Since winning The Block in 2018, Hayden and Sarah Vale have been busy renovating a former beach shack on the NSW South Coast (Stanwell Park to be exact), turning it into their forever home. With enviable ocean and parkland views, the five-storey abode ‘SouthHouse’ has four large bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms and three separate living spaces.
“We were after the perfect balance of a retreat for our family as well as a hub for entertaining. We knew we’d have guests staying so wanted to give them their own space,” says Sara of the home that features a lower guest floor.
Sara and Hayden’s new kitchen is the home’s hub
The bedrooms are all on another floor because Sara, who shares the home with Hayden and her two children Harlow and Lawson, wanted everyone nearby. For convenience and accessibility, the bathrooms and laundry are on this floor too. The top floor is the designated kitchen and entertaining space, and it’s the gorgeous kitchen that we are touring today.
Here, Hayden and Sara shared the things to keep in mind when designing and constructing a kitchen with wow.
Take inspiration from your surroundings For our home design, we simply looked outside for inspiration. We realised we lived in such a stunning part of the world that we wanted to bring influences of that inside, as well as join elements of it on the outside. For that reason, SouthHouse features a modern urban aesthetic with a neutral palette that provides the perfect backdrop for accents of colour, texture and coastal influences. Think high quality, hand-picked materials and finishes to deliver a timeless style, like concrete and timber, while presenting a balanced, yet luxurious feel.
The kitchen features the Electrolux 90cm Multifunction Pyrolytic oven
Plan, plan and plan No matter what scale the renovation, superior time management and organisation skills are a must. With any renovation, big or small, you need to be on top of everything – from your ideas to planning, trades to styling, have your end goal clear in your head, so you can see every detail. One of the areas of the home that requires the most detailed level of planning is the kitchen. In the kitchen you’re after the golden triangle between fridge, cooktop and sink with the right amount of bench space in between to make preparation convenient.
Consider feeling over trends Rather than being beholden to changing trends, focus on creating that homely feeling you’ve always dreamed of. Because we both come from large extended families, an entertainer’s kitchen was key, and we wanted it to be the showstopper. We knew we had to make a statement here, making sure we had a kitchen that could do a dinner for two, take on a party of 50 and anything in between.
Know what you want your kitchen for While on planning, purpose plays a big role when it comes to your kitchen design. Ask yourself will it be for entertaining, quiet nights in, a family or singles or everything? Use your response to that question to help decide what appliances you will need. If the space allows for it, we always go for a big cooktop and oven because we like to entertain.
The kitchen trends from The Block 2021 and how to steal them
The Block 2021 has sadly ended for another season! Beyond the drama, the show remains an ongoing source of inspiration for our homes and we saw trends that will no…
It was the night we’d all been waiting for: auction night! And The Block didn’t disappoint with the usual anticipation and stop-starting! And who would have thought it, Hayden and Sara, who ruffled so many feathers, ended up winning, adding the $100k prize money to their already impressive $545k profit! Not to be sniffed at! They sure had the last laugh!
Winners Hayden and Sara / Image credit: Nine
So, here’s how it all panned out…
First up were KERRIE & SPENCE. Emotions were high with Kerrie in tears before things even started on the auction couch! Their reserve was $2,435,000. $2.4m was the strong starting bid from buyer’s advocate Nicole Jacobs. Then it became a bidding war between her and fellow buyer’s advocate Greville Pabst. Then Frank Valentic joined in on the action. Things slowed down and sped up and suddenly they were sitting on a profit above the reserve of $415k. Wow. Frank eventually won for his client at $2.85m. Kerrie and Spence were clearly delighted and in total shock.
