Image: The Block/Channel 9 / Getty Images
Before a single room has been revealed on The Block this year, judge Darren Palmer has already set the design direction for the entire season. His advice to contestants? Think “white, light and bright” – with Kim Kardashian’s famously minimalist home by Belgian designer Axel Vervoordt as the inspiration.
It’s one of several firsts for The Block this year, alongside the show’s first water views from the homes and the first time contestants are living together in a share house.
Darren made a special appearance to brief the teams before they began their first challenge – guest bedrooms – which would determine the order of choosing their houses. “I can tell you what I think you should do, ideally, in Mount Eliza to sell your houses, based on data,” Darren told the contestants.
He urged the teams to embrace a “white, light and bright” aesthetic, citing Kim Kardashian’s home, designed by Axel Vervoordt, as a reference. “The buyer here doesn’t like rustic, they don’t like dark, they don’t like a whole heap of timber panelling,” he said, explaining that his advice was based on buyer expectations in the local market rather than personal taste.
NEED TO KNOW
- In week one of The Block 2026, Darren Palmer advised the teams to make their homes white, light and bright.
- The home of Kim Kardashian designed by Axel Vervoordt was shared with the teams for inspiration.
- The contestants were advised to steer away from anything rustic or dark if they wanted to appeal to Mount Eliza buyers.
- Former Block contestant Mat Johnson advises the teams to maintain their own visions to avoid “cookie cutter” homes.
Who is the designer behind Kim Kardashian’s home, Axel Vervoordt?
“Build a house for Kim Kardashian? That seems really weird,” said contestant Adam. He wasn’t the only one scratching his head over who Axel Vervoordt is and how to translate his aesthetic into homes on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
Belgian designer, art dealer and collector Axel Vervoordt is widely regarded as one of the world’s most influential tastemakers, known for interiors that celebrate simplicity, natural materials and exceptional craftsmanship. Influenced by the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, his spaces favour texture, proportion and restraint.
Vervoordt collaborated with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West on the former couple’s now-famous Hidden Hills home, transforming it into what Kim famously described as a “minimal monastery” which appeared on the cover of Architectural Digest.
The home layers tactile materials including lime plaster walls, textured stone, pale oak, linen and other natural finishes to create warmth through subtle texture rather than bold colour or pattern.
While the California mansion may seem worlds away from Mount Eliza, Darren emphasised the “quiet luxury” of the home is what would translate well to the affluent bayside suburb.
Is it the right decision to follow Darren Palmer’s neutral brief?
Darren advised the teams to heed his advice if they wanted their homes to sell on auction day, unlike some of last year’s Daylesford homes. His tips are worth noting, as auction results determine how much profit each team makes, and the prize money they take home after 12 weeks of renovating.
For some contestants, the advice upended their previous plans. Interior designer Sev quickly realised she’d need to pivot away from the dark and moody direction she had envisioned for the home she’s renovating with Courtney. “Everything he’s saying [not to do], that’s what I was going to do,” she confessed. “I was like, ‘I’ve got this all wrong.’”
Former contestant weighs in on the ‘light, bright’ brief
There’s no need to take Darren’s advice too literally, says The Block 2025 contestant Mat Johnson. He competed with best friend Robby last season, surprising and delighting with their secret wine cellar reveal. Rather, he suggests the teams consider the brief to be simply a starting point.
“Light, bright and airy doesn’t mean clinical,” he told Home Beautiful. “It could mean Modern Mediterranean with warm colours and earthy textures.”
His concern is that contestants may end up creating five “cookie cutter” homes. “If that’s the case, who’s going to fight for your house?” he asks, referring to potential buyers on auction day. “I just hope [the teams] stick to their guns and try to be light and bright, but beautiful.”
He has some words of encouragement for contestants reconsidering their designs: “Listening to Sev and watching her get in her head and think, ‘I’ve got to change everything,’ I’m like, ‘No, don’t,’” he says. “You’re on The Block, you’ve got an opportunity to do something fun and exciting.”
Whether the teams embrace Darren’s minimalist vision or find ways to balance it with their own design identities is likely to become one of the defining stories of this season – and perhaps the deciding factor when buyers arrive on auction day.
For more of former Block contestant Mat’s thoughts on this season, tune into his episode of The Edit by Home Beautiful vodcast, coming soon.
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