The Block judges explain what country style is and what they're looking for in the 2022 Room reveals

We’ve had Hamptons, mid-century modern, contemporary and many other interior design styles on The Block, but this is the first time houses are expected to have country style.

Season 18 of The Block is in Gisborne in regional Victoria after making a tree change from Melbourne’s suburbs – where the show is usually set – so it only makes sense the houses have an influence of the countryside in the interior of the home.

However country style isn’t easily defined and can be open to interpretation according to both Darren Palmer and Neale Whitaker, who judge The Block alongside Shaynna Blaze.

“Country style means something different to everyone,” Neale told 9Entertainment.

“I think once upon a time we would have probably interpreted country style as something very classic, very conventional. But with more and more people moving to the country now from the cities and with those people getting younger and younger, it’s a much younger demographic,” he explained.

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“Country style is constantly evolving because a lot of people will be moving to the country and bringing with them the same style of the home they were living in the city or by the beach.”

Neale’s personal take on country style is respecting the surrounding landscape, and making sure the house includes features that are necessary on a country property.

“My own home (near Berry on the south coast of New South Wales) I think is a fairly good example of a mix of contemporary and also quite classic, and that’s our aesthetic and that’s our take on country style,” Neale said.

“For me, it’s about respecting what’s going on outside the window [and] using a palette that kind of blends or reflects what’s going on outside the window.”

Of course a house might nail country style aesthetically, but that doesn’t mean much to the residents if it’s not functional for the environment.

“Country style requires things like boot rooms and mud rooms, things that come with living in the country that maybe city dwellers or beach dwellers don’t have to think about,” Neale explained.

When it comes to what sort of country style the judges are expecting on The Block, Darren described it as “Australian contemporary country”.

“We do have traditional homes with some heritage detailing in them [on The Block this year], whether or not they want to keep that is another thing. But we also have very contemporary structures and we’re in a country environment. So I think Australian contemporary country is the brief,” he said.

Just like country style in the broader sense, Australian contemporary country is also open to interpretation.

“Australian, to me, is using the colours, palettes, and materials of Australia. So that’s Australian stone, Australian timbers, and the colours that you see outside the window… go to eucalyptus olives, sage greens, golds, greys. Anything that is working that landscape is going to work in those homes,” Darren explained.

While you might think contemporary style is simply modern, Darren believes a contemporary take on styles popularised in the past, like mid-century modern, is also acceptable.

Then country can be anything from a Swiss chalet to an outback cattle station, and be rustic or refined.

So with three aspects to Australian contemporary country style, Block fans can expect to see interiors unique to each teams’ vision.

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“That is the reason why we have five – six, actually [if you include Scott Cam’s renovation] – very different houses on this season’s Block,” Darren added.

So when Darren judges the rooms on The Block this year, he’s looking for a little of each of the three elements he described.

“If I see Australian, country, and contemporary – whatever that looks like – I’ll be happy. But if it goes too traditional, too stuffy, not modern enough, or doesn’t feel of the moment, then I think the [real estate] market might have a problem with it,” he said.

While Neale’s personal take on country style is for his home to take inspiration from the surrounding landscape, he’s not expecting contestants to do the same.

“Even though I live in the country myself, I was not going in with any pre-conceived notions of what these houses should look like,” he said.

“I knew that I was probably going to see five very different houses, and I went in with a very open mind because I went in with the mindset that there is no such thing as country style.”

Most Block teams had their first go at delivering a room with a country style brief in the House Decider challenge.

It was clear green is not only in trend generally in 2022, it’s the contestants go-to colour for country style.

Tom and Sarah-Jane nailed the green trend and country style, however Dylan and Jenny’s room was a little too urban, while Ankur and Sharon’s room had more French country than Australian country style.

As for Omar and Oz, the besties’ room had a showroom feel to it, while Joel and Elle’s bedroom was straight out of Bondi.

Now the teams have had some feedback on what the judges are expecting – except for Joel and Elle’s replacements Rachel and Ryan – we’ll be able to see how their own interpretations of country style evolve when the Room Reveals kick off on Sunday.

This article was originally published by Nine.com.au. Reproduced with permission.