The Block 2024 guest en suite reveal recap: Judges divided over The Block guest en suites

September 29, 2024

Welcome to Week 7, when our Blockheads tackle the last bathroom of the season – the guest en suites. You’d think by now, with two bathrooms under their tool belts, they’d have this nailed. Guess again! This week proved that just because you’ve survived two bathroom renovations doesn’t mean the third one’s a breeze. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.

But before we get into tiles and taps, let’s dive into some fresh drama.

It’s Maddy and Charlotte’s turn in the hot seat, and no, it’s not because of their en suite’s underfloor heating. After some sneaky house-flipping videos of the girls surfaced online (thanks to detective Chelsea, aka Haydn’s wife), the Blockheads are buzzing with gossip.

Tension is brewing. Photo: Nine

While the girls have been telling everyone they’re accountants, it turns out their “real job” is flipping houses, and their daddy is a mortgage broker. Oh, the scandal! They did let this slip to Mimi when they first arrived, but oops, she seems to have forgotten. Haydn calls them out, but the sisters brush it off. Meanwhile, Haydn and Ricky hide a real estate agent in their back pocket. Oh, the irony!

Then, to spice things up even more, there’s a last-minute challenge that throws everyone into a tizz. All-nighters abound as the teams race to finish their bathrooms before Scotty’s ominous “tools down”.

Let’s see who thrives under the pressure – and who sinks.

House 1: Maddy and Charlotte guest en suite reveal ($19,660 spend)

House 1 Maddy and Charlotte
1/113-119 Justice Road, Cowes VIC 3922
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Fresh off their first perfect 10 last week, Maddy and Charlotte were riding high — until the reality of going solo without Jessie and Paige’s design influence hit them hard. Tensions flared when Charlotte cracked it at Maddy for spending too much time shopping, and you could cut the air with a knife as they scrambled to finish their bathroom. 

But when it came to the judges? They were loving it.

Marty is the first to point out, “You can see a real shift in style now, can’t you? Their experience is really starting to shine through. This is a more sophisticated palette to what Jesse and Paige were doing, and so marketable to a very broad range of buyer.”

This is the first room Maddy and Charlotte have completed on their own, without Jesse and Paige's design choices. Photo: Nine

The judges are so taken with the girls’ style that they even coined a new term for it: “Classic Simplicity”.

Shaynna is thrilled with their progression, as this is the first space that’s truly theirs, saying, “If this is what they’re delivering, I’m really happy. To produce this standard, it’s remarkable.”

Marty agrees, adding, “It’s shifted for the better.” Darren, while emotionally withholding his usual “Yums” and touchy-touchy antics, admires the overall feel, noting: “It’s a lovely colour palette. Subtle, simple, and sophisticated.”

The neutral tones and off-white palette were a hit with all three judges. Photo: Nine

However, it wasn’t all sunshine and palm trees. Marty, in full Disappointed Dad mode, couldn’t help but spot a misstep – the awkward toilet placement behind the door, which he called “the wrong way round,” once again showcasing his keen eye for detail.

But despite that, the neutral tones and off-white palette were a hit with all three judges. 

House 2: Courtney and Grant guest en suite reveal ($27,573 spend)

House 2 Courtney and Grant
2/113-119 Justice Road, Cowes VIC 3922
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Courtney and Grant, fresh off their bonus point penguin win, were brimming with confidence. “We’re in a good spot. We’re in a good spot,” they kept repeating (apparently, if you say it three times in an unfinished shower recess, Jesse and Paige come back).

Their signature Moditerranean style is on full display, but is it too much?

Marty certainly thinks so, calling the design “far too over the top” and adding, “Wow, this is full on.” His biggest gripe? The floor plan. Courtney and Grant took space from their office to extend the size of the en suite.

Marty 'absolutely hates' the tiling in Courtney and Grant's en suite. Photo: Nine

“This will not market well. It’s like walking into a kid’s maze, and I absolutely hate it,” he grumbles, serving up some serious seaside saltiness. “This is now two weeks in a row where Grumpy and Courtney are actually making me a bit grumpy.”

Darren, on the other hand, is living for it. “It’s hot, it looks awesome. It’s so good and so exciting – it’ll look fantastic on a marketing brochure,” he raves, even calling it one of the most coherent designs of the season. “They’ve swung hard for a designer market and they have struck it out of the park.” Clearly, Darren is all in on the Moditerranean vibe, declaring, “It’s definitely my favourite this season.”

Darren loves everything about it,. Photo: Nine

Shaynna finds herself in the middle. “It definitely has impact. Visually, this is incredibly unique … this is in a league of its own,” she admits. But when it comes to the layout, she’s back on Marty’s team: “This is form over function … I’m going to stand by their design choice, but I’m not going to stand by their floor plan choice” Ouch!

And just when you think Marty is done, he throws one more jab: “Courtney and Grant’s signature Moditerranean might have slipped these last two weeks. It’s starting to get a little gimmicky for me.” Oof – shots fired!

House 3: Ricky and Haydn guest en suite reveal ($33,112 spend)

House 3 Ricky and Haydn
3/113-119 Justice Road, Cowes VIC 3922
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After last week’s kitchen disaster, Ricky and Haydn came armed and ready for another roasting – literally. The boys even brought a pack of veggies to judging, just in case. But spoiler alert: they didn’t need them. This week, they stuck to their bold circular theme, and it was all about yellow. And let’s just say there was no missing it, because it was so yellow …

Marty isn’t exactly glowing, offering a dry critique: “It’s a bit of yellow.”

Darren is more generous with his praise, calling the design “a great layout. A nice expansive shower, big vanity, beautiful nude basin … I love that”.

