REVIEW: There’s a lot hinging on the first reveal on The Block NZ: Redemption and everyone knows it – the Blocksters who create the best guest bedroom get to take whichever townhouse they fancy. They can literally steal it off someone else.
So yes, it’s that important. Before the first reveal a Ray White agent tells the teams in no uncertain terms that House 1 on the corner, currently occupied by Quinn and Ben, is by far the best. Better views, more windows, lots of light.
And, for us viewers, we get our first glimpse of the “talent” tonight. If you’ve watched the first two episodes this week, you may well be raising your eyebrows – Quinn has been trialling disgusting reptilian green shades for the walls, which was clearly a joke. Or not.
There’s no real need for Adam to look worried at this stage – he and Stacy are favourites, but their first reveal isn’t a great score.
But we’re thrilled to see, for the first time, the weekly shows have been shortened to just three nights, with the Wednesday being the reveal. We don’t have to watch so much paint dry. This is a good thing.
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Chloe and Ben in House 2 have won the two challenges this week and their confidence is right up there. One could say they are over-confident. But they don’t want to lose their house – they chose this one and really want to keep it.
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Stacy and Adam went for a soft coastal feel, teaming extra-long curtains with hard flooring. It’s a winning look.
Adam, meanwhile, is cleaning and sweeping to create a tidy workspace – he likes to impress the teacher. Stacy is more worried about getting the height of her desk right. She should be more worried about the timber shelves – has she forgotten the tough judge hates them?
Quinn and Ben are stuffing up the painting big time, and Maree and James are simply chilling with a coffee while they wait for a carpet layer, who has been “accidentally” stolen by Chloe and Ben. Everybody is being terribly polite – so far. Sweet.
But let’s fast-forward to our first brush with the judges – the tough Jason Bonham and the gentle Shelley Ferguson. Will they be harder on the couples this time round, because they should have learned something from their last appearance on The Block NZ? Mark Richardson calls “tools down” for the first reveal, and thank goodness, everyone has finished a room.
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The couple have introduced a small desk, but probably should have painted those timber shelves to get more points from judge Jason Bonham.
Stacy and Adam
This couple won six room reveals back in 2019, so yes, they are favourites, even if Stacy does over-shop. But she knows this room sets the colour and material palette for the entire house.
They’ve gone for relaxing grey-blue tones with punches of black, and the judges first impressions are favourable. They like the modern lighting, the quality of the linen, and the wainscoting along the wall behind the bed, which all the guest rooms have.
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Bitsy indoor plants are not always the best look. Maybe some more books would have been better on the shelves.
They also like the beachy feel of the colour. But guess what? Bonham still hates timber shelves – he says if you are going to go for timber, at least make it chunky.
“A bit more colour would have been nice, but it’s a good space, and it’s been nicely finished,” he says. “They could be a touch more daring.”
Maree and James
“We’re back for redemption, because we want to have fun,” James says. Hmm, it’s probably more about the money at stake.
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And this is Maree and James’ guest room. The colours are warm, and the furniture works, but we are not convinced about the colour of the wainscoting.
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It’s a pleasant-enough room, but the couple also need to ensure they don’t overdo the small knick-knacks.
First impressions are favourable again. The judges liked the smell of the candles, and the soft, cosy look of the terracotta cover and striped fabrics. But it isn’t enough. “I’m so sick of looking at white walls,” Bonham says. “The nicest things in the room are probably the door handles”. Which is a bit unfair.
“It’s not a disaster,” he says. “It’s just a bit lifeless, and it doesn’t really have the innovation factor we are looking for this season.” Maree is disappointed – she loves the colour palette.
SCREENSHOT
It hasn’t been the best week for Maree and James, with their children sick, and some tough judge comments.
Quinn and Ben
This couple has never won a room reveal, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change tonight. This is a tough hurdle to overcome. Quinn feels so much more confident than last time round, when she said they were “floundering like puppies”.
They still look like they might be floundering. Their room looks a little cheap – the bedlinen looks thin and crumpled, and there’s a bit of an institutional look to the room. They have exposed timber wainscoting. Someone isn’t going to like that. And sure enough, Bonham doesn’t.
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Quinn and Ben’s room is a bit of a fail. The bedlinen seems limp and flat, and the judges were not keen on the timber wainscoting. There’s a fair few colours happening in here (timber is a colour) – too many for this room to be a winner.
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Large baskets provide tidy storage in the wardrobe, but they don’t make it easy to see things at a glance.
“There’s really no design here at all,” he says. “It’s very lacklustre. It’s a nice little room and there’s nothing unpleasant about it, but it’s just a boring room.”
But Ferguson likes the fact they have taken the blush pink and soft deep green shades from a painting. And she likes the full-height doors, which are tricky to do well. If they can pull that look off throughout the house, it will be seriously cool.
Bonham doesn’t think the carpet colour helps, and he wonders if they had taken the green feature wall up along the ceiling it would have been more interesting. Surely, not.
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Judge Jason Bonham described Quinn and Ben’s room as “nice”, but also “lacklustre” and “boring”.
All the Blocksters look shocked, but Ben says they will learn from this.
Chloe and Ben
Chloe is not great at making decisions on the spot – she needs help and is quick to ask for it in the stores. We think it has paid off.
Their room is very warm, yet crisp, with terracotta, deep brown, mushroom pink and beige-striped cushions piled on the soft neutral bedlinen. The wainscoting is a soft grey.
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Right now, Chloe and Ben look like being Stacy and Adam’s toughest competition. This room ticks a lot of boxes, although we agree with the judges that curtains would have worked better here than blinds.
Bonham thinks it’s the nicest bit of panelling they have seen (and it is). Ferguson likes that it is tailored and refined, but she would have put the light switches on the headboard lower, so they are not as distracting.
The lighting, including a recessed LED and spot on the art, gets a big tick for being architectural. But Bonham would have liked to see more of the moody colours in the room. And Ferguson would have preferred curtains to blinds in the bedroom.
Host Mark Richardson says these are the guys to watch. We agree.
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Chloe and Ben picked up colours from their painting for cushions and furniture. The architectural lighting is a winner.
Final scores
And here are the scores:
Stacy and Adam nail it with 16 out of 20. Chloe and Ben run a close second with 14.5 points. And the other two teams tie for third on 12 points.
So the favourites win $7000 from TSB towards their project, and also get to choose which house they want. But we have to wait till Monday to find out the answer to that question (we wish they wouldn’t play that trick again).
It’s quite possible Stacy and Adam will simply stay where they are, which would fit with the current spirit of “The Nice Block” we are witnessing. But they are in House 4 right next to four apartments, so we think a move is on the cards.
Summary
- The shorter, tighter Block week is better TV
- The best team won on the day
- Everyone played it too safe in week one
- The prize is anyone’s to win
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