The Block 2019 'hell week' reveal recap: Mitch and Mark rain on Jesse and Mel's parade

“Hell week” on The Block – where contestants present hallways, stairwells, media rooms, studies, powder rooms, bedrooms and laundries (basically anything that needs finishing) – was described a number of different ways this episode. Scotty Cam called it the “biggest week ever”. Neale Whitaker described it as “a test of human endurance”. Tess simply said “this week was f—ed”.

Here is how the cookie crumbled.

Mitch and Mark

Mitch and Mark are still on a high after winning the Domain cover challenge earlier in the week.

Their Sunday night presentation drew a mixture of praise and disbelief from the judges.

Darren Palmer loved the stairwell with its chunky wooden handrail and beautiful light fittings, but the striped tiles at the bottom of the stairs were deemed a massive misstep. They decided it looked like an industrial safety edge.

The boys’ use of the space under the stairs for wine storage was given the seal of approval, as was the Palm Springs wallpapered lift.

They also unveiled the home’s third (guest) bedroom that incorporated a desk and a walk-in wardrobe.

It was a big success, with Neale saying “is there another word for mind-blowing?”

Scott Cam summarised the feedback: “You have taken some risks in this competition and you have dreamed big right from the outset. You came in with a vision and you’ve stuck with it. Now we’re seeing the fruits of that.”

Tess and Luke

Luke has done what the outlier kids in primary school did, and has given himself a nickname. He is now referring to himself and Tess as “the mighty cane toads” … they just keep coming back.

There has been a slight thawing of the cold war between houses one and two, with Mitch and Mark agreeing to lend Tess and Luke the revered plasterer Wilson.

The young Queenslanders decided to concentrate their efforts on simply delivering a killer media room this week. And what a media room it was, with a skylight and glass floor sending natural light down to the living area below. Neale described the result as “something very special indeed … this is a triumph … it feels like the house is breathing again … the transformative effect is just incredible.”

Tess and Luke also removed the dining table that was attached to the island bench in the kitchen, which was a massive bug-bear for the judges.

But it wasn’t all beer and skittles. Much of the house still needs finishing. The judges noticed missing skirting boards, balustrades and unpainted walls. Neale said “you can really see how the challenge has defeated them”.

Andy and Deb

This week Andy and Deb are delivering their study on level two as well as two toilets and the remaining hallways on level one and three.

They’ve bitten off a lot, and unfortunately they couldn’t chew it. As Darren put it: “Andy and Deb were obviously smashed by this week.”

Upon walking through the house Shaynna commented “the stairs are a mess, the glass isn’t there, the plastering is still not finished … there are architraves and doors that don’t have any paint on them whatsoever and there’s an unfinished powder room”.

Thankfully the parts that were completed were given two enthusiastic thumbs up.

The hallway with the painted brickwork, runner and basket-weave pendant lights put a smile back on Neale’s face. As for the light-filled home office, he said “I bloody love it … it’s like being in a little room up in the sky … this space acknowledges the number of people now working from home.”

He said the house would appeal to “global nomads who like coming home to their oasis in St Kilda”.

El’ise and Matt

Despite having the gnome up their sleeve, Elise and Matt are still looking like this much of the time:

Early in the comp the Perth pair decided to flip the bathroom and study on level two to utilise the skylight. They also added a linen press with a laundry chute.

On top of that they delivered a powder room (which was criticised for being a little dark and sombre), a timber staircase (that was a hit with Neale who particularly liked the sconces) and a home office.

While the home office was very practical and Shaynna liked the styling and artwork, Neale said “I’ve been spoiled by seeing (Andy and Deb’s) home office and I know which one I would rather work in … Andy and Deb’s had that abundance of light”.

Like the two couples before them, El’ise and Matt also failed to complete all this week’s tasks, with Shaynna commenting on the unpainted skirting boards.

But Neale concluded by saying “unfinished as it is and rough around the edges, they are still good at creating a home.”

Jesse and Mel

This team had another ambitious laundry list of tasks. They had 100 sq m of flooring to complete across three levels (the most of any house) as well as a media room, study, hallway, laundry (which they decided to move from level one to two), wine cellar, and stairs.

As Mel said “we’re weapons … what we achieved in a week is insane”.

While the grand hallway initially impressed the judges, the 400-bottle wine cellar displayed near the entrance divided them. On one hand Darren said it was “one of the most tasteful ways we’ve seen of displaying wine” while Neale said “I’m trying to find a polite way of saying it’s a little ostentatious”.

The ever-ambitious Jesse decided to lay all the chevron flooring himself and his workmanship was admired by the judges who also approved of the artistic chandelier hanging over the wooden staircase.

They were praised for presenting the only walk-in laundry on The Block that can be completely closed off to the rest of the house.

Darren also noted “there’s a lot more paint and a lot more finish than in any of the other houses”.

Up in their media room the skylight was complimented, but again, the judges felt that having the enormous safe on display was ostentatious.

In the end, Mitch and Mark took out the honours by half a point.

The final scores looked something like this

Mitch and Mark – 26

Luke and Tess – 20.5

Andy and Deb – 23

El’ise and Matt – 21

Jesse and Mel – 25.5

Jesse concluded the episode by getting snakey and saying he is “really pleased” with the design choices Mitch and Mark have made. He believes it has taken them out of the competition and now “everyone has a better chance to win”. He went so far as to liken Mitch and Mark’s place to “a public toilet”.

Tune in next week for the rooftop terrace, garage and re-do room reveal. Not only that, next week’s promo teases a “fall from grace” for Mitch and Mark who have accidentally ended up $8k in the red. We can only imagine how thrilling Jesse will find this.