Second up were HAYDEN & SARA, certainly not clear viewers’ favourites this year! But like Scotty said, they sure made The Block more interesting with all that drama. Sara chose the auctions as the ideal time to announce her pregnancy and even did a gender reveal on TV! It’s a boy! Their reserve was $2,475,000. Bidding started at $2.5m but was quick to slow. It looked like they were only going to take home $25k! But you know how these things work! When it got to $200k above reserve, Sara was happy enough, but it eventually shot up to $3m and $525k profit. And then kept going! $3,020,000 and $545k. Sara couldn’t contain her extreme excitement! Wow. Theirs was the only apartment to crack the three mill mark.
Image credit: Nine
Next up JESS & NORM with a reserve of $2,650,000. And it really looked like it was going nowhere (I know, I know, I should know how it works by now, right?!). It was a slow bidding war between Greville and Frank. At the end it was going up just a few grand at a time until Greville won at $2,859,000 and $209k winnings for the couple. They were so genuinely delighted. How can you not love these two?!
Then came BIANCA & CARLA with a reserve of $2,690,000 and things were going super quickly! No messing around from their auctioneer, Damien Cooley! Ooh, it was nail-biting stuff with Damien refusing to take anything less than $3m after bidding hit $2,900,000. But he then took $2,925,000 and ended up at $2,991,000 to Greville and a profit of $301k for the girls. Going fourth didn’t do them too badly after all!
You couldn’t help but feel nervous for last up, HANS & COURTNEY. You could see they were too, with Courtney in tears. And to cut a long story short, it went to Greville (again!) for $2,770,000 and $410k profit. And the buyers were sisters Rose and Yvette who originally owned the hotel too. Nice touch to end on!
What did you think of the results? We’ll have auction commentary from Greville Pabst, who cleaned up for his clients, later today!
So, did you watch last night’s Block master bedroom reveals? Or, as I like to call it, a really good ad for Kinsman wardrobes! I spent a lot of it with a sort of grimace on my face like Wallace from Wallace and Gromit. You know the one?! There’s an emoticon for it… I do try to be kind and not harp on like some mean know it all because let’s face it I’m a) not an expert and b) it’s bloody hard being on that show. But last night’s bedrooms were so underwhelming on the whole I felt annoyed. And then Hayden and Sara, who threatened to walk last week on account of always coming last, came first. What a surprise! Coincidence? Perhaps, but still!
None of those rooms were particularly different or inspiring. And the fact that words like ‘cute’ and ‘nice’ were used to describe the winning room, said it all really! That and the fact the judges liked all the walk-ins better than the actual rooms.
The worst for me though was Courtney and Hans’ room, by a long way. It was so huge (yet empty) and full of expensive pieces but ultimately looked cheap and wasn’t in the slightest cohesive. All I could see was bloody carpet, carpet, carpet! Speaking of which, what does everyone have against rugs this season?! Where are they?! And, while I’m ranting, enough with the velvet bedheads! I love velvet bedheads. I have one in my own master, but they’re not the only bedhead out there and they certainly aren’t the only way to give a luxury look. Ok, I’ve got that off my chest now! Let’s see something a little different, could we?
There were a few redeeming features for me, namely Jess and Norm’s killer gold LED wall lamps, Bianca and Carla’s timber besides, the wardrobes in general, the herringbone floors and the girls’ Samsung Frame TV (they’re very cool, I want!) that doubles as artwork. I’ve linked to my favourites from each room below.
So, here you go if you missed it: the judges’ comments, what the couples did and how they scored…
2nd (24/30) KERRIE AND SPENCE
Just a bit blah
Kerrie and Spence used luxurious velvets and a soft, romantic colour palette in their main bedroom, which featured dark drapes, a custom-built bedhead with seafoam fabric inlay, and huge, dark ‘his-and-hers’ walk-in robes.
But it failed to get the judges excited. Neale said: “We’re in the master bedroom of a luxury apartment. I’m sorry, I want a bit of va-va-voom. It’s a white room.” Shaynna thought the problem was scale. The bed was perfect but the bedhead too short, the artwork and pendants were in the wrong spot. Diplomatic Darren said the light fittings are not as impactful as they could have been. Shaynna said they were ridculous! “It feels a bit hospital.”
