A huge hit in the nineties, the DIY home renovation showChanging Rooms will return to Australian television screens next year with Natalie Bassingthwaighte performing the hosting duties. Broadcast by the TEN and WIN Network, the show’s concept will see keen and creative couples swap houses with their family, friends or neighbours. With help from leading designers, each couple will revamp key rooms in each other’s homes before revealing the results at the end of the season.
Natalie Bassingthwaighte
“When Network Ten called to ask if I would be interested in hosting a show called ‘Changing Rooms’ I said ‘You had me at Changing Rooms’. I absolutely love everything to do with design and I am forever quite literally changing every room in my house! It’s the perfect fit and I am incredibly excited,” says Natalie who is best known for her roles in Neighbours, The Wrong Girl, So You Think You Can Dance Australia and I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!
“Natalie is the perfect choice to host Changing Rooms. She is fun, authentic, and engaging, and that is what has made her so popular with Australian television audiences for many years. We are thrilled to see her bring a contemporary twist to the original and best home renovation show,” says Sarah Thornton, Network Ten executive producer for Changing Rooms which commences production this October.
With The Block Season 13 soon to hit our screens we give you the lowdown on what to expect.
When
After weeks of promos a start date has been announced. And lucky for us we don’t have to wait long. The Block will be returning to a TV near you on 30 July!
Who
This year’s competition features a well known face, model Elyse Knowles, who has amassed a massive 622,000 followers on Instagram. Her and carpenter boyfriend Josh already have a renovation under their belt, despite being the youngest couple.
Other contestants are house flippers Ronnie and Georgia, plumber and nurse Jason and Sarah, surfer mates Sticks and Wombat (I’m not making that up!) and reno rookies Hannah and Clint.
What
Things are a little different this year. Five tired period home from all around Melbourne have been cut in half, put on a truck and then reassembled on the site of The Block Season 13. Hailing from Pascoe Vale, Moonee Ponds, Brunswick, Preston and Brighton, the weatherboard homes have been saved from death row. “They’re all in their 90s now,” explains host Scott Cam. “Relics from a bygone era, and sure, they need some TLC, but it would have been heartbreaking to see them all bulldozed.”
All with diverse histories, each house is different. “These houses face north and south,” says co-host Shelley Craft. “Some are larger than others and some have extra rooms, which means we are going to see five very different finished properties.”
Where
This season, The Block heads to Elsternwick, a small bayside suburb in Melbourne’s south-east. Channel 9 paid more than $10 million for the vacant 3,000-square-metre block on Regent Street, roughly nine kilometres from the CBD.
Each block is huge, which will give way to a brand new extension and spacious upstairs master suite. The contestants will have 12 weeks and a budget of $250,000 to give the houses a second chance at life.
How would you like the opportunity to have Shaynna Blaze and her innovative reno experts help with the redesign of your home?
If there’s something important looming in your life that has you facing a renovation deadline, then we may be able to work together. It might be that a baby’s coming, you’re bursting at the seams, converting a garage into a granny flat, planning a big celebration at home … it doesn’t matter the reason, the show’s producers would love to hear from you.
You just have to be budget ready and prepared to have it filmed for new LifeStyle Home programme: Deadline Design with Shaynna Blaze.
In return, you’ll get the team’s design skill, expertise and help transforming your home, apartment, warehouse or shed so efficiently it meets that deadline. Their aim is to transform your place so it’s not only wonderful to live in but also amazing to look at – gobsmacking in fact!
Best to apply if…
You live in Melbourne
You have a deadline
You are prepared to participate sometime between November 2015 and June 2016 (all builds will take place over a two-week period)
Are willing to contribute 100% of the makeover budget less the cost of Shaynna’s design services (and there will almost certainly be extra goodies along the way).
With one series under his belt, Keith’s righthand man and Blockveteran, Dan Reilly is back. And he’s even been given a promotion… The Foreboy has become Foredan!
