By Steph Sandhoff
Hello and welcome to Living and Dining Week. In a bit of a twist this week, we have OG Neale Whitaker back on the judging panel. I honestly thought I would be happy to see Neale back; but between his fascination with lamps and inability to score based on his own comments, I’m ready to bring back Marty. On a more positive note, I’m excited to announce that not one house, not one team, styled their dining tables with place settings. I could cry with relief.
Now, just a little house keeping before we get stuck in. The blog may be a little shorter this week because I really should be packing for Japan. That’s also my way of telling you all that I won’t be sharing my thoughts with you over the next couple of weeks. However, if you are interested in Japanese interior design or just want to better understand Steph and Gian’s ‘Japandi’ style, pop on over to our Facebook or Instagram and join us on our trip.
HOUSE 1 // Kyle and Leslie
Photo Attribution: Nine
As always, we’ll start with House 1. I’m so sad, because these guys started off so strong but I’m starting to get worried. What I thought was one of their biggest strengths has now become their biggest weakness. I’ve always admired House 1’s relaxed approach but their unperturbed attitude towards the ‘too big’ Christian Cole dining table is baffling to say the least. I also question why the opportunity to collaborate with Christian Cole was given to House 1… but I’m getting sidetracked. I think they’re so calm because they never undertake anything too challenging. They don’t look at the many possible opportunities for the room they’re given; instead they go with their first thought. So far they’ve had good first instincts but living and dining rooms take more forethought than a simple bedroom.
Photo Attribution: Nine
In my opinion, the time wasn’t taken to plan the layout correctly. Medium sized spaces are the easiest to work with, whereas small spaces like the one in House 1 and larger areas like we’ll see in House 5, take more time to consider. The main issue is the wall sitting in the middle of the open plan area. For most people demoing an existing house, removing a structural wall and installing a metal beam in place could be a serious undertaking. Considering they are on The Block and hence starting from scratch: building frames, walls, it really shouldn’t have been a hard decision or process.
Photo Attribution: Nine
I love their choices of fixtures, fittings and furniture, as always. Their design style has never really been a problem for them but they are definitely showing their naivety in terms of spatial planning and architectural vision. It is already a small house, and so the lounge and dining was always going to be a small area. I feel like their choice to incorporate a chunky curve around the entry to the lounge room makes the space physically tighter but also gives the room a cave vibe; making it feel even smaller again. I know curves are their thing (and you know I love consistency) but they already had a curved TV wall taking up room. How many more did they need? Unfortunately for Kyle and Leslie, the problems they’ve created this week are not easy ones to fix.
HOUSE 2 // Leah and Ash
Photo Attribution: Nine
Next up we have House 2; the house where Leah throws some colour and money around and hopes for the best. Just kidding, sort of… I’ve come to the conclusion that they have started giving the wins to House 2 so the other contestants get at least a small break from the couple on a Monday night. If only this worked for the rest of us.
Photo Attribution: Nine
I’m going to start with the things I like about this room because it’s a much shorter paragraph. The pink Venetian is a stunning point of difference and I love the tiles they used on their stairs. Before you all stop reading because you think I’ve lost the plot, what I mean is that I love the individual tiles, but not in that location. I wish we could have seen these tiles used in their previous bathrooms. Both bathrooms were super dark, whereas their lounge and dining areas are now bright and colourful. A more even balance of light and dark, colour and monochrome throughout all the rooms, and therefore the house, would be much more effective, not to mention easier to live in full time. The ‘step tile’ concept would have been a gorgeous feature in an outdoor area but I really dislike how it breaks up the flow of the timber flooring in the living and dining spaces. By creating a visual break between the rooms, you remove the beauty created by the seamless connection to the sunken dining room. You may as well draw a line down the center of the room like a divorced couple that is forced to share a house.
Photo Attribution: Nine
My problems with this shared space are aplenty but my biggest issue is the size of their furniture pieces. Every selection they have made is too small for the room. They haven’t got the proportions of the space right, which makes the room feel vast and partially empty. Looking at their choices from a functionality point of view; they are really lacking in seating options. The dining table needed to be an 8-seater, even just to fill up the large space and the living room wasn’t any better. While I don’t love the size of many of their choices (both pieces of art are way too small for those big walls), I don’t mind the style of some of them. The funky armchair and oval dining table are solid choices for this style of house but I seriously hate the coffee table and styling choices. To me the room feels like a gallery, where they have a different artist on display in every corner. There is no connection or cohesion in their furniture choices and it really shows.
Photo Attribution: Nine
Overall, they’ve done well on character but not on feeling. There is no sense of warmth or comfort in this room. The room feels like a mismatch of furniture and shiny walls, with no clear colour palette. The shininess of the Venetian plaster removes any sense of warmth created by the oaky floorboards and pink tone plaster. I’m not saying they need to paint the walls beige. Warmth can be created using layering and texture. The simple decision to keep their Venetian plaster matte rather than shiny would have made huge difference.
HOUSE 3 // Kristy and Brett
Photo Attribution: Nine
Let’s move on to House 3 and the team that wants to win but doesn’t want to work. Kristy and Brett had a relatively easy week as they decided to only complete their living room. At first I thought this was smart, as kitchens don’t require a great amount of input from the couple during the week. However, this is often compensated for with extra challenges. They also put themselves out of the running for a win this week, as a single living space was never going to be able to compete with the other team’s combination spaces.