Had to agree with Shaynna on those lights and the bedhead behind the bedhead reminded me of a bad hotel one (sorry Spence!)
Neale said they were playing it too safe. “It feels like they had a great idea and then they pressed pause because they got scared.” Shaynna said it was very forgettable.
But they all loved the huge walk-in robe. Shaynna said it was amazing. Darren thought it was what buyers would remember. And Shaynna said they could easily restyle the entire thing to make it a penthouse master.
Courtney and Hans’ main bedroom featured a pink bedhead, a large statement fan, a round mirror, two dark pink velvet chairs and a gold coffee table as a seating area, and THAT controversial artwork. Their deluxe walk-in robes featured a last minute marble stone bench.
This room is killing me. I don’t even know where to start.
The judges were blown away by the sheer size and couldn’t believe it had its own hallway! Darren said: “These spaces are massive!” Darren and Shaynna loved the bed, its styling and the colour palette. They said the lighting was well planned.
But that was where the good news ended.
Neale said he must have been in a slightly different room. “There is nothing in here that’s going to make me want to buy this apartment. It feels like an exercise in wasted space. The hallway serves no purpose. And that’s the worst piece of art I’ve ever seen.” Eek!
Yes Neale, you were right about the art! And what’s going on with that fan in the context of this room?!
He continued: “I know I’m sounding over the top but the choice of art dictates the emotion you feel when you walk into the room. There are elements that are nice but they don’t come together.” He thinks they should have made a bigger deal of the sheer size with a rug, couch, ottoman or floor-to-ceiling mirrors.
They all noticed the finishes weren’t up to standard either. But, once again, the robe was nicer than room itself! Neale said it was one of the most impressive walk-ins he’d ever seen on The Block. Shaynna agreed it was beautiful.
Sara and Hayden finally broke their three-week losing streak, presenting a Deco-inspired main bedroom. They achieved their look by painting a blue-grey charcoal feature wall, including an Art Deco-inspired upholstered bedhead with gold stud details, a pink fur throw and a contemporary artwork in shades of blue and pink.
Nice perhaps, but not setting the world on fire
The judges all felt something grand greeted them. Darren loved the coffered ceiling and the way it covered the curtains. Neale said it was cute. Shaynna felt a sense of relief. “The restraint they’ve shown is great.”
All the judges thought it had really worked. Darren liked the bedhead and the blue wall behind it. Shaynna said it was the right balance of Deco and contemporary but the artwork wasn’t hitting the sweet spot. “It feels everyday.” Neale said it was a little generic.
This is pleasant
They all agreed the air con vent was very well considered and planned. And they also all noticed the unfinished painting!
It was another popular walk-in. Shaynna said there was so much storage it wasn’t funny and raved about the sensor lights. Neale and Darren said the mirror wall was very clever. Darren said it had a look of finesse with all the LED strip lighting.
Shame about that cheap looking laundry hamper
Shaynna finished though by very rightly saying that last week’s en suite definitely didn’t match the room and the walk-in.
They might have only had a small space to work with, but Jess and Norm dialed up the luxe with their extra cash from challenges, presenting a room that featured marble, parquetry, bespoke neon lights and a walk-in robe space that had all three judges singing its praises.
The bed styling and light situation is nice. Just don’t look at the TV wall!
It certainly made a good first impression. Darren said he loved everything, especially the layering of the bed, the colours and the lights.
Neale and Shyanna however, were a little less enthusiastic! Neale asked if it was a bedroom or a gold class cinema seat? “It’s all about the TV.” There was way too much going on. “If ever a room cried out for a little bit of less is more, it’s this one. Wow, what an overload. This room is giving me indigestion!”
Loving this
Shaynna was overwhelmed. “I feel so claustrophobic. Scale has got the better of them. This room needed to feel very elegant and simple but they went and filled it with too many distractions. The year 2000 wants its niches back!” Oh, how I laughed!
