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House Rules warehouse reveal: why Mikaela & Eliza won

Reno Rookie surfie sisters claim first House Rules victory
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The first renovation on House Rules is complete and the team who have “come out punching,” according to judge Jamie Durie have never even held a drill before. 

Mikaela & Eliza win House Rules 2019 warehouse reveal
(Credit: House Rules)

The first reveal on House Rules 2019 was the renovation of the first floor of a tired inner-city warehouse in Sydney and the teams knocked out walls (and themselves!) in a bid to win a big advantage in the next challenge.

Professional surfing sisters Mikaela & Eliza took out the prize with their bedroom, topping the leaderboard with a score of 22 from Judges Wendy Moore, Jamie Durie and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

“It was an amazing job, the way you sculpted that wall with fibre cement sheeting. Hats off to both of you,” enthused Jamie Durie in his first critique on the show and LLB agreed: “There were some phenomenally clever but simple choices, like the beam on the ceiling,” he said. “Where have you been hiding your talent all these years?”

House Rules 2019 warehouse reveal
(Credit: House Rules)

Keeping things simple yet sophisticated, the sisters worked with a modest palette of timber tones, copper accent and moody blues, which Wendy thought was the best in the house. Ranging from pale sky-blue bedlinens to a darker, warm moody navy tone in the clever recesses behind the bed, they beautifully complemented the grey tones in the concrete sheeting used to construct the feature bedhead. “I love the fact that they’ve constructed that wall and that it’s slightly off centre is just perfect,” said Wendy.

“I walked into this room and thought ‘wow’”

Wendy Moore, House Rules judge and HB alumnus
House Rules 2019 warehouse reveal
(Credit: House Rules)

Despite their lack of experience, Mikaela and Eliza constructed an open wardrobe using galvanised piping which they painted in copper tones which LLB said: “warm up the colour palette,” and Jamie noted: “allowed the room to breathe.”

“It’s quite a nice modern Australian style,” said Wendy. “It’s got a little bit of Scandi, a little bit of industrial… Australia is so good at bringing together lots of different influences and then creating a completely different look and I think they’ve done that really beautifully.”

Other highlights in the house were Shayn & Carly’s study and chippie brothers Tim & Mat’s construction ability in their bedroom reno.

House Rules 2019 warehouse reveal
Bedroom: Tim & Mat (Credit: House Rules)

Katie & Alex nailed the Retro Pop look in their bedroom:

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However Pete & Courtney failed to impress the judges with their “Uni student” entertainment unit.

Lisa & Andy finished on the bottom of the ladder with their dining room effort which, Wendy said had: “Great bones, not a lot of flesh”. 

House Rules 2019 warehouse reveal
Dining room: Lisa & Andy (Credit: House Rules)

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