Instagram
Former The Block favourites Rachel and Ryan have been keeping their followers up to date on the plans to build their forever home. However, as real-life projects go, plans have been changing pretty much at every turn.
The latest reveal comes from Ryan, who is a builder. He revealed to his followers that he cannot be the one who builds his new house. Something he thought he’d never say.
“I’m a builder, but I don’t think I want to build our house,” he wrote on Instagram.
If you’re confused, he explained himself pretty well: “I’m a builder. And I always thought when the time came to build our own home, obviously I’d be the one building it. I never really thought there was another option. But the last few years have changed things a bit. Every time I step away, the business has to take a back seat. Now we’re looking at our own house and realistically, if I build it, I’m not stepping away for a couple of months. I’m potentially stepping away for 12–14 months. Or I try to do both.”
He continued: “I look at the kids. I look at the business we’ve worked so hard to build. I look at what another year of putting everything else on hold would actually mean. And I don’t know if I want to do it. There’s also the reality that if I stop working for a year, we go down to one income. So while owner building might save us money on paper, there’s a pretty big cost on the other side of that equation too.”
After having huge plans for their much-loved ‘Cottage Revival’ home renovation to be transformed into a whimsical dream for their family, the couple revealed that life changed their plans completely. Then they shared some renderings of what they wanted their ‘forever home‘ to look like.
It was grand and extremely luxurious. However, the couple decided to step back from the grandness of it all to consider what actually makes them happy in their home.
In July, Rachel and Ryan announced to their followers that the house they’d spent the last seven months designing is not the house they’re going to build.
“We’ve simply stripped back the things we’d realised we didn’t need, while keeping everything that made us fall in love with it in the first place.”
How it all began
In a heartfelt Instagram post shared late 2025, Rachel revealed the pair had received an unexpected offer to purchase ‘Cottage Revival’ exactly as it stood, without any home renovation.
“At first, we thought we’d have another chapter like that ahead of us before anything permanent,” Rachel wrote.
Former home renovation plans
Instead, the sale sparked a much bigger conversation about what their family truly wanted next, and how it led them to their brand new home renovation!
Why Rachel and Ryan decided to stop moving homes
For years, Rachel and Ryan had built a life around renovating homes, pouring themselves into each project before eventually moving on to the next opportunity. But after selling ‘Cottage Revival’, their children made something clear: they no longer wanted to keep moving house.
“And that changed everything,” said Rachel.
The emotional turning point marked a major shift for the home renovation duo, who began quietly searching for a property that felt less like another project and more like permanence. Just weeks later, they found it.
“For the first time, settling didn’t feel like stopping — it felt like arriving.”
Rachel and Ryan
According to Rachel, the couple walked through a character-filled home that had remained in the same family since 1961 and instantly knew it was different.
“We both just knew. This was the one,” she wrote.
“A home held by one beautiful family since 1961 — and you can feel the love of those years in every inch of the land.”
A new vision for their forever home renovation
Now, Rachel and Ryan are beginning to reveal what comes next.
In Instagram posts, the pair shared early design home renovation plans and inspiration imagery for the property they’re now calling their forever home, giving followers a glimpse into the warm and layered aesthetic they plan to bring to life.
The concepts hint at a softer, more elevated evolution of the style fans came to love during ‘Cottage Revival’, featuring timeless materials, natural textures and family-focused spaces designed for slower living
While their previous renovations often carried the excitement of transformation and resale, this project feels far more personal.
This time, the couple are designing not for the next move, but for the future they want to build with their children.
“To give our kids roots,” Rachel wrote.
“To build something for us, not the next move.”
From Cottage Revival to forever
Rachel and Ryan’s renovation journey has already captivated audiences through projects like their magnificent holiday home makeover, for its warm coastal style and thoughtful transformation.
The home blended relaxed textures, character details and contemporary family living, quickly becoming one of the couple’s most admired makeovers.
But while Cottage Revival may have originally been intended as the setting for their forever chapter, the couple’s latest update proves some plans evolve into something even more meaningful.
And for Rachel and Ryan, forever finally seems to have found them.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