Those niches were the worst!
Neale said a lot of people would call it their idea of heaven but it wasn’t the master suite the apartment needed.
They all loved the walk-in (again!), calling it excellent and beautiful.
Bianca and Carla continued to impress with their subtle, moody monochrome master, but it didn’t get the great feedback of last week. The girls used a dark timber feature wall, dark drapes, custom wooden side tables, parquetry floor, charcoal-coloured linen on the bed, and a timber cabinet under their state-of-the-art (pardon the pun) Frame TV by Samsung.
50 shades of grey and I’m not loving them. Don’t go off track please, girls!
That lamp. Oh dear oh dear.
Neale said the girls certainly knew how to surprise them each week. Darren thought they’d delivered a different kind of luxury. “That charcoal tonal, monochromatic look is very tactile. For a neutral palette to be so visually interesting is tricky.” Neale agreed.
Shaynna loved the signature bedsides. They all loved the Samsung Frame TV, cleverly disguised as an artwork. Neale didn’t love the ball light and found it a little bit cold. He thought the bedsides were too small. He wanted to love the wall but was struggling. “I don’t think these girls are thinking how we actually live. It’s style over substance.”
Ingrain Designs save the day with these timber bedsides
Foreman Dan Reilly had raised the issue about them presenting their reveal without including the air con vents. The judges thought it was a bit arrogant to leave them out while everyone else was wrestling to make theirs work.
They all had issues with the execution of the feature wall which was badly painted and didn’t all match up.
Shaynna said it was so heavily masculine that there was very little that would instantly appeal to a female buyer. Neale said he really like the girls’ ideas but I do want them to spend more time thinking about functionality.
They loved the walk-in but agreed it felt half the size of the others.
Gosh, it was a good episode wasn’t it?! Plenty of things which had to be redone because they weren’t to code (including two shower screens so large and dubiously fixed they could probably kill a person!), the most expensive bathroom in Block history, THAT gleaming brass bath, a walkout by Sara in tears after her and Hayden came last for the third week in a row (after producing aforementioned $75,000 bathroom!), and a close win by Kerrie and Spence due to using their bonus point gnome. Reality TV at its finest!
THAT bath: Hayden and Sara’s expensive mistake? Incidentally, I kind of love the bath, but not the rest of the room.
I can’t not mention the Sara walkout. Will she really walk out on the show? I highly doubt it but time will tell. That’s been left on a cliffhanger for obvious reasons! But I have to say, her attitude irks me. Yes, I realise people are passionate and criticism is hard to take (and boy that was some hardcore criticism last night) but they went into the judging way too confident they’d won and looking arrogant. And then the way she swore and carried on made it really hard to feel sorry for her, although I totally did (you’d have to be pretty cold not to feel bad when you see someone that upset) but I also wanted to her to stop embarrassing herself on national television! Gah!
Just goes to show, spending all of the money doesn’t guarantee you a win. Or even a second or third…
I was impressed with the way other couples seemed to genuinely feel bad for them rather than revel in their continually coming last (it is a competition after all) and Bianca and Carla and Norm and Jess are fast emerging as my favourites in both the design stakes and in terms of seeming like genuinely good sorts!
This week, real estate veteran John McGrath stood in for Darren Palmer as a guest judge. Here’s what they had to say about the master ensuite bathrooms.
KERRIE AND SPENCE: 1st
There was a lot riding on this for Kerrie and Spence, who used their bonus point to take out a win for their sophisticated bathroom, which featured a feature marble vanity top, herringbone tiles and matte-black finishes. Their simple, understated room was a big hit with all three judges.
Shaynna Blaze used words like ‘glamour’ and ‘beautiful’. Neale Whitaker said they’d taken it to another level and improved on the last bathroom.
He loved the subtle details like the herringbone tiling. They all loved the face height cabinets, as did I! Divine! The curved edge! Shaynna said they’d nailed the styling.
