The competition gets serious with the first whole home reveal showing just who has the potential to make it through the competition.
We saw the early reveal of Pete & Courtney’s incredible dressing room – delivered by Lisa & Andy and the sophisticated lounge room by Mikaela & Eliza – as part of their head-to-head challenge earlier in the week.
With the reveal of the whole house to the judges tonight, we got our first look at how teams interpret rules and perform under the pressure of transforming not just one space (as for the first warehouse challenge) but an entire zone.
With an enormous full brick house to renovate at the top of a back-breaking hill, and a decorating brief with the bold personalities and dramatic flair of Dance Teachers Pete & Courtney in mind, the teams worked to the following House Rules:
Pete & Courtney’s Rules
1. Indulge us with bold opulence
2. Use green, burgundy, blue and black
3. Add drama with moody metallics
4. Excite with an entertainer’s kitchen
5. Give us more than the obvious
Some rooms were off the scale amazing, while some were off the mark, but teams who took risks and pushed the decorating envelope that bit further wowed the judges, ending up on top of the leaderboard.
Katie & Alex: Bathroom, Pete’s Walk-in Wardrobe, Casper’s Room
With an already beautifully decorated space in Casper’s room, Katie & Alex still impressed all three judges with the execution of their zone. “You two are the ones to watch,” said Jamie, who was impressed with the unconventional use of a white picket fence along the wall in Casper’s room, the elegant metallic detailing in Pete’s walk-in robe and the brave use of dark green scalloped tiles in the bathroom to continue from the floor and wrap up the wall over a clever shelf behind the bath.
Wendy was also thrilled with the bathroom saying, “Love the tiles, love the bath, showerhead, love, love, love, love!”
Katie & Alex rocketed to pole position on the leader board with 25 out of 30 points. “They are a great team to watch in this competition,” said a clearly impressed LLB. “This is their first renovation and they have done things to surprise and delight.”
Tim & Mat: Kitchen, Hallway, Bedroom
Chippie brothers Tim & Mat pulled out all the stops in the high-tech kitchen and the judges were impressed. Jamie wondered at the element of discovery and the open plan layout to allow for cooking whilst facing your guests – a real entertainer’s kitchen and hitting the House Rule bang on.
Whilst in the hallway none of the judges had good news, they really loved the execution and texture of the geometric timber wall decoration in the bedroom, “It’s all about contrast – all of these straight geometric designs and then that very welcoming soft curve [mirror] above the bed,” said LLB.
Tim and Mat scored a total of 21 from the judges.
“If they carry on doing stuff like this, they are borderline unstoppable.”
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, House Rules judge
Mikaela & Eliza: Loungeroom, ensuite, powder room
The surfing sisters wowed the judges with their wonderful lounge room – in particular the geometrical fireplace architecture, however the judged would have preferred to see this wonderful design flair continued throughout the room.
In the ensuite the green vanity and brass tapware impressed but LLB wanted more. “They’ve made some really good choices but there’s a real lack of cohesion,” said Wendy.
Lisa & Andy: Dressing room, hallway, dining room
With the incredible dressing room impressing the judges as much as it did the homeowners Pete & Courtney, Lisa & Andy renovated a dining room for the second week in a row. They achieved a better response this week from the judges with their opulent decorating choices of oversized dining table and luxe velvet upholstered chairs, although Jamie commented that the opulent pendant lighting was a little too much for him.
Shayn & Carly: Entry, laundry & master bedroom
It was a different story for Shayn & Carly who now sit at the bottom of the leader board with 16 with the judges feedback asking for more finesse. “We’ll do better next time,” said Carly through tears after the styling of their master bedroom was compared to a bad 80’s nightclub!
“The biggest trap you can fall into is layering too much.”
Wendy Moore, House Rules judge
With the scores in from judges Jamie Durie, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and Wendy Moore, we now await the scores from homeowners Pete & Courtney to see how teams progress to the next renovation and find out who will spend next week in the tent.
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