Now, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking Foredan (oh how that name makes me cringe!) would be one of those fake on-screen jobs; a lot of looking busy but in reality, doing nothing. Well, let me assure you that is not the case. In fact, while Dan found last series (Triple Threat) hard, this time, it’s on a whole different level.
“The Blocktagon is completely different to Triple Threat,” explains Dan. “Not only is the building double in height, has double the amount of demolition and triple the amount of structural steel, it also has an extra couple, going from eight contestants to 10. I didn’t think the extra couple would make a difference but it’s made a huge difference. It was another whole apartment Keith and I had to check on every hour of the day, whilst we had to look after all the site work.”
The Block in progress
While last series saw Dan unsure how to navigate his relationship with the contestants, seeing as he’d “jumped ship to the other side!” This series, he has a lot more confidence. “I do feel the contestants are taking me more seriously this time around and it has become a lot easier to deal with them, especially at those awkward moments. Having experience has given not only myself, but Scott and Keith, a lot more confidence in my ability to do the role.”
Dan, contestant Whitney and Keith
Working on The Block day in day out, has also given Dan the inside scoop, so I had to ask if he had any favourite apartments. “I think being on the top end of the building will give those contestants a massive advantage come auction time. The views are second to none. All the talk at the moment is of apartment five (Shay and Dean). They do have great style and an eye for detail but don’t write off apartment four (Luke and Ebony) yet. They make a game-changing move with their apartment in the coming weeks.”
Dan and the contestants
After the huge success of last year’s auctions, fingers are crossed for a similar result. But Dan won’t jump to any conclusions. “I hope this series is as successful as Triple Threat, but every series is very different. It’s a different building, a different location and who knows what the market will be like come auction time. I also think having that extra apartment up for sale could hurt them. Look back a few series ago at Glasshouse when there were five apartments: two apartments made a monster of cash, but that was it. The rest of then struggled to sell and made little over reserve. I hope that is not the case this series.”
Dani and Dan
When Dan’s not busy on The Block, he’s also got some personal projects, such as working with his partner and ex-Block contestant, Dani Wales. “Dani and I have launched our design and construction company, Red Door Project, which is really exciting. After I was a contestant on The Block, all I wanted to do was become a successful builder. Well I now have my licence and we have a business, so hopefully it will all go well!”
After chatting to Dan Reilly about his return to The Block last week, it turns out his partner and ex-Blockhead herself, Dani Wales, will also be making a return to our screens.
Launching this Saturday on TEN, Healthy Homes TV Australia will follow Dani, alongside co-host Walt Collins, as they explore the latest innovations, ideas and products for the home and garden.
Dani and Walt
Promising not to be yet another home makeover show, the duo will be staying far away from tired concepts and instead focusing on giving Aussies realistic projects that they can do themselves. “You certainly won’t see us running around with paintbrushes doing room reveals before the homeowners arrive home,” explains Dani, who blogs at Basic Habitat. “Healthy Homes TV Australia is about bringing you the latest ideas and products to help you achieve a look or style yourself.”
Dani and Walt
Each week, Dani and Walt will visit a home and showcase how you too can transform your property. “We’re not tradies and we’re not pretending to be interior designers,” says Walt. “It’s a really honest and down to earth format which really does show you the things you can have a crack at yourself; how to achieve a designer look on a budget or how the latest air-conditioning technology can save you heaps of cash.”
A new show on one of the major networks (which I can’t tell you or I’d have to kill you) is looking for people who own their home but don’t have the cash to renovate it and need a helping hand.
“We’re looking for people who own a home that’s in dire need of renovation (essentially a renovator’s delight) who also have the desire to roll their sleeves up and do the renovating themselves,” said a spokesperson. “If they get selected for the show, we’ll cover the renovation costs and there’s a big cash prize up for grabs. We’re not looking for experts – just vibrant personalities with a little know-how and a strong idea on how they want their dream home.”
