons she was fun in the walkthroughs was that she represented the ordinary buyer. Now she is all pompous, handing down verdicts from on high.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *