The Block 2020 laundry and hallway reveal recap: Jimmy and Tam snatch a win

It feels like we have waited for the room reveals for way too long this week, like Block fans have been rugby tackled to the side and told to get in line by the sports lovers. Sorry, but these “unprecedented times” are making me sensitive and I just need to see what kind of laundry each couple comes up with. 

The Blockheads have dubbed this week as “hell week” and the tasks they were given are so big that Scotty pulled last year’s contestants out of iso and handed them a paint roller to help out. 

Even with the helping hands there has been no shortage of drama leading up to room reveals either, going as far as some couple’s builders getting fired up when the pot-stirrers, I mean foreman, Keith and Dan raise trouble. 

Scotty congratulates the teams and sends the All Stars on their way back to their iso caves and just like that they somehow finished “hell week” and the houses are all complete on the inside. 

On to the judging and as always Harry and Tash are up first. 

Harry and Tash know exactly how to score brownie points with Shaynna and have had her face uploaded to their facial-recognition front door lock. 

As they walk into the foyer Darren’s first words are “holy moly”. 

All three of the judges are loving the ’20s nods throughout the foyer and the couple’s use of skylights and artwork. 

“I understand why it’s not perfect [and] it isn’t,” Darren says, referring to the couple’s dodgy paint work.

Scotty tells the team “that painting must have been done by Mitch and Mark, because, Harry, your painting has been spot on for weeks now”. Can we get the producers to tell Scotty to roast the couples a little more? The delivery he has is perfection on those calls. 

Shaynna and the boys then head further down the hallway to discover some under-stair storage, which, of course, Shaynna is excited by. 

Scotty tells the team that Neale thinks the artwork is placed wrong up the stairwell and that the pendant light is “dated and generic”. 

They then head into the laundry and immediately notice a few things missing – like ironing board storage. “Isn’t that funny, it’s the one thing that always gets overlooked,” Neale says. I reckon Harry and Tash know their market to a tee and that in Brighton you would either only ever use a dry cleaner for items that require ironing, or would have a steamer at home. It would be simply uncouth to have it any other way, right?

“The decoration could add more drama, more impact, more emotional potential to grab a buyer,” says Darren and Shaynna agrees. “It just needs that little stamp of energy.” What on earth does that mean, Shaynna? 

“It’s not enough for me today,” Neale says and the judging for House 1 is over. A bit of a bleak wrap-up really. 

View The Block properties for sale

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

Over to Sarah and George’s place and to see if last week’s winners can make it a twofer. 

Walking in, the judges immediately start to point out things they like about the hallway. 

“I love the skirtings, the cornices, but we’ve got to get past this first,” says Darren, referring to a red bench with a random bowl of keys and pot plant on it. All three agree that this bench blocks the entryway for guests. 

On a more positive note, Darren adds “this art is next level, it is so perfectly 1940s”. 

“They had me at the vintage posters,” says Neale. 

The judges think that the house, unlike their neighbours Harry and Tash, has a bit too much colour and needs to be pared back a little. They also think that their arched door further down the hallway is “too beautiful to have a distraction from”. 

Heading into the powder room and Shaynna says “it’s so sweet”. 

“Look at that gorgeous wallpaper,” adds Neale. To me it looks like someone ripped the pages of gumnut babies books and glued them to the walls, but, hey, each to their own. 

“For me, this is faultless,” says Shaynna. 

They then find some more under-stairs storage, into which Shaynna promptly crawls. 

“That doesn’t work,” Darren says pointing at the floorboards against the stairs, “I don’t get it,” he adds. 

Scotty says that the couple should have stained the stairs to better match their walnut floors. 

“Standing here now I can’t believe I am actually standing in the same house,” says Neale and all three judges agree that the staircase does not feel like it matches the rest of the home. 

They then enter the laundry to find a dog bed, with a dog in it, which all of them seem to enjoy, actually. 

Neale says: “I love this but, does this belong with that hallway, and that stairway, I feel like I am in a different house.” 

