He was deemed a “triple threat” after winning Wednesday night’s guest bedroom challenge, but Jesse and his girlfriend Mel had the judges far from impressed in Sunday night’s ensuite reveal.
Each of the five couples on The Block were given another mammoth task of completing a bathroom in just a few days, and while some succeeded, others failed pretty badly.
In their minds, Jesse and Mel had delivered a “fantastic” room “given the time restraints”.
“I think the judges will say ‘fantastic design, the layout is great and had they completed they would have had a shot to take the win back-to-back’,” said a very confident Jesse.
Eh, awkward. His theory was far from reality for Neale Whitaker, who described their guest ensuite as a “tomb” and a “fail”, while Shaynna Blaze struggled to find any other words but “whoa” and “yawn”. Ouch.
The Melbourne couple spent most of their time and energy beautifying their guest bedroom, and even though they won $140,000 for coming first, it resulted in them coming last.
HOUSE 5: Jesse and Mel
Neale in particular was not very impressed with their bathroom and said even if they had finished it, he felt he would have been standing in a “grey tomb”.
To be fair, there was a lot of grey, which is why Darren suggested they paint two of the walls white — but rebel Jesse wasn’t impressed.
It appears he may have to make a few changes despite not wanting to because their unfinished bathroom earned them a painfully low score of just 14.
Neale clearly hated it and was obviously super disappointed. He was having a massive moment and even said he felt “cheated” by Jesse and Mel. *Cue breakup music*
“I felt so excited when I walked into their bedroom. I felt I was seeing something totally new on The Block. Now I feel like I am seeing something truly old.”
“Is this the same couple that delivered that amazing room,” Neale continued while holding a sad looking pot plant.
“There is nothing. They can tick all those boxes of functionality, but if I’m not feeling good in here then it’s failed.”
Darren Palmer felt like playing good cop and didn’t think their design and style was too bad, like the “amazing vanity and beautiful basin”.
“I love how they’ve offset the taps, I love how they have inset an off-the-shelf shaving cabinet into the wall.”
But that was about it.
Shaynna added that she just didn’t see the glamour “in here that I’ve seen in all the other bathrooms. It’s a yawn.”
HOUSE 1: Mitch and Mark
The judges loved everything about Mitch and Mark’s room — especially the tiles. The only negative thing to say was about the ceiling not having a few extra coats of paint.
“It’s a really simple palette of this marble-look tile which is ultra impressive,” Darren said.
Neale felt like he had just stepped into a 1940s film set. He described the luxurious design as Hollywood glamour.
“I was worried the bedroom they delivered was too much, but the ensuite was spot on,” Neale said.
“This totally demonstrates the power of the old cliche — less is more. This just feels so balanced.”
The judges also seemed to appreciate the unique toilet. It was “remote control”.
But Shaynna was worried if it was “too much too soon”.
“A toilet like this should be in the main bathroom. They really need to measure where they’re spending their money.”
The Bondi boys earned themselves an impressive score of 27.5 — and second spot on the leaderboard.
HOUSE 2: Tess and Luke
Jesse and Mel weren’t the only ones to cop flak from the judges. Tess and Luke also felt the pain. In fact, they were slammed with a double whammy after they failed to deliver both room challenges.
Tess simply described it as the “week from hell”. They came last on Wednesday and second last in the ensuite reveal with a score of 20.
Upon walking in, Neale felt it wasn’t anything new.
“I haven’t seen anything I haven’t seen before,” he said.
The word the judges used to describe their style was “undercooked”.
“I feel they’d be better off spending less money on these finishes and rooms that are less important and more on their styling to glam it up,” Shaynna pointed out.
But her main concern was whether it was all a waste of money, drawing particular attention to the double vanity.
“They made the conscious choice to give this bathroom extra real estate, running risk of burning through their budget before even getting halfway,” Darren added.
However, he did like the patterned feature tiles against the white wall.
That’s a win I guess.
HOUSE 3: Andy and Deb (winners)
Andy and Deb went from coming last in the guest bedroom challenge to first in Sunday night’s room reveal with a score of 28. It also earned them $10,000.
In a nutshell, the judges loved it because it was a “beautiful” bathroom delivered on “budget”. It must have been good because Neale couldn’t get over it, a far cry from what he thought about Jesse and Mel’s reveal.
“The biggest compliment I can give this ensuite is the fact I want to pick it up and put it in my home,” Neale keenly said.
The floating vanity, the decor-style mirror and the circular shaving cabinet “all worked” for him.
Darren loved the white-on-white tile finish.
He loved the tiles so much he even took a moment to touch them, seductively.
“I love the simplicity of this matt white tile, but the fact they’ve used it consistently for all the walls gives a lovely tactility that makes it feel luxurious and expensive.”
Darren also appreciated the functionality and the aesthetic of the room — an earthy glamour is how they all described it.
“What I love is it demonstrates luxury can be achieved in so many different ways,” Neale said, while Shaynna added that Andy and Deb proved they could “achieve budget on a very beautiful level”.
Andy and Deb went from being a major concern for the judges to the judges being confident in them both as a team.
HOUSE 4: Matt and Elise
Upon entry, the judges appreciated the vanity and sage tiles.
Shaynna described it as a “sweet, little room” but had an issue with the practicality of struggling to apply make-up due to the shadows caused by the mid-century-designed pendant light.
To be fair, she has a point.
She also criticised the choice of floor tiles, saying it’s “one mistake that drains the luxury feelings from the room”.
Darren took a particular liking to the black taps, vanity and tiles. (He loves tiles.)
“I think they’re onto a good bathroom,” he said.
Neale wanted to make sure both Matt and Elise knew their ensuite was “not bad”.
“Their strength is an interpretation of modern decor, and that’s where they need to go with this,” he said.
They got a score of 22, coming in third spot.
SCOREBOARD:
Mitch and Mark: 27.5
Tess and Luke: 20
Andy and Deb: 28 (winners)
Matt and Elise: 22
Jesse and Mel: 14
Next week the couples begin their formal lounge room. The Block airs at 7pm on Channel 9.