Photo Attribution: Nine
Taking a look at their completed design and I do get a real sense of style but it’s seriously missing some soul. The room feels stiff and formal and I can only hope that their previously mentioned, second living space will be more casual and comfortable. This room would look beautiful in a magazine but it’s not particularly functional. None of the chairs are ones you would choose to snuggle up into, they don’t face the TV and there is absolutely no storage in the space. The white paneling references their WFH space and while I do quite like the way they’ve created a sense of line and shape on the TV wall, I wish they had included some inbuilt storage. You wouldn’t have even needed to alter the design. The small rise along the bottom of the wall could have included drawers or the timber top could have acted as a lid.
Photo Attribution: Nine
Finally, I don’t mind the finishes they’ve used around their fireplace but I’m not usually a fan of using nib wall fireplaces to separate rooms. I often find that it looks clunky and dates rather quickly. However, for some reason I’m not hating this one, and will hold back any definitive opinions until I see what they do with the rest of the space.
HOUSE 4 // Steph and Gian
Photo Attribution: Nine
Onto House 4 and this was the space I was most excited to see finished. I think this is because the size and shape of the room is quite different to many we have seen before on The Block. Now personally, I love the layout; Steph and Gian seriously know how to make a split-level room feel modern. I also want to applaud their switch of dining and kitchen areas because the kitchen now opens out onto their outdoor area. The dining room is small but these days, dining rooms are often left unused in favour of a large kitchen island bench. I also think I would prefer to give my kitchen more square metres than my dining room. The dining space honestly wouldn’t have worked as well as a kitchen due to that window placement and I think the judges will eat their words. I’m convinced they only said what they did to have something to talk about.
Photo Attribution: Nine
I do agree that the dining area is way too busy. The art is competing with the pendant light trio and once you add in the oversized style boucle dining chairs, the room is too full, both visually and physically. The room is definitely over styled. Similar to when I’ve said previously that wallpaper should take the place of art; so should the pendant lighting. When the space is small enough that you can see the pendant lights from every angle, you don’t need additional art. They are the feature and would look much better with a minimalist background. I would definitely remove the ‘kids’ lounge chairs from under the window and maybe even consider swapping those chunky dining chairs for slimmer ones. Although they may look better once at least half of the vases are removed.
Photo Attribution: Nine
Stepping down into the living room and I get a really great feel from the space. Unlike House 3, it’s one I automatically see people settling in. There are a few things I might have changed and the main one is a positional swap of the TV and fireplace. As it’s a nib wall, this means that by placing the TV on the left hand side of the wall, it would sit smack bang in the middle of the lounge room. By placing it on the right hand side, it doesn’t allow for 180 degree viewing. I do have to note that the TV height is perfect. I wholeheartedly agree with Steph, that most people place their TV’s way too high on the wall. Your head should not have to look up or down, you should be able to keep your neck completely straight; that’s eye height when you’re sitting on a lounge. Let’s take a look at their furniture choices. I love the couch; it was the perfect choice for this room. However, those occasional chairs are too stiff and uncomfortable for the space and the coffee tables are too small.
HOUSE 5 // Eliza and Liberty
Let’s take a look at House 5, or as we will now refer to them, ‘Channel 9 industry plants’. (This accusation coming from a guy who pays for an extra apprentice, so he doesn’t have to work.) I mean, if they really were industry plants, surely someone would have advised them not to pick the biggest house on The Block. Eliza and Liberty had the biggest spaces this week, with more than double the amount of square meters than some of the other couples. Apart from the obvious time issue, I think the sister also struggled with just how to fill such a large area. This is the opposite end of the problem I spoke about with House 1. When a room is too big, it can be almost harder to create a successful layout than when you are given a tiny room.
Photo Attribution: Nine
Let’s take a look at the Dining Room first. This is probably one of my favourite rooms this week. I thought they made great furniture choices and the room felt reasonably balanced. While the art is not to my personal taste, it was their best choice of art so far. It was the perfect size and location but it also gave some life to the amount of timber surrounding it. The buffet under the window is gorgeous and one of those little elements that can make me fall in love with a home. I actually think Steph and Gian should similarly think about swapping out their ‘kids chairs’ for a buffet under their dining room window. The one thing I would have loved to see in this room is some fresh, white sheers pushed back on either side of the windows to soften the space and diffuse some of that natural light.
Photo Attribution: Nine
When we move into the lounge room, everything I’ve just felt in the dining room really falls away. Whereas the dining space felt resolved, the living space just feels unfinished and undercooked. Although I like the timber cladding behind the TV, the wall is screaming out for an inbuilt element. There’s no sense of line or shape on that wall and because your eye doesn’t know where to be drawn, the room falls flat. I also think the choices of furniture and art is a little generic. The pieces of blue styling that the judges loved, are way too ‘matchy, matchy’ with the art and make the room feel juvenile and obvious.
Photo Attribution: Nine
Now, all these things can be easily fixed but that fireplace isn’t going anywhere fast. Apart from the fact that it’s a direct copy of Tom and Sarah Jane’s living room from last year, the location, orientation and styling are all wrong. The position of the fireplace is something you would see at a ski lodge where adult occupants can be trusted not to burn themselves. I would have rotated the TV and lounge 90 degrees to the right, and then increase the fireplace zone to take up the entire second half of the room, placing the chairs facing their outdoor area. This would have provided the house with two spaces that were complete on their own but also connected. The fireplace zone would have acted as an entertainment area while the TV and lounge would be the family zone. Finally, I would have used a bigger rug and potentially 4, over sized chairs to define the fireplace zone.
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See you in 2 weeks or however long the jet lag lasts.