It’s Daniel and Jade’s turn next and I can’t wait to see what their judge bribing trick is to compete with that puppy. 

Upon entering the hallway Shaynna says: “Well they have definitely gone with the period details.” 

“It’s very classy,” adds Darren. “It feels really serene.” 

“Vanilla sums it all up,” says Shaynna, implying the hallway is on the boring side. 

Neale says “it’s a bit bland” and Shaynna does not like their wallpaper choice at all. 

Heading to the staircase, Darren seems to be loving most of what the couple have delivered and repeating that everything is understated and elegant, whereas Shaynna and Neale look bored. 

“It feels ordinary,” says Neale. “Sell to me, sell me this beautiful house.” 

They then wrap up judging in the laundry and Neale feels like this room shows the couple’s confidence much more and says that the other rooms felt like “they had lost their way”. Oof. 

Walking into Luke and Jasmin’s hallway, Darren says “this is everything I loved from next door, but with more finesse”. “A lot more finesse,” Shaynna and Neale say together.  

“For the first time today, I’m feeling excited,” says Neale. 

There is a lot of love coming from the judges, with the L-word being thrown around like a millennial talking about Harry Styles. 

Into the powder room and Shaynna says “it’s a pretty hot powder room” and clocks the Darren Palmer-branded hand soap. Surely a sympathy point from him for that one? “Ten out of 10,” Darren exclaims. 

The judges then discover the couple’s enormous laundry. “I don’t think they could have done anything better,” says Darren. 

Shaynna looks super pumped to see a drying cabinet too. Scotty says Neale “cannot fault” this laundry, too. 

“Luke and Jasmin have probably the most quintessentially Brighton, modern, family home of all five,” says Darren. 

The judges all think when moving onto the staircase that this couple’s home feels the most consistent and together. 

Neale says that this home will grab buyers attention and as Scotty put it “they are the ones that are going to dig deep on auction day”. 

Finally, it’s Jimmy and Tam’s turn and they hope their game-changer will win over the judges and get them back onto a winning streak. 

And, straight away walking in the judges are big fans of the couple’s vintage chandelier game-changer. “That is absolutely beautiful,” says Neale. “It is stunning,”replies Shaynna. 

“There is so much to love in here, you walk through the door and it’s a visual feast,” says Neale. And they haven’t even left the hallway at this point. 

Before he gets too comfy, Neale spots the hallway table and thinks it looks like a display for a shop and that the couple need to put something more inviting there. 

Shaynna then opens up Jimmy and Tam’s secret door to their laundry, which she said: “If that’s a wine room, I think I’ll lose my mind”. 

Sorry to disappoint Shaynna, but it’s a place for your dirty washing. 

“What a masterstroke to panel that wall and hide that door,” Darren said.

“Perfect, genius,” says Neale and they are all loving the laundry styling and layout. 

“There are so many ideas in here that could really go wrong but have been out together so well,” adds Darren. 

They then discover the hidden powder room under the stairs and Darren asks “What’s not to love”. 

The love bubble continues with the judges on the staircase and they find no faults. 

That is until Shaynna spots the “whole of Brighton coming past here” with no window dressings and she is right. Who in their right mind would want to see the “whole of Brighton”, let alone spot the people walking it from their stair landing? 

“There is no way that can proceed to sale like that,” adds Darren. 

“Coming downstairs in the knick, you’re on show,” says Scotty. “Some people like that,” responds Jimmy. Nudists in Brighton? Surely not. 

“If you can just keep up the energy for three more weeks, you will deliver the best Block ever,” Scotty says to wrap up the final judging for the inside of the houses for 2020. 

When the scores are tallied, playing their sneaky gnome scores the win for Jimmy and Tam, and Jasmin and Luke are not happy Jan. Jasmin says to Scotty “I don’t want to talk about it” and tells Luke to take her home. It’s an awkward ending to a mammoth week on The Block. 

Final Scores:

Jimmy & Tam 28 + 1 Gnome Point = 29

Luke & Jasmin 28.5

Harry & Tash 25

Sarah and George 25

Daniel & Jade 25