After a long wait for an episode to air since last week, I’m sure everyone following The Block was anxious to see the results of the cellar, laundry and powder room reveals for our established blockheads.
It’s interesting to note that only Tim and Anastasia had a working cellar, meaning, they actually created a temperature controlled wine room. The others failed to do this and it was commented that the other cellars were noticeably warm upon entry. Of course, a wine cellar is just a storage room if you cannot keep your drop at the right temperature. No wine connoisseur would ever store wine in a warm cellar! Nonetheless, let’s take a look at these rooms.
Tim and Anastasia
The Cellar
With a beautiful glass entrance door, the wine cellar is temperature controlled with a wine cellar conditioner from Eurocave. Simple display racks from Macphees in black allow the bottles to take center stage and bright down lights highlight the labels for easy picking. I think it is a little too bright even if you were anal about seeing the labels clearly. I would have preferred either a different colour on the walls or moody lighting to compensate. Overall, a simple yet very practical design. The racks look like they hold 3 deep so there is plenty of room for a large collection.
The Powder Room
I’m normally not a fan of black tiles but due to the texture of these glazed porcelain Lappato tiles, I rather like them. Coupled with the matt black tapware and that beautiful pendant, it’s a rather sexy powder room! Let’s not beat around the bush, this powder room is abnormally large compared to the other rooms making it feel more luxurious.
The Laundry
Ridiculously pretty, right? I mean, wow. It this is the laundry…I cannot wait to see the kitchen! Who would have thought a laminate would suffice here but it looks great! It doesn’t feel like a laminate and coupled with the white herringbone splashback, it creates a contemporary laundry with classic design lines and features. My favourite this week.
Dea and Daz
The winning couple displayed a great looking cellar with combined laundry and powder room whilst also presenting an extra storage room. They even managed to squeeze in an old wine barrel into their cellar for display. The cellar, however, is not temperature controlled which will have to fixed by the new owner. The wine racks from Vine and Vault are simple in design but have a great impact and also hold an exceptional number of bottles (four hundred, I believe!). It’s well lit and the dark paint create a wonderful moody atmosphere.
The Powder Room
Beautifully styled, this powder room packs quite a punch! I love the large, round mirror and matching back framed photos. The marble hexagon tiles are stunning and even though they are used on two walls, they don’t over power the room. A simple basin with chrome tapware sits beautifully against the wall. It’s a shame it ‘just a toilet’!
The Laundry
A very practical laundry room with loads of storage and the only apartment with a working laundry chute! Very handy! The other couples were unable to add this feature due to the position of the chute ending up in dining rooms and other odd places. The cabinetry, oak benchtop, again in a laminate, and appliances are from The Good Guys. The benchtop nicely breaks up the neutral colours in the space and the additional strip lighting underneath the wall cabinets will be of great use during sock sorting time. It is, however, a tiny laundry sink!
Jess and Ayden
The Cellar
This cellar really had all the judges fighting. The wine rack is pretty much the same as Dea and Daz’s but it’s zinc plated instead of black. I think it would have looked better in black. I wouldn’t want to squish at the end of the cellar sipping wine either because it’s just too cramped down there! I’d prefer a full, open timber cabinet instead of a single bench and a couple of stools. The wall colours look okay, coupled with the timber and the copper wall light, so at least this wasn’t a complete fail.
Powder Room
A great little powder room that ticks all the boxes and a single feature wall of ‘those’ marble tiles, coupled with timber accented mirror and cabinet. This matches the rest of the apartment beautifully. The other wall tile looks warm however, when the mosaics are quite cool. Otherwise, it is well executed and where space is limited, a sliding door is a great design idea.
The Laundry
This a a very impressive laundry. Loads of storage space and bench space which is great for sorting loads and ironing. Except, no space for the ironing board…whoops! Luckily, you can purchase a hideaway table that is likely to fit in that end cupboard. The mosaics are not something I would normally go for but they compliment this space well when matched with the other materials.
Josh and Charlotte
The Cellar
This is a great looking contemporary cellar with very interesting lighting. The timber feature rack looks great with the decorative strip lighting against the grey textured tile. However, you can tell they have lost a lot of wine space by featuring them this way. The fridge! A ha! moment when you don’t have a conditioner like Tim and Ana. I don’t know why the other couples didn’t think of this.
Storage Room – Extra!
Josh and Char cleverly added a storage room and decked it out with shelving which was an extra step that winners Dea and Daz did not accomplish.
The Powder Room
A nice way to finish off a little powder room with faux marble tiles and a basin suited to only what you need to do…wash your hands. I like the little timber bench it sits on but I would have liked to see a timber framed mirror. The floating toilet suite and the little floating basin make best use of the floor space making it appear larger than it really is and uniform. The textured floor tile matches their feature tile used in the cellar and it is a great combination. I also like the wall light instead of a pendant as I’m starting to get a little tired of seeing feature pendants everywhere. A feature pendant in every room surely becomes less of a ‘feature’.
The Laundry
Very white! Be sure not to make a mess in there! A very practical space and I love the drying rack or ironing rack, whichever you want to use it for. Excellent storage and a great laundry sink. A speaker system would also be put well to use here. Are those towels or throws in the shelves? Who cares, they look great against the all white cabinetry.
