From 50 Shades of Grey to French provincial style, pizzazz was on the menu and the teams outdid themselves this week
On leaving the family home to the House Rules teams this week for a complete makeover, Kim and Michelle left some quite specific rules, some of which the teams found hard to understand.
Built by Kim’s parents, the Tweed Heads home in NSW was a three-bedroom brick dwelling with a large footprint but a tired appearance and an unworkable layout for the three families that now share it – Michelle and her two daughters, Michelle’s sister Melissa and their father and mum, Kim.
The teams all worked hard to complete their zones but all managed to do so – many hitting the house rules on the head and wowing the judges Wendy, LLB and Drew with the results.
Kim and Michelle’s rules:
1. Put some pizazz into a dream display home
2. Give us 50 shades of grey and purple
3. Go ooh la la with French Provincial style for Michelle
4. Be bold and beautiful with a black kitchen
5. Use marble and mint in the main bathroom
Bonus Room – kids’ playroom
Bonus Room Rule – create the ultimate kids’ club house
Toad & Mandy: (Entry, lounge room and walk-in-wardrobe)
Wendy liked the wallpaper in the entry as it brought the “right kind of vibe…” Drew thought it was “all too white” and “flat”, and it would have been “genius” if they’d put the mirrors on the other side of the wall.
In the walk-in-wardrobe Drew said there were “shades of grey in here and I’m not sure in a good way.” Wendy felt the use of space was not ideal and it didn’t provide enough storage.
LLB was very impressed with Toad and Mandy’s work in the loungeroom, saying “There is nothing here that looks amateur… [this looks like] someone that’s been doing it for years.” They tied for second place on the leaderboard with 23/30 points.
Josh & Brandon: (Main bathroom and Melissa’s bedroom)
In the main bathroom the marble and mint rule worked against the chippy brothers, with wall-to-wall marble and just a pop of mint in the basins and towels. LLB was underwhelmed, saying, “That is not exciting me at all.”
Michelle’s sister Melissa’s bedroom had its own rule of ‘cozy industrial’ style, which also left the boys missing the mark as, despite their beautifully executed industrial style bedhead, they chose a faux brick wallpaper for the main wall and the judges were less than impressed. “For me it’s going to be a very rare day when a paper brick wall wins me over,” said Drew. The brothers finished the night at the bottom of the leaderboard with just 16/30 points.
Leigh & Kristie: (Laundry and Michelle’s bedroom)
The competitive couple felt they had pushed the design boundaries further this week, with a series of moulded panels in Michelle’s bedroom to answer the French provincial rule. LLB said, “This puts the ‘la’ in oh la la,” which was encouraging, however their statement piece of the dressing table was a little undersized to hit the right note with Drew, who thought it was “cute” but too small and almost “childlike.
Happily the laundry was a big hit with the judges – LLB was impressed with the couples’ ability to make a laundry with “pizzazz” and Wendy loving the purple satin tiles on the splashback that Leigh installed himself saying, “It’s like the simplicity of the age-old subway yet it’s quite modern.” Leigh and Kristie received a total of 22/30 from the judges.
Jess & Jared: (Corey’s bedroom, Ensuite and Hallway)
In little Corey’s bedroom the judges were impressed with the camouflage feature wall and army decals, derived from the hint Corey left for the Adelaide couple. Wendy said, “They have taken a request from Corey and created a really fantastic room that works.”
“One of the hardest things to do is to create a bedroom that works for a boy” Wendy
Wendy
Whilst Jess and Jared themselves were pleased with their design in the ensuite, it left the judges cold particularly the floor to ceiling concrete grey coloured tiles. LLB said it was a “textbook example of why you don’t use big tiles in a small room.”
The judges were divided over the statement piece sculpture in the hallway – Drew liked it and said it was a “moment of installation,” whereas LLB disagreed and thought it looked like “an award for car salesman of the year”. Jess and Jarod received 18/30 points from the judges.
Chiara & David: (Kitchen, girls’ bedroom, hallway and bonus room)
The hotheaded couple had a massive week with four rooms to complete, including the bonus room and it seems some of the feedback from the judges is beginning to hit home.
In the girls’ bedroom LLB said “This feels fresh to me… as though this team has been listening to what we’ve been saying.” But Wendy thought position of the bunk was problematic.
The kitchen was a winner and wowed the judges! Wendy thought it was fabulous and loved the brave decorating idea of the sparkly purple splashback, “[it] works perfectly… on paper this would make me shudder, but in reality this excites me.”
In the bonus room the kid’s clubhouse rule informed Chiara and David’s candy machine statement piece filled with sugar getting a mixed response from the judges. Ultimately they scored well however and are tied with Toad and Mandy in second place on the leaderboard with 23/30 points.
Mel & Dave: (Dining room and Kim’s bedroom)
Dodging a week in the tent due to rain and (eek!) snakes on the property, Mel and Dave turned their hotel stay to their advantage and capitalised on the extra comfort. The immensely heavy marble dining table nearly killed Dave to carry it in to the house but Wendy thought it was a great idea to anchor the space, together with their statement piece of an indoor garden wall. Drew said that architecturally this wasn’t working as the space had become too much like a “corridor”, but LLB disagreed and loved the space.
In Kim’s bedroom Mel and Dave nailed the house rule of 50 shades of grey and purple, taking a risk with a bold floral mural covering an entire wall. The judges loved it for the element of “pizzazz” it brought to the space – Wendy thought they had really understood the house rules and did a “spectacular” job this week. Their efforts took them to the top of the leaderboard on 24/30 points.
All of the teams await what is expected to be an emotional response from Kim and Michelle as they return to their renovated family home and deliver their scores.
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