The Block contestants Matt and Kim Di Costa emerged with another renovation recently as part of their show Matt and Kim to the Rescue 5. The four-day renovation, valued at around $300,000, saw a suburban Perth family home completely transformed for a struggling family of six – two of whom are suffering from cancer.
“The Hoy Poy family are an athletic, upbeat family but the mother, Sally, was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer at just 34 and is not only fighting for her life, but also trying to keep her family positive and happy,” says Matt.
And as if that isn’t difficult enough, the family recently discovered that one of its younger members has cancer too. “This fight was thrown the ultimate blow when they recently discovered their 14-year-old daughter Zoe has stage four bowel cancer. It threw the family into turmoil and the bills began to mount. Constant hospital visits were proving costly and that is where Kim and myself stepped in,” says Matt, who alongside 300 tradespeople, transformed the family’s 1970’s suburban home into a contemporary entertainers’ residence.
“As always, we were keen to make a few dreams come true and create more individual spaces for the family members. Ultimately though, we wanted to make the house an entertainers’ space so they could enjoy the home together as it’s where they spend most of their time,” says Matt who completely rebuilt the front façade of the home – a first for the show.
Other design additions included the installation of an internal garden with skylights, a plunge pool and pool cabana and new kitchen. “We also doubled the ensuite size, installed a freestanding bath tub and gave Zoe a larger bedroom in blush pink tones,” says Matt.
Matt and Kim to the Rescue will return to Channel Nine next year with two more episodes.
