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Bedrooms The Block

The Block week 6 room reveals: master bedrooms

I think I actually shed a tear when underdogs Kim and Chris took out the master bedroom (sorry, suite) win last night because oh my goodness, didn’t they deserve it?! It was divine! And massive. And absolutely nothing like the previous week’s confused country-style living/dining. It was amazing to see such a change and such progress. I felt so proud of them!

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Chris and Kim’s winning master suite. The pictures don’t do it justice in my opinion.

So, the results were:

  • First place: Kim and Chris
  • Second place: Julia and Sasha
  • Third place: Will and Karlie
  • Fourth place: Dan and Carleen
  • Last place: Ben and Andy

And here’s what the judges had to say…

Karlie and Will

All three judges were wowed by the timber feature wall and rightly so. Wasn’t it gorgeous and so much work involved! I always love it when Darren Palmer comes out with comments like “holy moley!” He also said it showed extraordinary workmanship. Neale Whitaker agreed it was absolutely stunning and obviously the big idea they’d been working up to. “It just works.”

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The black double doors also got lots of praise. Neale said: “It’s a very contemporary bedroom, I love it.”

They found the wardrobe, although it great storage plus powerpoints, a bit of a letdown, and said it felt like an afterthought.

We loved the dimmable LED pendants lights.

Dan and Carleen

Darren said the room was so calming and tranquil and Neale was in love with the original deco pendant lights (from the vault).  The judges said they’d got the balance just right; contemporary but with well thought through references to deco. There was lots of pattern but it worked because it had been subtly done.

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The wardrobe however clearly lost them a lot of points when it was revealed the top section was not deep enough to hang a jacket or shirt in. The judges said it was a big letdown on functionality.

I liked this room but it didn’t wow me. The curtains were gorgeous though as were the West Elm bedsides.

Andy and Ben

Although the boys lost half of their wardrobe to their en suite, Darren said you could hardly notice and it didn’t feel any smaller. Winning!

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While Neale said it had a nice, fresh feel, Shaynna was underwhelmed and said it was a bit impersonal, and a bit of a bachelor pad.  Darren agreed, although he said he could see the boys had given it a really good shot, but it needed an extra layer of luxury. And Neale said the styling was a bit off!

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Things got more positive in the walk-in, where the bench seat, dressing table and shoe carousel went down a storm!

I loved the Jessica Skye Baker resin artwork! Buy similar.

Julia and Sasha

The judges loved the smart technology and the mega bedhead (me too) by Heatherly Design in this room. Neale said it felt like they’d really raised their game this week and hit it spot on. Personally, I don’t like it half as much as some of their other rooms and just felt it wasn’t very cohesive. Shaynna loved it too though, saying it was luxurious and the artwork was very clever and incredibly art deco.

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Neale said the walk-in (which was amazing!) felt like an extremely high end boutique. “It’s really quite beautiful. Darren loved everything about it; the  lighting, the handles and the gloss.

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I preferred the wardrobe to the room!

Kim and Chris

Well, well, well, this is where it got really good with Kim and Chris’s huge suite, which Neale said was bigger than his house (which just sold at the weekend)!

Again, I don’t think the photos do it justice.

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Shaynna said “ridiculous,” Darren said “insane,” and Neale said “absolutely magnificent”. Darren was totally in love with the bed and said the furniture all tied beautifully together.

Neale said it was penthouse living and they’d found a level of luxury he didn’t think they were capable of finding. “Luxury in spades.”

Darren said it lifted the calibre of the whole apartment, he just would have loved to see a door to the bathroom.

Neale, who loved seeing old fashioned doors on the wardrobes for once, put it out there, saying: “I think this is the most glam bedroom I’ve ever seen on The Block.”

We liked the pendant lights too.

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House Tours The Block

The Block master reveals, ‘winegate’ and a disqualification!

Well well well, what a night of room reveals it was! Some great rooms and all very different, which impressed the judges. As Neale said: “All four have a very distinct personality and stand out for different reasons. It’s the most memorable master bedroom week I’ve experienced on The Block.”

That wasn’t all though; the results of the wine audit were in and a very smug Dee and Daz (fair enough) were shown to be NOT guilty! Then, at the end of the show, we saw Charlotte and Josh, after receiving the series’ first 30/30 from the judges, being disqualified from the scoring because they’d broken the rules by not using their Jimmy Possum bed from the recent challenge. Those bloody beds! As I keep saying on Twitter, never have I seen more of a PR fail for a brand on the show. I feel really bad for them! Couples either did their best to disguise their beds or didn’t want to use them at all. Eep!

Onto the judging…

Charlotte and Josh (30 out of 30, first place, had they not been disqualified)

The Block in Melbourne

I really liked this room and its lounge area but didn’t feel it quite warranted the perfect score it got from the judges, much preferring Dee and Daz’s overall. It was all a little too white for my liking and felt like it needed another layer or too. But not wanting to take away from the young couple’s glory, it has some great points.

