Episode 17 recap: Marty Fox horrified by ‘weird’ bathroom inclusion in brutal Room Reveal
It’s Sunday Room Reveals, and our weary Blockheads are sprinting to finish their second bathroom in three weeks.
The “curse” of not finishing hits two teams hard.
Crushed. Nine
First up: House 1. Adam and Jolene don’t even bother showing up to site. After yesterday’s crushing defeat, they’ve completely given up.
When they eventually stroll into McCafe, the legendary Cursio Brothers are there – and wouldn’t you know it, they actually have some free time on their hands.
Acting on impulse, Adam strikes a deal with a very hesitant Wyatt: House 1 gets to borrow House 2’s tilers. If they win, they’ll give House 2 half of the $10k cash prize.
So now we’re cutting tiles, cutting deals and cutting it finer than ever. But who’s keeping tabs? Wyatt is, with tallies on a literal whiteboard.
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Episode 16 recap: Rivals fuming over ‘stolen’ tradies, while team ‘is done’ with competition
Over in House 5, Rick is deeply scarred from delivering an unfinished bathroom two weeks ago.
“It would be embarrassing if I don’t finish,” he admits.
Though frankly, he seems even more embarrassed by the idea of Tayla picking up a tool. There’s too much at stake.
Tayla offers to lend a hand with the painting, only to be swiftly shut down by her dad. Put simply? He doesn’t want her to “F it up” and that hits Tayla hard.
“It’s just annoying, he is underestimating me,” she says sniffling admits to cameras.
Finally, it’s tools down! Before we bring in the judges, Scott Cam has a sparkling addition to his ginormous prize pool, two epic e-bikes.
Bring on the ‘Yum, yum, yums’ from Darren.
Adam and Jolene
Adam and Jolene went from quitting the race, to staging the “biggest comeback in history” thanks to help from super-tilers, the Cursio Brothers.
They got there. Kind of.
Shaynna Blaze is stumped to see the room “not finished but ... pretty”.
Marty Fox adores the visual “experience” he’s hit with walking in, while Darren Palmer nerds out over the room’s “perfectly satisfying” geometry. Of course, he does.
The ensuite is selling the dream: staring up at the skylight while taking a shower, soaking in views of lush, decade-old trees.
Meanwhile, Scotty is personally thrilled by their choice of smart toilet. After having owned one for 25 years, he boasts his butt is so clean, you could eat dinner off it.
Moooooving on. Nine
The space could’ve used more ambient lighting, but the consensus is clear: if this ensuite had been 100 per cent finished, House 1 could very well have walked away with the win.
Chantel and Wyatt
House 2 finished so early this week, they couldn’t quite figure out why. Umm ... maybe because you have the best tilers in the biz? Just a wild guess.
Sticking to their “light, bright” and old luxury aesthetic, the judges instantly feel the ‘Mount Eliza’ vibes. Finally, Darren!
The “spotless” room was finished with military precision, and Chantel’s styling fills Darren with “hope and joy” of what’s to come.
From soft champagne tapware to gorgeous ceramic basins, Shaynna is buzzing.
That is, until the judges realise there’s no storage hidden by the two vanity mirrors. Nada.
“I just would have liked to see more personality,” Shaynna sighs, calling their overall vibe a bit “predictable.”
Their style is “verging on boring”, but Darren disagrees, saying the room is exactly what Mount Eliza is begging for.
Chantel and Wyatt predicted the “boring” comment, and happily embrace the title. They plan to stick with their style for the rest of the competition.
With a few risks here and there.
Lisa and Rosco
House 3 set out to complement their “calm, earthy” winning main bedroom with the perfect ensuite. There was just one snag.
“We just would have loved to finish it,” Rosco sighs.
Walking into their second unfinished ensuite of the day, the judges are stumped by the choice of vanity.
It’s “the last thing you would expect” in a modern home, but they love it!
Unlike House 2, this ensuite was bursting with storage and tactility. Then came the glaring issue: their floor.
“It’s very Flintstone-y isn’t it?” Marty winces. There’s that word again! “I’m just not a fan at all, I find it quite weird. I don’t like it.”
Back in HQ, a horrified Lisa buries her face in her hands.
Yabba dabba ... Doh. Nine
Darren argues that slapping faux crazy paving inside a luxury home feels inauthentic.
“This, however, is jarring,” he says, while Shaynna likens their ensuite floor to an actual “driveway”. Ouch.
With too many heroes in the space, the space feels overwhelming and “messy”. The team need to learn to pull back.
“It’s like the kids came in and threw a lot of things at the wall,” Marty delivers his final below.
Lisa’s verdict? “We just got absolutely obliterated on national TV.”
Courtney and Sev
House 4 had a ripper week, ripping up their waterproofing that is.
Sticking to their signature micro cement walls and Taj Mahal tiles, their hero piece was a groovy love seat. But, would the judges love it?
Darren is all smiles as he steps through the door.
“The tactility is yummy,” he grins. “That floor tile and this bench top could not have been better together. Yum!”
However, Darren also sees dollar signs, and worries how on earth the girls will get to the end of the competition.
Then comes the love seat and the judges have one question: why the tiled couch? Because in a room this size, it makes zero sense.
“This should be a steam room or a sauna,” Shaynna explains.
“I feel like I’m sitting in a bus stop,” Marty quips, perching awkwardly on the bench.
Where were they going? Nowhere good. Nine
But there’s lots to like. The space will shoot spectacularly and if the criteria today were based on intrigue and emotion, this room would win. Only, functionality let them down.
“This could have been a 10/10 room,” they say.
Rick and Tayla
Did House 5 finish? Please tell us they finished!
You bet they did, Marty is beaming as he walks through the doors, “Woah, here we go”.
The use of space, stone choice, skylights, storage, and smart toilet all score big ticks from the judges.
“These tiles are bloody beautiful,” says Darren of their large travertine tiles. “This look so much like a natural stone, I think using the same tile everywhere succeeds.”
Marty loves the luxury space in the shower area, and while Darren is a big fan of their room today, there is one issue he couldn’t ignore.
The distance between the tapware and basin. “How do you wash your hands?” Marty asks, baffled.
“I love the taps, but this relationship has added a problem,” he says of the vanity height.
They just need to drop the vanity by a few centimetres.
The team could have also put more thought into their artwork, but the judges expect the room will have enormous buyer appeal.
“It’s the Goldilocks of everything we’ve seen today – colour, risks, a great materials’ palette,” Darren declares.
It’s the best room Rick and Tayla have done so far.
OK, score time!
With two unfinished rooms, it’s a three-horse race. Rick and Tayla play their Bonus Point Gnome and win – by half a point ahead of Chantel and Wyatt. The scores are:
- Adam and Jolene: 21
- Chantel and Wyatt: 25.5
- Lisa and Rosco: 20.5
- Courtney and Sev: 25
- Rick and Tayla: 26 (25+1)
Chantel and Wyatt were also winners, taking home $10,000 cash for the CommBank budget award.
On Monday, the Blockheads will start work on their lounge, dining and alfresco. It’s going to be HUGE.
These spaces could make or break the houses. The pressure is on, see you there!
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