It was a big week on The Block for all four teams last week. The Block Triple Threat powder room, laundry and cellar reveals were again a mixed bag of good style choices and interesting design ideas. Let’s look at the powder rooms first – which is really just a glorified toilet with a vanity basin.
Josh & Charlotte’s powder room was simple and elegant. I loved the light tiles and for some reason I felt this room was styled better than their main bathroom despite using a similar tile. I liked the mixture of textures. A bottle trap is a great way to save space underneath the vanity. Usually there is no need for storage space in a powder room because it’s specifically for toilet visits and make-up touch up or hand washing purposes.
Shaynna brought up the issue with the vanity spout being too long for the basin width. This can be a common design problem that can be easily fixed by installing a shorter spout (if one is available). These kinds of issues don’t usually surface until install day but it’s always good practice to take measurements and ensure that what you have purchased will work onsite. On a side note I don’t mind the gunmetal colour in the tapware.
Tim & Anastasia’s powder room was luxurious and moody. I didn’t mind the dark tile they used but you have to be careful using darker colours in a small space because it can often make the room smaller than what it is. What worked in Tim & Anastasia’s favour with their tile choice, was their room was much bigger.
Jess & Ayden’s powder room was light and vibrant. I loved that they used their feature tile on one wall instead of all the walls. I think they may have learned that lesson with their enclosed toilet in the main bathroom. If you are wanting to have a vanity cupboard in the powder room, install a narrow style like Jess & Ayden’s. The styling was simple but I still liked it.
I loved Dea & Daz’s powder room. It’s the room I would go in just because. I loved the styling and it would be easy to replicate at home with the right placement of shelves. I loved the round mirror and how it complimented with the circular vanity basin. I also really like those hexagonal tiles. I don’t recommend using those types of tiles in a shower because they can be very difficult to clean and have a high ratio of grout where mould can grow.
When it comes to laundries, I am keen on practical over style. It’s not a place I want to hang out in, but it is a room I like to keep tidy so having benches, shelves and storage are important.
I liked the storage offered in all four laundries. Bench space is always a must and I think all four couples offered that in their spaces.
I thought it was comical that Shaynna was anal about a laundry chute. I think it’s a nice feature to have in a two or three storey apartment, but sometimes structurally, installing a chute may not work. From personal experience, we rarely used the chute when we lived in a double storey house. I guess it was just habit to bring the dirty clothes downstairs to the laundry, when we were heading down there already.
I thought it was interesting that Dea and Anastasia chose the same laundry tap. Did anyone else pick this?
With Dea and Daz’s laundry, I didn’t like the size of the sink. For me, I soak a lot of items in my laundry tub. But for Dea and Daz’s ideal buyer, a small sink might be sufficient. They will probably get their clothes dry cleaned anyway.
I’m not a wine drinker so I know very little about wines and cellars, but I was impressed with all four cellars that were presented last night. In my opinion, the fact that each apartment has it’s own cellar adds value to each apartment. Of course that’s coming from a non-wine drinker who would much prefer the storage space than racks holding thousands of dollars worth of wine. With that said, I had to disagree with Darren Palmer when he judged Jess & Ayden’s cellar with the table and chairs by commenting on who would sit with a view of the wall and enjoy a drink in their cellar? I know a few mums who would jump at the chance of hiding in there away from their children. 😉 Just saying.
Here are the photo reveals of the wine cellars. I don’t mind Josh and Charlotte’s ‘earthy’ cellar and Dea and Daz’s cellar is wowing. It reminded me of my experiences visiting high end/boutique wineries in the Barossa Valley and Hunter Valley.
I personally love the idea of more storage so this space by created by Josh and Charlotte was a great idea.
Did you think Dea and Daz deserved another win? What did you think of the reveals last night?
I’m linking with Essentially Jess for IBOT.
