The Block 2019 rooftop terrace and re-do room reveal recap: El'ise and Matt save the best 'til last

We all know you’re not meant to gloat when a frontrunner takes a spill. But gee, the competitors on The Block are having a hard time keeping a lid on their glee upon hearing the news that golden boys Mitch and Mark have miscalculated and have overspent to the tune of $8000.

The judges had a big task this week, scoring 15 rooms in total – each house revealed a rooftop terrace, a garage and a redo room. Here’s how it played out.

Mitch and Mark

After renegotiating their pay deal with their tradies and having a furniture fire sale to recoup some funds, the boys fell foul of foreman Keith when they spent time and money redoing those god-awful tiles at the bottom of their staircase instead of fixing the 103 defects in their house.

Keith’s worried they’ll fail to get a certificate of occupancy and won’t have a house to sell come auction time. The boys did not take Keith’s admonishing well, with Mitch saying, “I felt like a dog that had been beaten trying to defend myself.”

Their woes didn’t end there. Mitch pushed the “party house” joke a bit too far with his styling of the rooftop terrace. Discarded beer bottles and clothes were not strong styling choices as far as the judges were concerned.

The aim was to make it look like a couple had come back there after a big night out and had continued the party on the rooftop, but Neale Whitaker said: “There is a fine line between having a joke and being trashy … this is not glamorous.”

The furrowed brows continued with their redo room, the guest bedroom on level 2.

While Darren Palmer was pleased to see they had removed the beading from the walls, Neale said he was disappointed that they had removed the photos of the ocean above the bed and the palm tree images that tied in beautifully with the St Kilda surrounds. “It’s lost its sense of fun … they have taken out everything that I liked,” he said.

After

Before

Mitch and Mark’s guest bedroom – before (swipe left) and after (swipe right).

Their garage was a success though, with its artsy mural, Kombi van, EV charging station and Tesla power wall.

Tess and Luke

The Queenslanders have come to terms with the fact that they have barely any money left and have “owned it”, according to Tess.

For their redo room they decided to convert their formal lounge into a formal dining room to give them a point of difference.

After

Before

Tess and Luke’s re-do room – before (swipe left) and after (swipe right).

It was a big win. When Shaynna Blaze walked in, she exclaimed, “How good is this?”

Darren also approved, saying, “This is a dining table that is fit for a house this big.”

Neale pointed out, “The beauty of these houses is you have room for a [formal dining room] so if you have room for one, why not? Mitch and Mark aren’t the only ones with a party house … this is the dinner party house.”

Their rooftop terrace was also a success, with Darren saying, “This is the place where you come to have a glass of wine and a cheese board and enjoy the sunshine.”

Their garage was a bit underwhelming (fundamentally just gyprock, paint and power points), but all up the judges were impressed with their efforts, with Shaynna saying, “I feel like they had that horrible part in the middle, but they’ve really risen towards the end.”

Andy and Deb

Despite Mitch throwing shade at Andy and Deb’s use of festoon lighting on their rooftop (“Strictly Ballroom has passed … you’re three decades too late”), the judges were enamoured with their terrace presentation.

Comprising a fridge, barbecue, couches, sink, an eight-seater dining table and a bar space overlooking the rooftops, Darren said, “This is a dream deck.”

Neale agreed, saying, “This sparks joy. I think this terrace is a game-changer … this is now a frontrunner as a party house, too.”

Shaynna added: “I think the other contestants should be afraid, because they allowed them to have this and this could win them The Block.”

When it came to the redo room, Andy and Deb opted to make over their first guest bedroom on level two.

After

Before

Andy and Deb’s re-do room – before (swipe left) and after (swipe right).

Neale loved the result, saying, “It now feels like a more confident and grown-up version of the original room … I wouldn’t change a thing about it.”

With their garage they scored points for “future proofing” with the Tesla power wall, but there was no real styling. As the judges summarised, “It’s just a functional garage.”

El’ise and Matt

El’ise and Matt have been getting a bit of stick from the other couples for all the naked lady artwork throughout their property.

Tess said, “Their house is filled with ladies of the night”, and Mitch didn’t mince his words, saying “it’s basically a whorehouse”. So it’s probably good they decided against their proposed mural of a woman on their rooftop terrace – Mitch would have had a field day.

Instead their point of difference is an outdoor fireplace, which the judges adored. Shaynna was particularly impressed with the bench seat with the firewood stacked underneath it and the “cracking” outdoor kitchen that included a barbecue, sink and fridge.

In the redo stakes the Perth pair opted to make over their kitchen. It’s the room that received the most negative feedback.

After

Before

El’ise and Matt’s kitchen – before (swipe left) and after (swipe right).

The judges originally criticised the lack of preparation space and the placement of the rangehood, so they were impressed with the improvements.

To fix those issues El’ise and Matt moved the ovens (to open up the niche so there’s more prep space) and installed an induction cooktop that can also be used as extra prep space. They removed the rangehood and opted for down-draught ventilation instead.

This led to Darren commenting, “I feel like El’ise and Matt have rescued their house.”

Their garage was also a success, with the judges loving the graffiti style mural (which fits in with St Kilda’s urban vibe) and the attention to detail with the painted floor, skirting tiles, proper storage and a working area.

Jesse and Mel

Jesse and Mel decided to put all their effort into the rooftop terrace this week and didn’t spend much time or money on their garage or redo room.

The judges deemed their entertaining terrace a win, crediting their clever use of space, barbecue, heater, extended bench (perfect for sitting and having drinks at) and the wheels under the lounge suites so they can be reconfigured. All up they calculated that 20 people could be seated on the terrace.

Darren described it as formulaic, but he meant that as a compliment. Neale concurred, saying, “They’ve created a glamorous blank canvas.”

That’s where the compliments ended. Jesse and Mel decided to redo their master bedroom and really only changed some superficial elements such as artwork, linen and bedside tables. As Shaynna put it upon entering, “That’s as boring as batshit.”

After

Before

Jesse and Mel’s re-do room – before (swipe left) and after (swipe right).

Their garage didn’t fare much better. They really only plastered and painted the garage and installed a power wall.

In the end, El’ise and Matt used their super gnome point and won by 1.5 points (which was a long time coming – week two was their last win). They also now have the honour of landing the highest point score ever in Block history.

Final scores

Mitch and Mark – 22

Tess and Luke – 27

Andy and Deb – 29

El’ise and Matt – 30.5

Jesse and Mel – 24

Tune in next week as we get to the pointy end and the Blockheads reveal their final space (front gardens/street appeal) before the auction episode airs next Sunday, November 10.