Shaynna did knock the too-obvious floor wastes though and would have preferred a tile version. John McGrath said he couldn’t see anyone walking in and not being impressed from a buyer’s perspective.
HANS AND COURTNEY: 3rd
Topping their deluxe main bathroom was always going to be a challenge for Courtney and Hans, but they managed to deliver a striking ensuite, which featured more terrazzo tiles, simple white walls, a free-standing bath dressed with a wooden stool and a gorgeous double vanity.
John thought the dark terrazzo might be polarising but Shaynna thought the St Kilda market would love it. Neale said the spaciousness was very luxurious. Shaynna thought the dead space was wasted and they should have had a bigger vanity. She also disliked the bulkhead for the glass and thought it looked clunky.
Neale and Shaynna agreed they should have amped up the luxury on the last bathroom and they’d relied too heavily on the scale and size of this room without doing that.
I personally much preferred this darker terrazzo and the contrast it provided. The bathroom was clean and spacious. but perhaps not quite luxurious enough.
SARA AND HAYDEN: Last
Sara and Hayden might not have won over the judges but there was still a lot to love about the couple’s ensuite, which included marbled herringbone tiles on the floor, black fittings and fixtures, a black vanity and that stunning (and indeed love/hate) brass bath.
Shaynna’s first words were “oh my God!” Neale said he’d never seen a bath like that before and “wow”. Shaynna thought it was a feature and a different kind of luxury. Neale liked its placement on its own at the end of the room, allowing it to be the hero. John thought it was extremely memorable and something apartment three needed.
Shaynna loved the herringbone tiled floor. But then it all started to go downhill. Neale said the bath was a risk-taker but didn’t think it belonged in that bathroom. The rest of it didn’t feel like it worked and it wasn’t coming together for him. He found the tiles very drab. John said three dark walls was hard to come back from and it was too much black overall. Shaynna agreed and would suggest that they overlay two of the walls with white tiles.
Neale said he felt like he had to like the bathroom because of the bath. But he still didn’t! Shaynna offered to spend some time with the couple one on one to discuss their future apartment and the other couples (clearly feeling bad for them) generously agreed to let them.
NORM AND JESS: 4th
It might be the smallest ensuite on The Block, but Norm and Jess made sure their space had impact, choosing a stunning four-metre piece of marble for a feature wall. They matched this with a marble vanity top and beautiful simple tile choice, producing what Neale thought was “a small bathroom punching above its weight.”
I really liked what they did in this small space and loved many of their choices. John said it didn’t have the sense of luxury because it was small but it made a great first impression. All the judges loved the marble. Shaynna however felt the scale was wrong and it didn’t need two basins. The lack of shower door also made it impractical.
Shaynna couldn’t understand why they would have a black trim on the shower glass when nothing else was black. And the brushed chrome next to polished chrome looked cheap.
John said overall they’d started with a good palette and had a good feel. He and Neale thought they had done nothing which would cost them buyers.
BIANCA AND CARLA: 2nd
If Kerrie and Spence hadn’t used their bonus point this week, the girls up in apartment five would have walked away with another win for their stunningly executed ensuite, which featured another, albeit smaller, marble feature wall, a custom-made vanity, double sinks and a gorgeous stone bench top.
Shaynna and Neale were immediately in love with the stone bench top and the timber joinery. They also loved the long shelf on the marble in the shower.
John said the palette was very complementary. Neale said the styling was less is more and the girls really understood luxury.
Then Shaynna noticed the strip drain and said it looked seamless but getting hair out of it would be a nightmare. John said the room was pretty close to flawless.
What did you think? Are you annoyed Kerrie and Spence won due to using their bonus point? Was the girls’ bathroom your favourite? What about that brass bath? I’d love to read your comments below!
