• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Interiors Addict

Heart Your Home

@interiorsaddict on Instagram   @interiorsaddict on Facebook   @interiorsaddict on Pinterest  
Subscribe
  • Job Board
  • About
  • Before & Afters
  • RENO ADDICT
  • Kitchens
  • Bathrooms
  • Kids Rooms
  • Bedrooms
  • Living Room
  • Shopping
  • Expert Tips
  • Recipes
  • Parenting
  • Travel
Interiors Addict
  • Job Board
  • About
    • Our Story

      Australia’s largest interior design, styling and renovation blog for the everyday Aussie. By former journalist and magazine editor Jen Bishop, the original interiors addict!
      READ MORE

      We’re big on Instagram!
      @interiorsaddict

      • About
      • Contact Interiors Addict
      • Work with Interiors Addict
      • Advertise / Find a job in Interiors
      • Press
      • Get Your Free Ebook

        This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
    • bookcover-jens-reno
  • By Room
    • Browse by Room

      Where you can search for all our posts about a specific room. Only interested in kitchens and bathrooms? We got you!

      • Kitchens
      • Bathrooms
      • Kids Rooms
      • Bedrooms
      • Living Room
      • Home Office
      • Dining
      • Laundry
      • Outdoor & Exteriors
      • Renting
    • bookcover-jens-reno
  • Before & Afters
    • Before & Afters

      Who doesn’t LOVE a good before & after? If you want to be inspired by the whole reno process, and not just the shiny photos at the end, this is the place for you!

      View Articles

      • Before & Afters
      • Jen’s reno
      • Real Renos
      • RENO ADDICT
    • AFTER bedroomBefore & after: Luxury Sydney apartments go from drab to fab
    • 5.2-Upcycle-afterWhen cost of living increases put your reno in jeopardy, be smart
  • Reno Addict
    • RENO ADDICT

      Looking for reno inspo? Find it all here, from other people’s projects to the latest trends, tools and products, whether you’re DIY-ing or employing trades.

      View articles

      • Reno Products
      • The Block
      • DIY
      • Reno Trends
      • Before & Afters
      • Real Renos
    • Sahara_36_MA_kitchen_2500pxHow to give any home a sophisticated industrial vibe
    • Lounge roomBeautiful St Kilda home renovation references Paris decor
  • Shopping
    • Shopping

      Want to know where to buy the latest furniture, homewares, rugs, art and more? We’re always sharing our latest finds and telling you where you can buy them.

      View Articles

      • Furniture
      • Homewares
      • Art
      • Smart Home
      • Appliances
      • Reno Products
    • BASOTHO_HERITAGE_BLANKET_KHARETSA_ALOE_12_9065-2The Baobab Collective: authentic and soulful African textiles
    • image004-2Greg Natale’s latest 80s inspired rug range is our favourite yet!
  • Inspiration
    • Inspiration

      While Jen’s a legitimate interiors addict, she’s no design professional, so she calls on an army of the country’s best to share their expertise with you. Be inspired by their stories too!

      View Articles

      • Decorating 101
      • Interviews
      • Expert Tips
      • Before & Afters
      • House Tours
      • Designers
      • Styling
      • Renovating
      • Real Renos
      • Covet my coffee table
    • Lounge roomBeautiful St Kilda home renovation references Paris decor
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle

      We’re mostly about the home but Jen also likes to share other things she thinks you’ll love, like food and travel.

      • Recipes
      • Travel
      • Parenting
    • DSC_8605Foodie Friday: Family-friendly French onion soup
    • Isla-MotelHip new motel renovation on NSW South Coast
  • Jobs
    • Advertise on our job board
    • Job Board FAQs for advertisers

The Block 2019: formal living room reveals

August 19, 2019 Leave a Comment

FacebookPinEmailTweet

It was an important space on last night’s Block room reveals: the formal living. Up front, I have to say I don’t think the following images do the rooms justice as they certainly looked a lot better on TV than they do in the photographs. These things can be so hard to capture sometimes! But overall, it was another strong week so early in the competition and I agreed with the judges’ first place for El’ise and Matt.

House 1: Mitch and Mark

28.5 out of 30, second place

“Honey I’m home” were the first words out of Darren’s mouth. “Me too,” said Neale.

“I am loving these guys’ sense of colour,” said Shaynna. “These guys are Hollywood. It’s lush, it’s over the top and I love it.”

