The Block 2019 formal lounge reveal recap: 'The best week two rooms ever seen'

Just like last week, this episode of The Block kicks off with Andy doing a lil comedy routine while Deb mentally leaves her body.

It’s time for the formal lounge rooms to be revealed and the competition is hotting up. The couples are vying for a $35,000 fridge (which is worth more than my car), and $10,000 in cash (also worth more than my car).

As ever, Jesse and Mel are outrageously confident they are going to win while Luke and Tess are floundering and fighting.

Let’s take a look at how each couple fared this week.

El’ise and Matt

In a previous episode someone mentioned El’ise’s styling was going to be an important factor this week and, boy, has she taken that comment and run with it. She mentions it every five minutes. A real relationship tester was when she moved a couch into the room while Matt was still attempting to build it.

But all the angst was worth it, with the judges “fizzing” over their formal lounge.

Darren Palmer described it as a “modern take on what this building requires, which is a gentle understanding of heritage detailing” and Neale Whitaker said, “This comes close to capturing the feel of a real home”.

He continued: “I don’t think I’ve ever walked into a room on The Block that feels as confident as this one.”

Shaynna Blaze was also a big fan of the detailing, particularly the cornicing, the ceiling rose and the Venetian plaster. She was also wildly delighted by the fact that someone had installed a fireplace at the correct height.

The positive feedback made El’ise and Matt smile. After spending so long fighting it’s like they forgot how to do it properly.

Tess and Luke

Tess and Luke delivered two unpainted rooms last week, so competitor Mark very kindly gave them a lesson in spraying paint … which they followed with a session of spraying insults at each other.

As a viewer, sympathy for Luke is building. At one stage Tess says to Luke, “Honestly I could knock you out, square in the face punch you”, which is seriously not OK. Can you imagine if a male threatened a female with an act of violence on national television? It’s not OK at all, regardless of whether it’s directed at a male or a female.

(Tess has since clarified her comments. “When you’re sleep-drived and you’re frustrated an angry, you definitely say things that you don’t mean.”)

The next minute Tess is braying into a small green brush.

After a sketchy week where their builder quit, the plasterer did dodgy work and Luke selected some fugly shelves (and forgot to hang up the phone to Tess when he was complaining about her, rookie error), they managed to complete a room for the first time.

Neale said that it fit the heritage of the house and had a sense of grandeur but the blank walls and the styling left the judges flat. They felt the styling was lacking and it needed a few lamps to make it feel homey.

Neale said: “This is a very elegant but blank canvas … I want to come in here and roll my sleeves up and finish the room for them.”

Mitch and Mark

They may not win the room reveal this week but Mitch and Mark take home the prize for best on ground in our books. Not only did Mitch sit on the floor and advocate drinking dirty martinis before lunch, they also spent their time very charitably helping Tess and Luke complete their room.

Decked out in a bold colour palette of blues, greens and burnt orange, their formal lounge was a hit with the judges.

Darren announced, “Honey, I’m home” upon walking in, but commented that he hopes the pair have the “stamina and budget” to continue in this manner.

Shaynna said, “These guys are Hollywood … it’s lush and over the top and I love it.”

Jesse and Mel

Jesse and Mel haemorrhaged cash on their formal living room, spending $30,000 all up (which included two big heavy doors that Jesse banged on about for the duration of the episode.)

With typical chutzpah Jesse announced, “I think Mel and I have just delivered one of the best rooms in Block history.”

Neale brought him back to earth saying the room felt “like a corporate waiting room”, and that it was the least connected to the St Kilda area and the heritage of the house.

Shaynna was baffled by the perimeter of expensive tiles around the room, to which Jesse snapped, “she doesn’t have expensive taste”.

Andy and Deb

Last week Andy and Deb won the bathroom challenge. This week the judges encouraged them to be a bit more adventurous, so they went totally wild and incorporated a green feature wall, which made them both hugely uneasy.

But thankfully the judges loved their walk on the wild side, with Darren saying “they make these grand spaces feel personal.”

They were fans of the colonial detail but Shaynna felt the room was a little cold, and to rectify this the entire room should have been painted green. She also thought the fireplace clashed with the tiles and mantle.

Despite that the judges complimented the pair saying, “Andy and Deb have hung on to their style, but it’s grown up”.

The verdict

The judges said this was “the best week two rooms they have ever seen on The Block”. In the end Matt and El’ise won by half a point, with Neale giving them the first 10 of the series.

That makes it three weeks in a row that Mitch and Mark have been pipped at the post by half a point or so. It seems that failing to impress Neale is hurting them and as Mark says, “we need to work out what turns Neale on”.

The final scores for the formal lounges were:

El’ise and Matt – 29

Mitch and Mark – 28.5

Andy and Deb – 25.5

Jesse and Mel – 23

Tess and Luke – 22

We’ll be back next Sunday night to see whether the weather has changed and Andy’s face has stayed that way, and if Mitch and Mark can finally win a challenge when the main bedrooms are revealed.

This article has been updated since publication.