It’s been an action-packed first couple of nights on the new season of The Block with the 48-hour challenge kids’ rooms revealed last night (more on that later and our top picks to buy). Not surprisingly, they weren’t perfect, and it’s what we’ve come to expect from week one. Let’s face it, it’s a hell of a lot for anyone to get their head around and to call the state they found the Gatwick Hotel a fleapit would perhaps be too kind! I actually don’t know how they can cope sleeping there without getting pest control and industrial cleaners in. Bleugh!
But the new teams cracked on, and we’ve got to know them quite well already. The stronger characters are already emerging and I’m starting to place bets on who’ll be first to have a big fallout. I personally get so tired of people saying the show should be more about renovating and less about drama. It’s reality TV, people, get over it! And if you don’t like it, watch something else! Ratings and Logie wins prove they’re doing something right so why mess with a winning formula?! There’s also plenty of renovating to be seen.
While these weren’t the most exciting or impressive rooms, there was a lot riding on them, with first place getting to choose their apartment first, and so on. Surprisingly, the slick rooftop penthouse additions were not the first two to be picked and only time will tell if the contestants made the right call there.
We now also know that next week’s reveal is going to be the main bathroom. No messing around there! I can’t wait to see how they go!
So onto the kids’ rooms and the judging…
BIANCA AND CARLA
The former pro netballing friends from Melbourne came third and picked apartment five, one of the penthouses.
Shaynna said their room was “wonderland” and Neale called it clever. The judges liked how it was a playroom as well as a sleeping room.
Darren loved the stone-effect paint but called out the blanket box dangerously close to the opening window. Shaynna also criticised the one very blank wall.
The flight attendant and the pilot from Perth came last, landing apartment two, the biggest, which they weren’t unhappy with.
Darren said it was a really beautiful show of effort; cute and whimsical. That cloud wallpaper ended up making the impact they’d hoped but it went a bit downhill from the ceiling!
When the judges looked around they found too many gaps and examples of poor workmanship.
And another dangerous benchseat under the window (are you seeing a theme here?!) also lost them points.
The Queenslanders came fourth yet still bagged one of those penthouses, apartment four.
Neale said they’d really put a lot of thought and energy into it and Shaynna loved the idea of it. Darren thought the vignette of artworks and the shelving were cute.
But Shaynna added it was the first room she’d walked into and felt their panic with many unfinished elements.
And once Darren pointed out the bed built in under the window was not only dangerous but illegal, it all went a bit wrong!
KERRIE AND SPENCE, the eldest couple, a nurse and owner builder from the Barossa Valley in SA, came second and took the gamble on apartment one which contained the mysterious safe. It paid off as it was full of $150k worth of vouchers!
The judges called their room simple, elegant, and appropriate for a teenage girl but it didn’t really nail the kids’ room brief. Yes it was a nice room, but it wasn’t a kids’ room!
They were impressed by the coffered ceiling (I loved it too). Neale said the colour palette harked back to the era of the building but was contemporary too. And Shaynna said they’d done nanna chenille in a really current way. It was clear they were a team to be reckoned with.
BUT (there’s always a but!) Shaynna said she’d be so bored lying in bed with nothing to look at but an empty wall and Neale rightly questioned if it worked as a kids’ room? Shaynna said not at all.
But they agreed the couple had created an amazing perception of luxury in just 48 hours. Let’s not forget what they started with!
HAYDEN AND SARA came first, the newlyweds with a baby from Sydney. She’s (another) flight attendant and he’s a master builder (helpful!). With the pick of the apartments, they ignored the penthouses and went for apartment 3.
Using multiple tradies paid off for this pair. Shaynna said the room said kids straight away. She loved the bedside niche to put books in and thought the tent was fun.
Neale said it had a really lovely feel about it and Darren loved that you could pop your head in to check on your child without them seeing you or waking up because of the bed placement. It had a big open play space which was exactly what a kid’s room should be about.
Shaynna was impressed they’d matched the wardrobe to the entry door which showed great attention to detail and could really only fault the execution of the skirting which was a bit rough.
