Second episode of The Block Fans vs Faves and what did we think … a little underwhelmed? Disappointed? Left wanting more? I would have to agree.
We met Chris and Pascale, a teacher and social worker from Queensland, and Steve and Chantelle, a chimney sweep and entrepreneur from Victoria. Initial impression was that I loved the Victorian couples overall attitude and enthusiasm that we discovered once it was established that they “are not married”! Getting ahead of themselves a little early was the Queensland couple, seemingly convinced that they had the challenge in the bag before they had even begun due to the fact they’d just returned from New York – Block Wisdom; don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
Starting off in Carpet Court, it looked like Chris and Pascale had the right idea with their choice of grey floating timber floors, however it didn’t stay that way for long. Watching Pascale in Beacon Lighting was like listening to nails run down a chalkboard. Beacon has so many beautiful, industrial pendant lights! If only she had known the correct ceiling height!
Finishing up with a grey-wall and -floor bedroom design, the judges believed Chris and Pascale’s room lacked a lot of things but most of all, it lacked colour. Melbourne has a lot of amazing local artists, including Andrew O’Brien who supplied Dan and Dani’s artwork in The Block 2012. **Note: A variety of carefully selected and placed fruit on a plastic plate does not count as an injection of colour in any space.
In the other corner, we knew (after watching last nights episode) that Chantelle and Steve were onto something when they decided to keep the graffiti wall exposed (I wasn’t too sure about the jail-style look they were trying to achieve with the timber framing, however the integration of the Beacon Lighting LED strips was pretty unique and a great idea for what they had to work with). The stunning bedroom set from Object Design cost over half their budget but it was well worth it! Combined with the makeshift copper pipe and metal chain wardrobe, exquisite David Trubridge pendant (the gift from Scotty) and the quirky stacking of old-school storage boxes – “It’s not perfect but it shows ingenuity”, says Neale Whitaker.
A perfect conclusion to tonight’s episode is that right now on Twitter, #It’sAPlasticPlate is trending. Bring on the floor-less, roof-less, wall-less old movie theatre, I say, and let the mayhem begin!
