THERE’S some real money at stake at judging of week 1 of the challenge rooms.
First, second and third placed rooms will all get money off their reserves come auction day — and it’s game on.
There’s a teary moment, when everyone jumps in to help Jess and Norm paint their room.
An emotional Jess — who knew they wouldn’t have finished without the help — promises to share the winnings if they manage to score a top-three place.
We soon find out there’s no chance of that.
And, comereveals, it’s fair to say not everyone’s designs hit the mark.
KERRIE AND SPENCE
Point of Difference: Graffiti wallpaper
Confidence level: ‘I think we’ve hit the mark with what they wanted’
What the judges said: Darren said to say the huge laneway mural was disconcerting would be the understatement of this series. “I feel like I’m falling down a psychedelic rabbit hole,” he said. The clown on the wall freaked everybody out, and Darren confided that it reminded him of the Simpsons episode where Homer made a clown bed for Bart and he spent all night sweating; ‘Can’t sleep — the Clown will eat me’.
He says he thinks if the mural doesn’t give you a headache then the bedhead certainly will. We’re told “as a design feature it’s a disaster” in his opinion. The judges all said they could see what Kerrie and Spence were trying to achieve this week. And advised them next week to do it differently.
Final score: 20
Place: Equal last
COURTNEY AND HANS
Point of Difference: Wallpaper from England
Confidence level: Hopeful
What the judges said: Shaynna was very pleased to see the impact created in the room and loved the wallpaper. ‘Super cute but serene’ was how Darren described it. He said it was “whimsical” and “playful”. Neale said “it’s charming”. The judges thought the Australiana theme was on-trend right now.
Final score: 28.5
Place: First (and $20k off their reserve)
SARA AND HAYDEN
Point of Difference: No wallpaper
Confidence level: “It’s a safe design I think”
What the judges said: Two words out of the judges mouths as the lights came on were “nice” and “beautiful”. Shaynna said “this is where Hayden and Sara have really listened across the series — because this bathroom is amazing.” The judges loved the choice of bathtub. Shaynna and Neale loved the wall tile behind the bath. Darren did not. That got plenty of bonus points for “listening” to the judges over the weeks. And for making “an incredible improvement”.
Final score: 27.5
Place: Second (and $15k off their reserve)
NORM AND JESS
Point of Difference: Biggest space
Confidence level: ‘Whether or not Shaynna Blaze vomits when she sees it on the weekend I don’t know’
What the judges said: It’s perhaps not the feedback Norm and Jess were looking for, as the judges ask whether they had paid any attention at all to their feedback. Darren described it as “dull”. “What’s with the little rug … and the tiny couch?” they asked. Darren described the bed as a “car crash.” “Norm and Jess have lost the plot” Neale said. The words “weird” and “obscure” were thrown around liberally. “I think it’s Norm and Jess at their worst,” Shaynna said.
Final score: 20
Place: Equal last
CARLA AND BIANCA
Point of Difference: More wallpaper
Confidence level: ”I really love our wallpaper”
What the judges said: Neale said: “now this feels better,” entering the ensuite — and leaving Norm and Jess’s master bedroom. Shaynna loved the wallpaper saying: “It’s fun. It’s quirky”. Shaynna thinks the position of the bathtub is great. And loved all layout related decisions. She banged on about a couple of execution issues. Darren described some lighting decisions as “an epic fail”.
Final score: 23.5
Place: Third (and $10k off their reserve)
MISS AN EPISODE? HERE’S ALL THE RECAPS
●EPISODE 40 — ‘I JUST CAN’T WAIT UNTIL IT’S ALL OVER NOW’
●EPISODE 39 — ‘NOONE IS GOING TO DIE ON THE BLOCK’
●EPISODE 38 — ‘I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS’
WEEK NINE
●EPISODE 37 — SURPRISE BLOCKHEADS SCORE FAVOURITE STATUS
●EPISODE 36 — WHY ONE BLOCK APARTMENT WAS SHUT DOWN
●EPISODE 35 — ‘WE MAY AS WELL HAVE NOT COME ON THE BLOCK’
●EPISODE 34 — ‘I’VE BEEN SLEDGING THIS BLOKE FOR WEEKS’
WEEK EIGHT
●EPISODE 33 — ‘TO STYLE THAT ROOM COST $8’
●EPISODE 32 — CHAMPS SET A NEW THE BLOCK RECORD
●EPISODE 31 — ‘THAT’S NOT SOMETHING YOU SEE EVERYDAY’
●EPISODE 30 — BLOCKHEAD STRIFE: ‘HAPPY WIFE, HAPPY LIFE’
WEEK SEVEN
●EPISODE 29 — IS THIS THE BIGGEST ‘DISASTER’ IN THE BLOCK HISTORY?
●EPISODE 28 — ‘EVERYTHING THEY DO IS DODGY’
●EPISODE 27 — ‘WE’VE BEEN WAITING ALL BLOCK FOR THIS WEEK, NOT’
●EPISODE 26 — ‘MY CLIENTS WILL BE GAGGING FOR GAGGENAU’
WEEK SIX
●EPISODE 25 — PERFECT SCORE FOR ‘MOST EXPENSIVE KITCHEN’
●EPISODE 24 — ‘THIS IS A MONUMENTAL WASTE OF SPACE’
●EPISODE 23 — ‘UNAUTHORISED’ ELECTRICAL WORK SHOCKS THE BLOCK
●EPISODE 22 — ‘N-O SPELLS NO’ TO FAUX #POOLGATE
WEEK FIVE
●EPISODE 21 — ‘IT DEPENDS HOW UPTIGHT THE FOREMAN IS’
●EPISODE 20 — ‘THESE ARE THE SOFTEST CONTESTANTS I’VE EVER SEEN’
●EPISODE 19 — ‘IT’S WHAT YOU DO WITH SMALL THINGS THAT COUNT’
●EPISODE 18 — ‘THEY’RE GOING TO WIN THE BLOCK’
WEEK FOUR
●EPISODE 17 — ‘IT’S PRETTY MUCH CHEATING’
●EPISODE 16 — ‘WE’VE GOT MORE CHANCE OF GIVING BIRTH TO PIGLETS’
●EPISODE 15 — ‘NO ONE MESSES WITH THE BOGANS’
●EPISODE 14 — INSIDE THE BLOCK’S MOST EXPENSIVE ‘DISASTER’
WEEK THREE
●EPISODE 13 — ‘THIS WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE’
●EPISODE 12 — $75K BLOWOUT IS FIT FOR ROYALTY
●EPISODE 11 — IS KEITH THE BIGGEST ‘DRAMA QUEEN’ ON THE BLOCK?
● EPISODE 10 — ‘WHY ARE THE JUDGES PICKING ON ME?’
WEEK TWO
●EPISODE 9 — WHY THIS BLOCK JUDGE IS ‘PISSED OFF’
●EPISODE 8 — ‘THE JUDGES WILL NEVER FORGET A SMELL’
●EPISODE 7 — ‘THEY CAN HAVE OUR LEFTOVERS’
●EPISODE 6 — ‘IS THAT CHEATING?
WEEK ONE
●EPISODE 5 — DID THE JUDGES GET IT WRONG?
●EPISODE 4 — ‘I’M GOING TO WEE ON YOUR PLANTS’
●EPISODE 3 — ‘CHOOSE LIFE, CHOOSE THE BLOCK’
●EPISODE 2 — HUGHESY: BLOCKHEADS ARE ‘BATS**T CRAZY’
●EPISODE 1 — ‘OUT OF 90,000 PEOPLE THEY CHOSE US’
— The Block continues Mondays-Wednesdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 7pm on Nine.