It's all about the yellow in Ricky and Haydn's guest en suite. Photo: Nine

Shaynna is proud of the boys’ progress, too: “They’ve upped the ante. I think there’s a lot of good, good things in here.” But, as always, she didn’t hold back on the details: “I feel like the yellows are clashing,” she points out, noting the cool and warm tones aren’t exactly a match made in heaven. Her fix? “Maybe a quick door repaint.”

Marty, meanwhile, admires the overall layout and appreciates that “it’s a sway from the masculine rooms that we’ve seen. It’s got a bit more femininity, which I really like”. His final verdict? “Is it an amazing bathroom that gets the senses going? No.” (Because apparently, Marty’s senses are hard to impress.) He does concede: “But is it marketable to a large range of buyers? Yes, it is.”

It's a step up for the boys, and they managed to finish a bathroom. Hooray. Photo: Nine

Despite the clashing yellows, Marty loves the quirky circular designs, noting that they were tying the house together in a cohesive way: “It’s actually working for them.”

Shaynna says it’s a big tick for the boys “because we were very hard on them last week and I think they’ve done a great job, and they’ve finished a bathroom”.

And those veggies? Left unopened … for now. 

House 4: Kylie and Brad guest en suite reveal ($28,148 spend)

House 4 Kylie and Brad
4/113-119 Justice Road, Cowes VIC 3922
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This week, Kylie and Brad were hit with just about every tradie setback imaginable – one had a new baby, one was in a car accident, and others were complete no-shows. With tiling starting at 2pm on Friday, the pair found themselves 1.5 days behind schedule. Was it bad luck, or Kylie tempting fate with her infamous “I don’t like bathrooms …”? 

Despite the chaos, Kylie and Brad remained upbeat: “We’re pretty proud of where we’re at. We got way further than we thought.” But would the judges notice those unfinished details (like the missing caulking)?

Marty thinks those timber-look tiles are a 'mistake'. Photo: Nine

Darren absolutely loves what the duo has put together. “Wow, that’s a lot,” he says, praising the bold and unique choices. This is exactly what I thought they were aiming for in their first bathroom,” and he can’t get enough of the timber-look tiles, calling them a “great look”.

But Marty? He is not impressed. “I think that’s a mistake … it’s not what I would have done,” he declares, clearly unimpressed with those timber-look tiles. Compared to their kitchen triumph last week, he thinks it’s a definite misstep: “It’s not a level up; it’s a level down.”

But Shaynna and Darren like what Kylie and Brad have done this week, especially that blush basin. Photo: Nine

“We’re going to battle on this one,” Shaynna says. She loves the baby-pink Nood Co column basin and thinks the artwork is a huge improvement from their Week 1 DIY fail. “It’s so much more sophisticated,” she says, admiring their growth. But she isn’t ready to declare total victory: “Will everyone love it? I don’t think so, but, to me, there are a lot of wins here.”

Marty, of course, spots the unfinished grouting and can’t help but wonder what went wrong after last week’s stellar kitchen. Shaynna agrees that the lack of attention to detail detracted from the bigger design picture.

But Darren stands his ground, insisting, “They have something special.” And even Shaynna admits, “I 100 per cent agree.”

House 5: Kristian and Mimi guest en suite reveal ($27,722 spend)

House 5 Kristian and Mimi
5/113-119 Justice Road, Cowes VIC 3922
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Mimi isn’t exactly jumping for joy over her own bathroom this week, admitting she was “still a bit uninspired by it”. Luckily for her, Kristian is all about keeping the mood positive, claiming, “This week started off a nightmare and ended up okay.” Would the judges see it the same way?

Marty sure does, giving the pair a thumbs-up, calling their work “clean and very marketable” and adding, “Now, this is what I like. It’s just so well put together.”

Shaynna also loves the blue and green colour scheme, especially in the basin, vanity, and shower. But then things take a turn.

Have we seen this before? Shaynna and Darren think so. Photo: Nine

Shaynna isn’t feeling the off-centre ceiling panels, calling them “odd,” and Darren agrees. “I really dislike it. It’s an inclusion for the sake of inclusion,” he says, bluntly adding, “I have a problem with it.”

Marty, however, is on a different page, pushing back with, “For me, it actually warms up the room. I really like it.”

Unfortunately, the finishing touches aren’t quite as polished. Wonky mirrors, dodgy shelves, and an overall sense of deja vu from Kristian and Mimi’s previous bathrooms leave Shaynna and Darren underwhelmed. “It’s a bit of the same same,” Shaynna says with a sigh, as Darren chimes in, “I’m underwhelmed by this aesthetic, purely because I’ve seen it before in this house.”

Marty loves the consistency throughout the house though. Photo: Nine

But Marty, ever the contrarian, flips the narrative. “They’ve really nailed their consistency, and buyers love consistency,” he argues, seeing their repetition as a positive, not a flaw.

Was it a hit or just more of the same? It depends on who you ask!

Week seven guest en suite scores

House Team Score Place
House 1 Maddy and Charlotte 27.5 1st
House 2 Courtney and Grant 24 5th
House 3 Ricky and Haydn 25 2nd
House 4 Kylie and Brad 24.5 3rd
House 5 Kristian and Mimi 24.5 3rd

Amid all the drama, Maddy and Charlotte’s “Classic Simplicity” secured them the win, though Kylie and Brad are less than thrilled about the Sydney “accountants” taking the top spot.

Courtney and Grant’s bold bathroom is a flop, earning them their lowest score yet.

Ricky and Haydn finally avoided a roast, snagging second place, while Kylie and Brad stuck to their design guns, quietly throwing shade. And Mimi and Kristian? They’re fast learning that predictability isn’t always a winner. 

With tensions rising and a hint of villainy brewing, there’s no denying the “Real Housewives of The Block” drama has begun.

This article is brought to you by Snooze. It’s amazing what 50 years of Snooze can do.

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