They loved the herringbone floor and the inset carpet with the brass detail. “It looks really finessed,” said Darren.

Neale said it felt like it had been there forever, which was a big compliment.

The only issue Shaynna had was that everything was directed around the fireplace and it shouldn’t have been flush to the floor. Darren didn’t like the marble-look shelving because it didn’t feel as authentic as everything else in the room.

But it was otherwise good news with the judges saying this was the standard they’d expect towards the end of the competition, not this early on. “They’ve made a masterpiece of it,” said Darren. “It’s amazing.”

They all hoped they had the stamina and budget to continue in the same vein.

Our picks to buy: The Danielle canvas print by Colour Clash Studio | Esther pendant in solid brass by Beacon Lighting | Cooper green velvet armchair from Freedom

House 2: Tess and Luke

22 out of 30, last place

First up, it was the first time this couple had finished a room!

“It’s another wow room,” said Neale, on first impression. Darren loved the flooring, the colourscheme and the lighting plan.

Neale said the art was hung much too high. Shaynna said structurally and in the major details , it was great. But they weren’t getting the sense of scale or style right. While the pendant light was incredible it was hung much too high. “Whoever is doing the styling is panicking. They don’t really know what they’re doing.”

Neale’s first instinct was that it was a very elegant but blank canvas. “As blank canvases go it’s a very good one. I want to come in here, roll my sleeves up and finish the room for them!”

Shaynna said the dark shelves were a mistake and felt too heavy. Darren said it was 80% there. “They need to add more.”

Neale said: “Give me some things that make it feel like a home. This certainly isn’t the room to pull back on.”

Our picks to buy: Empire chandelier in black by Beacon Lighting | Make Me Blush artwork by Hannah and Clint X Artist Lane

House 3: Andy and Deb

25.5 out of 30, third place

It was off to a great start again. The green wall was immediately popular with all three judges and the artwork choices were “genius”.

Darren said: “Everything in here feels like the right scale for the space. They’ve found a really nice balance to make these grand spaces feel personal.”

Neale said there was a sense of Colonial. “I love the fact they’ve introduced one small lamp. You could actually have some ambience at night.”

Shaynna however said it didn’t feel cosy enough. It was too white and bright and they should have used that green on all the walls. “They probably weren’t brave enough but maybe they should have been,” Neale added.

He thought the shelving was beautiful though, and the styling. They all agreed the LED lighting on the shelving wasn’t the right choice. They also questioned why they created a niche for the curtains when it wasn’t actually hiding what it should have!

Darren said: “I love that Andy and Deb have done everything that we said in the first two judgings.” Neale said they had hung on to their style but it had grown up.

Our picks to buy: Dreamer art print by Adele Naidoo | Sun Goes Down art print by Jonathan Gemmell

House 4: El’ise and Matt

29 out of 30, first place

Shaynna was gobsmacked. She loved that it was the first house to do all the detailing like cornicing and the ceiling rose. Neale said: “This is pretty spectacular. This is giving Mitch and Mark a serious run for their money.”

Darren loved the colour palette. “It feels like a modern take on what this building requires which is a kind of gentle understanding of heritage detailing,” he said, and added: “I’m fizzing out!”

Then they all lost it over the Venetian plaster on the walls. Shaynna loved that the fireplace was elevated to the right height and had a mantel.

“It seems like a real home,” said Neale. “Because they’re the sort of layers you build up over time.”

“This couple’s sense of romance and heritage excites me,” says Shaynna.

There weren’t many negatives. Neale said the hallway side of the room was a little under styled. But that was it!

Our pick to buy: Vittoria Curve sofa by GlobeWest

House 5: Jesse and Mel

23 out of 30, fourth place

The pair changed the floor plan, adding a hallway. And spending a lot of money on doors (and other things!) in the process.

“They’re incredible doors,” said Neale. “That’s a serious amount of work,” said Darren. “To put that amount of money and effort into a door is huge on week two. This looks super contemporary to me, right out of a luxury designer showroom.”

Neale said it didn’t feel as homely as some of the other rooms. Shaynna loved the ceiling rose and the light combo but hated the marble tile border around the edge of the floor. Darren agreed and said it jarred with the rest of the room.

While there were many beautiful things in the room, Shaynna said the mirror and fireplace didn’t work together. Neale said it felt a little forced: “I feel like I’m in some kind of corporate waiting room. It’s not feeling warm and fuzzy.”

