The Block 2020 guest bathroom reveal recap: Judges flush the efforts of two teams

Week two on The Block has had so many ups and downs, it feels like I’ve been sitting on the Scenic Railway for the past six days with a belly full of fairy floss. 

Scotty dropped a bombshell on the Blockheads, revealing that the team with the most points for the season will get to choose the order of the auctions. This had the contestants rattled, almost as if they had entered a competition. 

This week the couples are to get cracking on their guest en suite bathrooms (what a mouthful) with a budget of $22,000 each. And last week they were all under budget, so they should have some spare cash to give their rooms a little extra pizazz. 

Maybe Luke and Jasmin can venture out of their modern-contemporary bubble and splash some cash on some period features to please Shaynna Blaze? 

During the week the couples faced Melbourne’s wrath with a downpour literally raining on their parade and holding up their bathroom progress.

Melbourne local Harry snuck off to his Hampton home for a hot shower. To be honest if my dad shared a Brighton-beach-box-slash-bedroom with me for an entire week, he would  probably do the same. No offence Tash.

Darren Palmer popped into Luke and Jasmin’s place for some friendly design advice and Luke repaired his bromance with Keith after a few awkward moments with each other. 

Daniel and Jade were told that, sadly, Daniel’s grandfather had passed, meaning they had to head home to attend the funeral, leaving their build up in the air.

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House 1, Harry and Tash: 364 New Street, Brighton

House 2, Sarah and George: 362B New Street, Brighton

House 3, Daniel and Jade: 362A New Street, Brighton

House 4, Luke and Jasmin: 360B New Street, Brighton

House 5, Jimmy and Tam: 360A New Street, Brighton

But Dan and Keith stepped in, with Scotty’s blessing of course, to help Daniel and Jade deliver a bathroom while they were off The Block with their family.  

The question on my lips this week, apart from when will this godforsaken Melbourne lockdown end, is will the couples actually meet the era brief this week? 

They all seemed a bit dumbfounded that the judges would want them to design a home that is true to its heritage and history for their first rooms. Let’s hope they can deliver us the goods, but also kind of not, ’cause we live for the drama. 

After a very long night for some, poor Luke and Jasmin, and a leisurely sleep-in for others, it is time for tools down and we are ready for judging. 

But before we get started, Scotty tells the Blockheads that each week he will have a “flash lunch booking” for the Saturday before tools down, and as long as their rooms are done before then, the Milky Bars are on him. Ah, the things Melburnians would do for a meal out right now … 

Judging time, and this season we are so very lucky, for some reason, to be getting treated to a dancing montage of the three judges. I reckon these three tore up the D-floor at Chasers in their day. 

First up, House 1 with Harry and Tash, who have the smallest of the bathrooms this week.

I feel like I am watching an old superhero cartoon with the judges’ first reactions as they walk into the couple’s en suite. “Pow,” “Colour,” “Cute,” “Wow,” proclaimed Darren and Shaynna and they were loving the blue tiles. 

Neale Whitaker is enjoying the skylight and the height of the room. But the compliments stopped there.

Shaynna immediately adds, this is not ’20s, it’s earlier. Neale says it appears the couple is going down a “generic heritage path” rather than zoning in on their actual decade. 

The team gets a slap on the wrist for not including the signature ’20s tile, terrazzo. I mean, who knew – well, the judges do, of course. 

Darren thinks the team missed a key Brighton feature, the underfloor heating.

How on earth are the ladies of Brighton meant to pop a bit of face comfortably on with a cold floor? Heaven forbid their soles feel a chill. 

Overall Harry and Tash were congratulated on their planning of the space and the judges praised them for keeping it highly functional for the size.

Shaynna did leave the Melburnians with a warning, though: “If they don’t begin to hit this brief, I may get a little bit nasty.” 

We are beginning to feel like someone needs to sit the Blockheads down this season and run a Powerpoint on what each era looks like.

