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The Block’s first, apartment-deciding room reveals

August 7, 2018 1 Comment

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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.

Our picks: Nofred mouse table and chairs and Silver lining cloud rug.

***

COURTNEY AND HANS

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.

Our picks: Vintage hot air balloon, felt ball rug and Head in the Clouds wallpaper

***

JESS AND NORM

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!

Our picks:  Rainbow hugs artwork and lion print

***

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!

Our picks: Framed horse photograph, pendant light and blush vase.

***

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.

Our picks: Genevieve bedhead from Heatherly Design Bedheads and Numero 74 padded star garland

More Block coverage

Judge Darren Palmer spills the beans on this season

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Australian made bathroomware is seriously impressi Australian made bathroomware is seriously impressive!

The new @studio.xox ONLY sells Australian brands. Like @nood_co coloured basins, lead-free eco brass from @faucetstrommen and @lindseywherrett's  ceramic basins made by hand in Tassie.

And as for their Sydney showroom (they also sell online): WOW.

See and read more on the blog now via link in bio.

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I'm THRILLED to be an ambassador for the brand new I'm THRILLED to be an ambassador for the brand new @madeinaustshow in Sydney this August.

🦘🐨Forget every tacky association you ever had about touristy Australian made and prepare to see a showcase of the best of home, lifestyle, fashion and beauty made right here. If the pandemic has made you appreciate buying local even more, this is for you.

It's the first business to business trade event connecting retailers with Australian made products to champion our local makers🙏

Apply to exhibit or find out more at their website, via their bio, now!

Are YOU buying more Australian made post covid?

#madeinaustralia #australianmade #aussiemade #aussiedesign
Do I recommend a timber vanity top? A big fat NOP Do I recommend a timber vanity top?

A big fat NOPE! 💧 

Which is why we have recently covered ours with a Caesarstone top (thanks to @justinplace_sydney for the advice and supply) and the sweet RELIEF of not having to worry about this high traffic area anymore, I'm telling you!🤗

Doesn't matter what they tell you or how many times it's sealed, I'm not sure it's a great idea in a room which is so, well, wet!

I love having the warmth of timber in the bathroom and it's a beautiful piece, but timber on the top? Never again.

Ours probably lasted a year (if that) before it started to go downhill (and we want a good decade out of a bathroom, right?!). 2.5 years on, everything else in this bathroom looks virtually brand new and the water marked vanity top was really letting the side down and making me sad!

But I'm so pleased with this solution, I have to say! Took the plumber less than an hour to remove the sink, install the top and connect the sink back up. We didn't need to move the tap and it isn't too close to the basin.

The kids are allowed to brush their teeth and wash their hands (liquid soap 🥴) in here again and I can leave my hair straightener on there with gay abandon 😆

The reflective surface (which I can clean with whatever I like!💪🏻) brightens the room up too!

Next week I'll tell you what I really think of my brass tile trim too 😉

#interiorsaddictbathroomreno2 #interiorsaddictfamilyhomereno #timbervanity
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
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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.

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Comments

  1. AvatarKaren says

    August 7, 2018 at 1:22 pm

    I thought that bench seat under the window in Courtney and Han’s room looked dreadful. Legs were wonky (intentional?) and the bench looked like an examination couch in a doctor’s office.

    Reply

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