“Yes, yes, yes yes!” was Shaynna’s initial reaction. Neale said the exposed beams gave a raw, contemporary quality that he loved and called it terrific.

They all loved the automated blinds and lights, especially tech-savvy Darren. Neale said it felt like Josh and Charlotte at their absolute best and they had created something like a self contained apartment or suite.

The Block in Melbourne

Shaynna closely inspected Charlotte’s paint job on the windows and was super impressed, saying they’d really worked hard. “This is their shining star, the pinnacle, what will have buyers in a bidding war.”

The massive walk-in wardrobe almost made Shaynna hyperventilate and generally went down really well, aside from the pendant light, which Darren said was a bit too Silence of the Lambs for his liking! Charlotte, born in the 90s, had never heard of the film. Bless!

The Block in Melbourne

Our pick to buy: Ingrain floating entertainment unit (by the same people who supplied their bathroom vanity last week).

Tim and Anastasia (24.5 out of 30, tying second place with Ayden and Jess)

The Block in Melbourne

I agreed with pretty much everything the judges said about this one. It was, on the face of it, a gorgeous, luxurious, cosy room.

Shaynna said it was beautiful and she loved the colours. Neale said he’s never been convinced they had confidence in their own style but this room maybe proved him wrong. He called it a gentle room with nothing in it that anyone would dislike, with a colour palette just enough to keep it modern.

Darren, perhaps diplomatically, said it was appropriate and saleable but didn’t seem overly excited and was intrigued that they hadn’t carried on the grasscloth wallpaper theme. He was concerned it was too similar to their first bedroom.

The Block in Melbourne

Shaynna kept it real though, pointing out that the curtains, while beautiful, needed channelling into ceiling and that the artwork above the bed too heavy (I totally agree, especially with those black frames).

The two-way doors to the walk-in were praised by all three as being clever. But while it was a good use of space and cabinetry, Neale said it felt a bit too much like a shop and he wasn’t sure about laminate, finding it grey and depressing. “It doesn’t feel luxurious. I’m underwhelmed.”

The Block in Melbourne

Darren also spotted a gaping hole near the window. Oops.

Ayden and Jess (24.5 out of 30, joint second with Tim & Anastasia)

The Block in Melbourne

This room drew mixed comments from the judges, with Neale being a bigger fan than the others. He said they were getting bolder with each passing week. Shaynna said it was like a younger version of Tim and Anastasia’s apartment.

Darren wasn’t exactly doing cartwheels and said he didn’t love it and it felt like a great second bedroom, not a master. He went one further to say it seemed “kind of juvenile” and unsophisticated. I totally agreed that the drum bedsides with no storage weren’t right. And I also agreed with him wanting to throw the artwork above the bed out the window. It looked too cheap and generic. top marks for personality, texture and layering though, I’d say!

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Darren loved the wardrobe however, saying it dragged (interesting choice of word!) the bedroom up a level! I’m starting to see what he meant in our recent interview when he said he was going to be less Mr Nice Guy this series and more “cranky Daz”!

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Neale finished off on some nice positives though, saying they’d got over their initial fears and misgivings and he wouldn’t change a thing.

Dee and Darren (27 out of 30 and first place after Charlotte and Josh’s disqualification)

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Pow! This really was on another level to the others and I’m not sure why they scored less than Charlotte and Josh. So, at the end of the day, in my opinion, the most deserving couple won the 10 grand. The dark , moody grasscloth, the grand but contemporary four-poster, the perfect styling. Dodgy finishes aside, it was a cracker!

The Block in Melbourne

Darren was pretty much dancing around and trying to hang off the bed, he was so excited! “Woah, I love it! This is my all time favourite colour of grasscloth.” He loved the scale of the bed too.

Neale simply said: “Nailed it.” He added that it walked the line between really contemporary and classic, which is what Dee and Darren do again and again, and that it was finessed to a different level. Shaynna agreed it was gorgeous and felt like it enveloped you.

The Block in Melbourne

First impressions of the robe were great, with Darren loving the LED lighting and Neale, the choice of pendant light. They all noted a few finishing issues though, with Neale saying it was a little rough around the edges. Shaynna said the lack of blockout blinds and privacy were letting down a near perfect room.

Our pick to buy: Hale Mercantile Co doona cover and pillowcases.

With kitchen week now upon us, I’m excited! Which was your favourite this week? Did Charlotte and Josh deserve a perfect 30? Was their disqualification too harsh?

Categories
Bathrooms Bedrooms

The parents’ retreat: a new trend in interiors?

By Darren Genner

Over the years we have seen movements in interior spaces that have made really big impacts on how we live our lives and how we socially connect with our family and friends.

A Minosa Design job in Sydney
A Minosa Design job in Sydney

There was the open plan kitchen that has effectively revolutionised the way we live and connect with all members of the household, and the indoor/outdoor connection where the humble back door has become metres of glass that open and allow a seamless connection to the outside. Outdoor cooking and entertaining areas almost become part of the interior, increasing our living space.

So what’s next? The parents’ retreat!