Darren said Jesse had taken a very real estate approach to decorating. “It does present well but it doesn’t have the homeliness and the lived in story we’ve appreciated in some of the other houses.”

Shaynna said the accessories were bargain basement and didn’t elevate everything else in the room.

“To me this feels the least connected to St Kilda and the least connected to the heritage of the house,” said Neale. “This could be anywhere.”

On a positive note they agreed their project management skills were outstanding to have achieved that level of detail and on time.

Our picks to buy: Deeply Connected by Belinda Nadwie limited edition canvas print from Art Lovers Australia | Frost chandelier by Beacon Lighting

So, what did YOU think? We’d love to hear which room was your favourite!

All our Block coverage

FacebookPinEmailTweet

Primary Sidebar

Popular This Week

  • Australian kitchen dimensions: standard sizes for every last detail
  • How to elevate your living room by stylist Natalie Walton
  • Palette Cam 15 apps to help you build your dream home
  • The gorgeous internal courtyard Renovated cottage has unique lookout to take in coastal views
  • Old Newtown bakery sustainably reimagined as unique family home

Follow us on Instagram

Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than F Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than French onion?

I think not!

Grab the recipe on the blog this morning via link in bio.
Get to know me! I haven't done one of these in YE Get to know me!

I haven't done one of these in YEARS so there's possibly thousands of you who don't know my back story. Here's a few things you may not know about me!

✔️ I'm English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and I moved here (just for one year) back in 2008😆 

✔️ I can't end the day without a bath, even if I get home really late or on a really hot day. It's a mental health thing and my happy place. 🛁 

✔️ Before becoming a blogger and running my own small business, I was a journalist from the age of 18. My favourite news gathering times were as a newspaper crime reporter (bit different to interiors!) 📓 

✔️ I once worked at New Scotland Yard in London 🚔 

✔️I had an interview at Oxford (didn't get in!) but chose not to go to uni at all after being offered a job on the local paper #universityoflife 😁

✔️ My mum died when I was 3, I have an excellent dad and one sister (younger) in the UK ❤️ 🇬🇧 

✔️ At school, my favourite subject was French 🇫🇷 and I was head girl 🤓🤓

✔️ I'm addicted to ☕️ , long hot baths and💄 (been wearing it since I was about 14!)

✔️ I'm not a phonecall person and will never ever pick up an unknown number. Ever. They can leave a message 😁

✔️ My favourite cuisine is Japanese 🍣 🍜 and Damian and I honeymooned in Tokyo and Venice 

✔️ I have zero design qualifications. I just started blogging about my passion, which is trying to persuade everyone to #heartyourhome That was 11 years ago...

✔️ My favourite tipple is a good GnT or🍷 

✔️ Cheesy as it sounds, 💁‍♀️being a mum is my absolute biggest joy in life 🧒👦

✔️ I will never give up my old school paper diary! Has to be A5 and week to view 📖 

✔️ My official surname isn't Bishop. I kept my maiden name for work after I got married but changed it for everything else. Often confuse myself!

✔️ I didn't get my Ps until I was 37 and I'm still a terrible parker 😯 🅿️

Hope you feel like you know me a bit better 😘

📸 @vanlowvanlow
Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 @nood_co coloured con Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 

@nood_co coloured concrete basins is a great Aussie business success story. Although co founder Matt Di Costa first found fame as one half of Matt and Kim on The Block, he hasn't relied on this to build his brand.

“We are very honoured to have been a part of The Block, and all they have done for us. I am, however, a believer in letting the product take centre stage,” he says.

Read our interview with Matt via link in bio now.

🙏Share your favourite colour basin in the comments!

#colouredconcrete #noodco #colouredbasin #blockheads #the block #bathroomtrends2022

Pic 1 by @naibudesign_ and 2 by @twostyleinteriors
I'd love to see more colour in Aussie interiors! I'd love to see more colour in Aussie  interiors! 🎨 

At the end of the day though, it's a matter of personal taste. I love pops of colour but it's not for everyone. 

We couldn't resist featuring this Canadian house tour today. The amazing Kelly Green  hutch (swipe) was an upcycled $200 find 🤗

Head over to the blog via link in bio to see the rest including one of the best playrooms we've seen in ages!

Project by @in.house.design
📸 @philcrozier
Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis o Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis on light and nature.

