Photography: The Block/Channel 9/9 Now
They’ve impressed before with their unique mid-century western style (which we’re not convinced is a thing), but this week Sonny and Alicia’s living and dining room reveal left the Block judges disappointed.
From misplaced details to a muddled design direction, the couple’s choices turned what should have been a generous open-plan space into something cramped and confused.
By contrast, Britt and Taz were just a whisker away from a perfect 10. Their timber-clad ceiling and stone-wrapped fireplace won praise, with Shaynna Blaze calling it “classy” and “elegant”. The only thing holding them back was the TV and lounge placement.
The big winners, though, were Robby and Mat, whose layout, finishes and styling struck exactly the right balance. “This is exactly hitting the brief,” said judge Marty Fox.
Where Sonny and Alicia went wrong…
Here’s why their living and dining area fell short.
Fireplace in the wrong spot
The biggest sticking point for the judges was the placement of the fireplace. Instead of making it a striking feature at the entry, Sonny and Alicia put it on the wall beside the future kitchen – a move that made little design sense.
“I love that brick. That’s such a great link from the exterior facade,” said Darren, who wished the couple had carried the material through from the front door.“It’s a missed opportunity to not have the fireplace there and wrap the brick around.”
“That would have been amazing,” agreed Shaynna. Marty was just as blunt: “It’s such an opportunity missed.”
Squashing the layout
Another major flaw was how the pair arranged the dining and lounge areas. By pushing the dining table too close to the living zone, they effectively boxed themselves in and made the entire room feel smaller than it really was.
“The dining table is on this side of the window, which means the lounge room is pushed this way. It is a really interesting allocation of space, seeing as all of that is going to be for the kitchen,” Darren pointed out, referring to the space that will be completed in a future week.
Marty didn’t mince words either. “It’s a three-metre-wide living space. A small apartment has the exact same space as this. That is tiny. It’s fascinating that they’ve got the exact same square metreage yet we feel like we’re in a smaller space. They have really stuffed this room up.”
A confused style direction
If their layout was off, their styling left the judges even more concerned. Having established a clear mid-century western vibe earlier in the competition, Sonny and Alicia suddenly threw in provincial touches and mismatched furniture that clashed with the home’s identity.
“We have a provincial chair, we have studded chairs. I reckon this is the most confused style they’ve done. They’ve got all the styling wrong. All of it,” said Shaynna. “I’m looking at that incredible fireplace with this strange hearth on the ground. I’m really concerned by their design direction.”
Darren agreed the furniture was dragging the room down: “The dining chairs, to the lounges, to the coffee table… the orientation of those inclusions is also wrong.”
The good parts didn’t make up for the bad
There were elements the judges did admire – the artwork, the brickwork and the ceiling details. “Look at those ceiling timbers,” said Marty. “That artwork is divine,” added Shaynna. “Those rich blues, the earth, it’s the nature of Daylesford.”
But despite those highlights, the overall impression was one of wasted opportunity. With poor layout decisions and a muddled style, Sonny and Alicia’s room simply didn’t live up to its potential.
All The Block room reveal images were originally published by Channel 9/9Now on nine.com.au.
How Home Beautiful would do living and dining week…
This year Team Home Beautiful is joining the fun with our very own House 6. We’re channelling a Modern Farmhouse look, layering in natural textures and earthy tones inspired by The Block’s country setting. Scroll on to explore our mood board, shop the pieces we’d pick and see how our room design stacks up. Would you give us top marks?
Inspiration
For our living and dining room, we took inspiration from this dreamy Cape Cod-style home by Stritt Design, bringing in stone accents, touches of green and a laidback yet elevated aesthetic. The key to standing out on The Block is finding a strong design direction and sticking to it.
Mood board
Our mood board gave us a fun starting point for the look we wanted. With herringbone flooring, a Freedom dining chair and coffee table, and the Hills of Green framed print, we leaned into warm timbers and natural tones. To balance it out, we added contrast with the Rachel Donath fire screen (a splurge, but hey, this is a pretend room), a Trudon candle and Kate Nixon pleated vase, bringing in a touch of black and sculptural shapes to tie it all together. While there is contrast, all the elements feel part of one family rather than a mish-mash of random styles put together.
Shop the products
- Sandy Bay herringbone flooring, $89.10m², Imperial Flooring Australia
- Sunrise Gold sandstone tiles, from $43m², Stone Centre
- Hills Of Green framed print, $599, Freedom
- Pleated ceramic vase in Natural White, $495, Kate Nixon
- Augie cushion, Country Road
- Seminyak Moses basket, $350, Provincial Home Living
- Abacus coffee table, $999 (usually $1199), Freedom
- Boree dining chair, $224 (usually $449), Freedom
- Riverton fabric modular sofa, $2239 (usually $2799), Freedom
- Abacus entertainment unit, Freedom $1949 (usually $2299), Freedom
- Orissa floor rug, $1199, Freedom
- Silvio by Weave floor rug, $2699, Freedom
- Wave fire screen, $900, Rachel Donath
- Albert petite tri-leg floor lamp, $1590, The Montauk Lighting Co
- Trudon Ernesto classic candle, $169, David Jones
Room reveal
For our living room design, we carefully considered the fireplace in relation to the seating. The layout encourages conversation in groups while making it easy to enjoy the crackling flames – or a TV, cleverly disguised as artwork when it’s off. From any seat, you can also take in the view outside the windows.
In case you missed it…
Week 4: Main bedroom & walk-in wardrobe
Week 5: Living and dining rooms
Week 9: Laundry, Mudroom, Butler’s pantry, Powder room, Garage
Week 10: Alfresco terrace, Stratco shed
House 6: When Home Beautiful joins The Block
Everything we know about The Block 2025
5 fun facts you didn’t know about The Block 2025 teams
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