The Block 2022: The top 5 features in Tom and Sarah-Jane's winning guest bedroom and en suite

By
Rachael Gavin
September 13, 2022
They may have won the week because of a bonus point, but the judges were thoroughly impressed with what the team delivered. Photo: Nine

Tom and Sarah-Jane’s guest bedroom and en suite may have won the week because of a bonus point, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t stunning.

While the couple tied with Omar and Oz at room reveals before playing the Gnome, judges Shaynna Blaze, Darren Palmer and Neale Whitaker were thoroughly impressed with their bedroom, bathroom and powder room.

The bedroom, in particular, was a huge design risk for Tom and Sarah-Jane but it paid off big time.

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Here are the top five features in Tom and Sarah-Jane’s guest bedroom and en suite:

1. Tartan wallpaper

The judges loved the bold approach Tom and Sarah-Jane took in the guest bedroom. Photo: Nine

We’ve seen Block contestants do one wall with bold wallpaper or cover all walls of a room in a subtler print, but Sarah-Jane’s decision to go fully tartan is probably the boldest move yet.

The guest bedroom featured all four walls covered in a gorgeous blue tartan, which thrilled all three judges.

It wasn’t just the tartan that had the judges smiling, it’s that the couple knew how to work within the space.

“You look around and to have that tartan all the way around and know what colour to put with it, to have the houndstooth [patterned throw] that’s going to work with it, to have all the textures … the talent here is phenomenal,” Shaynna said.

2. Gallery hang

Neale Whitaker dubbed the tartan wallpaper and gallery wall hang as 'genius'. Photo: Nine

Anyone trying to hang a group of family photos on the wall knows how much trial and error it can take to get a layout that works.

But Tom and Sarah-Jane had more than the positioning of the frames to get right, they also had the tartan wallpaper and mismatched frames and artwork to contend with.

Somehow though, they just knew how to get it right.

“That takes courage,” Neale said. “Most people would think, ‘Oh no the tartan wallpaper’s enough we can’t hang anything on there’, but to take an eclectic little group of images like that, and put them against tartan with all different frames and somehow make it feel cohesive – that’s genius.”

3. Storage

You can never have enough storage according to Shaynna. Photo: Nine

Storage is one of the most important aspects of designing a room but it’s often overlooked by Block contestants.

Not this time though, because Tom and Sarah-Jane have given in to Shaynna’s plea for face-level storage in the bathroom with a shaving cabinet in their en suite.

This is actually a backflip for the couple, who were determined not to put any of them in their bathrooms because they don’t think they’re useful.

While the couple might not be fans of ‘Shaynna’ cabinets, every little extra bit of storage helps in a space like the bathroom.

There was also good storage in the guest bedroom with two wardrobes, a study nook with shelving and space above the wardrobe.

4. Tiles

The powder room featured the subtle yet impactful finger tiles in a coffee colour. Photo: Nine

House 1 needed to choose tiles for two spaces: the en suite and powder room, and they picked well with the three tile designs selected.

The powder room featured the subtle yet impactful finger tiles in a coffee colour. These were used on the bottom half of the room, which not only looks good, but is also kind to the budget.

For the floor, big smoky coloured square tiles were used to complement the wall tiles and allow the finger tiles to be the hero.

The same floor tiles feature in the en suite to tie the two rooms together and, like in the powder room, allow the stunning mustard tiles to really pop.

These mustard tiles pack a punch and dictate the colour palette used in the styling, with brown, orange and creamy white décor and accessories used to complement it.

5. Use of colour

Tom and Sarah-Jane have shown they're not afraid to use colour. Photo: Nine

Tom and Sarah-Jane have shown they’re not afraid to use colour in all of their rooms so far. However, no rooms have been as strikingly colourful as their guest bedroom, en suite and powder room.

And the best part about it is that despite all three spaces featuring different colours and patterns, they all feel connected.

The blue tartan room makes the pattern the hero with a white ceiling, white wardrobes, creamy carpet and plain-coloured bedding.

Neale was a fan of these mustard-coloured tiles. Photo: Nine

Then the powder room nods to the blue bedroom with a blue basin and floral patterned wallpaper on the top half of the walls.

There is also a shift towards another colour palette with the brownish finger tiles on the bottom half of the powder room walls.

This coffee-like colour helps transition to the mustard colour tiles in the en suite, which cover two-thirds of the wall.

And tying all three rooms together are the gold accents on the bed frame, side tables, tapware and door handles.

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

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