It was another week of mish-mashing up the rooms on The Block, with each team getting a "do-over". Hey, we've all made mistakes in the past we'd like to forget. Hell, I made about three last night!
The teams were forced to confront the errors of their ways head-on, and with only $2000 to fix them. It was met by a lethargic pace of work, as the trials and emotional stresses caught up with worn-out shoulders. By that I mean they were really f**king tired.
But they all churned out something. Some were just more successful than others.
Stace and Yanita
Poor Stace and Yanita faced major struggles getting their redone living room finished this week, after the heaters were kept hostage - thanks to a couple of cheeky zeroes handed out the week before. They were forced instead to air dry their walls with tiny handheld dryers, which worked about as effectively as me trying to iron my clothes with my hair straighteners while they're still on my body as I rush out the door to work. This had a flow-on effect, and they couldn't complete their plastering until the Gib was done, couldn't get painting, and therefore couldn't finish. As Yanita put it: "We're absolutely screwed."
The besties said the resulting room was a reflection of themselves - "beaten up, damaged, got a few holes", which I thought was an unnecessarily graphic biology lesson for the family TV time slot.
With all the disasters, the two cried and hugged each other a lot this week. Like, a lot. But they didn't give up. They kept going to the very end, producing a living area that was a massive improvement on the one before. One thing these girls do incredibly is mix grey and pin, and this cosy-yet-classy space was no exception. It was soothing and comfortable, and all I wanted to do was curl up on that big squashy couch.
Andy and Nate
The boys suffered their fair whack of set-backs this week. Coming off losing Dinner Wars, plus finding out they couldn't redo their bathrooms, it was a s**t show for the dads that left us wondering whether they could manage another cracker of a week.
But of course, with their slick organisation and cute wee smiles, they got all their tradies in like clockwork. As they said, "We like to be on time and we don't like to hold anyone up."
Are you listening Ling and Zing? Nah, they'll be napping somewhere.
As a backup option, the boys also redid their living room, taking it from scary lawyer's office foyer to an actual space you'd want to spend time in. There's no doubt Andy and Nate's style is super masculine, to the point where a book entitled Food for Fellas was used as an accessory. But all this chitter-chatter over styling is superfluous because we all know these two are going to take it out.
Ling and Zing
Every week, Ling and Zing teach me a new catchphrase that I vow to work into my vocab as soon as possible. While "bugger me days" was up there this week, referring to a problem as a "dodecahedron" has to take the cake.
What they have in original vocab, they lack in any styling ability. The brothers felt like a solid do-over was putting up a mirror. That really tuckered them out, so they were gutted to hear about their painting setbacks. Zing even had a whinge that he'd be painting on a Sunday, when it's his day off! How were you planning to relax on that day, Zing? Perhaps doing sweet FA like all the other days?
The boys ended up going for a "blank canvas" theme. Genius.
While judge Jason liked the mirror, as it was "quite reflective" (one job, achieved), their bedroom was changed in absolutely no way. Jason used some frantic hand gestures to express his upset at the first impressions, which really captured the horror of the moment and led to the lowest score ever awarded on the block - 0.5. Youch.
Julia and Ali
The twins were forced to get over a real dodecahedron of a problem this week - the big fat zeroes they received during Dinner Wars, plunging them to the bottom of the heap. But perhaps learning from other weeks, the twins put their heads down this week and pulled together a pretty decent room. They chose to redo the atrocious baby David Attenborough-themed kid's room, turning it into a simpler and stylish guest bedroom. Thank God, no more themed rooms. I'm begging you, Blockheads.
The judges were very excited about the styling, which to be honest I thought was fairly basic, albeit nice. However, the light box on the wall was one of the worst things I've ever seen. It was akin to the framed and mounted puzzle on the wall at your great aunt's place.
They also got rid of the beer crates, which I did have a nostalgic spot for as a product of flatting life at Otago.
But the toning-down to a more neutral theme was a real win. See what happens when you just get on with it and leave the drama to the others, twins? Double thumbs up!
While both the twins and the dads played their plus-ones during a tight scoring, Stace and Yanita came out with the win! That gave all the warm and fuzzies for a couple of gals that REALLY needed to catch a break.
The Block NZ airs Monday-Wednesday at 7:30pm and Sundays at 7pm on Three.