I am beginning to feel like Kath Day Knight, being served Baby Cheeses, not the Baby Jesus I asked for, Kimmie. Get ya history books out kids, the judges mean business. 

Over at Sarah and George’s 1940s house, and their focus this week seemed to be making sure you can “drop the kids off in peace” in their en suite, erm OK, toilet ‘umour’ is not very Briiighton, guys.

The judges walked in completely surprised with the huge en suite they were faced with. Neale said, “The 1940s have never looked so glamorous”, and at this point we are not sure if glamour is in the era brief or not. 

Thankfully, the judges are very impressed and Shaynna says, “the vanity is absolutely divine”. Darren adds the “detailing is really on point here”.

As the judges keep looking into this en suite, there are more ticks appearing, especially the underfloor heating. Cop that Harry and Tash. 

Neale says this is “part bathroom, part cathedral” and is amazed that it is just for guests. 

Darren believes that the team have most definitely blended the 1940s with 2020 and, with that, Sarah and George have managed to achieve the unthinkable so far for this season, by actually meeting the brief.

I don’t know about you, but I really doubt we will be talking about 2020 style in such a glowing manner … pandemic chic, maybe?

Daniel and Jade are up and, after a very tough week personally, I am shocked they even finished a room. But being the reliable, hard-working farmers they are, they buckled up and got the job done. 

When Darren walked into House 3 he says, “We are definitely in 2020, this is hot.” All right, Paris Hilton, settle down. 

The more the judges pondered the room, the less period detailing they could spot and Shaynna is not a fan of the daggy laminex vanity and floor tiles, branding them “dated already”. 

The judges think that the market will love this bathroom, but they keep mentioning how 2020 the styling is and how it is not consistent with the guest bedroom the couple delivered last week.

Neale then calls the en suite a “complete cop out”. Ouch, he seems unusually fired up. “The brief is the brief is the brief and it’s not hitting it.”

We learnt last week that Luke and Jasmin are not keen on keeping their 1910s home true to its era and whether the judges (Shaynna) like it or not, they will stick to their modern style. 

It does seem now that the couple have realised or, as some would say, come to their senses, that this is a TV show and if they want extra cash each week, they have to give the judges what they want. 

“Ooh la la,” says Shaynna entering the bathroom – she must’ve forgotten she is in Brighton, but I guess that is better than her tearing up like last week when she judged the couple’s room. 

Neale says, “Now, that is a bit more like it”, while Darren clenches his fist and declares “yes”. So far it’s looking like a redemption for Luke and Jasmin with this room, and Shaynna is very fond of their wood panelling and tile choices, “just gorgeous”.

All three of the judges agree the couple have perfectly blended period details with a contemporary design and, to be honest, I did not think we would see the day that this couple delivered the brief. 

Darren does note that the fluted shower screen is the wrong way around for cleaning purposes, but regardless they are all very impressed.

Neale has a slight issue that there is no storage behind the mirror (he must be channelling Shaynna today). Jasmin does not think that “people in the real world have an issue with that”, and I guess we will see come auction day for this couple. 

Last week’s winners Jimmy and Tam are last for judging and Darren’s first comment has us worried. “It feels like a public pool change room in here” but Scotty assures us he meant that in the nicest way possible. Alrighty then. 

Shaynna praises the couple for choosing a green sink that represents the ’50s perfectly and Neale says the colour choices just “take you back to a different era”. 

“I can’t remember the last time I walked into a bathroom that put such a big smile on my face,” says Neale, and with that it’s looking like our resident bowlo queen and plumber duo have got their second win in the bag.

Until he notices they are missing handles on the inside of their bathroom door. 

Now it’s scoring time and I am already pumped for next week to see who cries first, my money is still on Sarah. 

Scotty tells the Blockheads it’s time for master bedroom next week with $19,000 in the bank and I have three words for you all to look forward to: Walk. In. Robes. 

Final scores:

Jimmy & Tam 28.5

Sarah & George 27

Luke & Jasmin 25.5

Daniel & Jade 23

Harry & Tash 21.5