That was the brief for the conversion of a corner shop and a warehouse bakery into a luxury family home in Sydney's Newtown. And how about the library?!

Take the tour of this very special @annacarindesign project on the blog now, via link in bio.

Pic: @justinalexanderphoto
The things that excite me as a 40 year old 🤭 N The things that excite me as a 40 year old 🤭

None of us enjoy laundry (OK, there are a few of you out there who do. Weird!) but we have to do it. And often. So if your laundry bin can be as good looking, functional and space saving as this, then why wouldn't you?!

I've lost track of how many baskets I've thrown out because they've gone soggy or mouldy. They look pretty, sure, but they're not fit for purpose and they're often messy and overflowing.

Here's what I love about his @brabantia_australia one:

✔️ ventilation holes
✔️ no need to remove the lid for small items plus it hides your dirty laundry from view
✔️ easily removable and washable inner laundry bag that velcros back on 
✔️ corrosion resistant so fine in bathroom or laundry 
✔️ Brabantia make things as sustainably as possible
✔️ compact, sleek, European design
✔️ 10 year warranty
✔️ tall and skinny so takes up less floor in my tiny laundry

The Rolls Royce of laundry bins? I think so 👌🏻

TOLD you this was going to be exciting!

Now I need to know, do you have your laundry basket in the bathroom, the laundry, every bedroom? We used to have one in each bedroom but moved to the laundry-only situation which I much prefer (one for colours and one for whites). My boys know to put their used clothes in the bin in the laundry each night and they're 7 and 3!  #raisingfuturehusbands

#gifted
"Living rooms are important spaces where our publi "Living rooms are important spaces where our public and private lives intersect."

So says stylist @nataliewalton in her gorgeous new book Style, the Art of Creating a Beautiful Home.

"They are where we gather to welcome guests and entertain. But they are also where we decompress and relax at the end of the day. Increasingly, they are open-plan spaces and need to work within a greater scheme. Bringing all the elements together cohesively requires care and consideration. And, if you want a space that lives up to its true potential, make it personal and create with conviction."

Read an extract, the chapter on elevating your living room, on the blog today via link in bio.

Published by @thamesandhudsonau Pix by @chriswarnes 

#livingroomdesigns #nataliewalton #coffeetablebooks #designbooks #interiorsbooks #livingroominteriors #elevateyourspace
Kids and husband messing with my vignettes again🤨

PS. The coaster was RIGHT THERE 🤪
#weatherforit 🥶 Need a new blanket? Look no fu #weatherforit 🥶

Need a new blanket? Look no further than these gorgeous South African blankets from @baobabcollective, sustainably sourced, ethically crafted and imported by a Southern Highlands couple.

On the blog now via link in bio.
Follow on Instagram
Visit Jen's profile on Pinterest.

Get Your Free Ebook

Ebook cover

Never miss the latest renovating and interiors products, news and inspo again! Sign up for our newsletter and we'll send you the best bits from the blog, direct to your inbox. Plus you'll get our latest eBook: What Made The Biggest Impact in Jen's Own Reno.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Avatar

About Jen Bishop

Jen Bishop is our owner and publisher and an experienced journalist and editor. Interiors Addict has been her full-time job for more than 8 years. She is married to Damian and mum to Sebastian and Charlie.

More from The Block

Michael and Carlene’s latest vintage caravan is for sale!

Kitchen

Past winners of The Block Hayden and Sara’s new kitchen and reno…

The Block auction results 2021

The Block 2021 exterior facade and front garden reveals

The Block 2021 garage (and more) reveals and some harsh words!

The Block 2021 reveals: back yards and pools

Block 2021 room reveals: “hell week”

The Block 2021: Living and dining reveals

The Block effect: how being on TV can shine a spotlight on…

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Recipe Rating




Footer

Interiors Addict

Interiors Addict

  • About
  • Contact
  • Work with Jen
  • Press
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure Policy

Browse

  • RENO ADDICT
  • Jen’s Reno
  • House Tours
  • Real Renos
  • Interviews
  • Styling
  • Designers
  • Bedrooms
  • Covet My Coffee Table
  • Expert Tips
  • The Block
  • Art
  • Furniture
  • Recipes

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RENO ADDICT

Copyright © 2011–2022 Addicted Media Pty Ltd
Website care by ClickWP · Log in

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!