The contestants on The Block Villa Wars thought laundry and stairs week was going to be easy compared to past weeks, but it turned out to be a really tough one for most. Brooke wasn't happy when her laundry failed to be installed first, which put all her tradies behind schedule. She caused a bit of a stir by storming off the site, but came back composed. A mis-measure meant their hero piece (an American oak feature wall by their stairs) was too short, and their builders were forced to do some quick thinking to come up with a solution. Despite all this drama the pair finished the week with yet another win.
Brooke and Mitch: 1st place | 18 points
With an extra large space, Brooke and Mitch were able to add a small powder room next to their laundry, which is a definite bonus for buyers. The laundry space is clean and functional, but once again (in my opinion) lacking any kind of "wow".
I love American oak, so I do like the feature wall, even with the tacked on piece at the top. The stairway is clean and tidy, but screaming out for some beautiful art on the wall, don't you think?
Sarah and Minanne: 2nd equal place | 16.5 points
Bridesmaids again, the girls came equal second with Cat and Jeremy. I like that they used black marble tiles as their laundry splash back, which ties in with their main bathroom. Loads of bench space makes it very functional, but it's still a little underwhelming in terms of style and design flair.
Another wood feature on the stairs, but as Sarah and Minanne don't have as big a budget as Brooke and Mitch they had to use a more cost effective pine. It still looks great, and adds warmth and texture. Space at the top of the stairs has been turned into a study nook. It's a good thought to utilise the space, I just wonder whether you'd want to study or work in this particular spot. I'd rather have a beautifully styled console table with a piece of art that would make me smile every time I came up and down the stairs.
Cat and Jeremy: 2nd equal place | 16.5 points
These guys usually have a bit more flair than the others, and remain my favourites because of that. They certainly haven't gone crazy in their laundry either, but have some nice touches like the washing basket, the hooks on the wall, and the little space under the washing machine and dryer for shoes.
Cat and Jeremy also had room for a small bathroom, and I love the repetition of circles in their mirror and the artwork on the stairs. Love the choice of artwork (they've used art as a feature throughout their home), and the scale is great, it's nice to have something substantial as a focus in the stairway.
Jamie and Hayden: 3rd place | 15 points
You have to give them some credit - they are often coming in at the back of the pack, but each week they say that "this is their week", and they haven't been swayed from their black and white theme. The addition of a large fridge in the laundry will be appealing to buyers, and all four of the laundries are fantastic in acting as mudrooms where bags, shoes, sports gear etc can be stored before entering the rest of the house.
Jamie, acting as project manager, butted heads with her builder this week, but they managed to put their differences aside and finish all of their spaces.
All of the teams' spaces are functional, clean and tidy, but am I the only one wanting more?! I know budgets are tight for some teams, and the timing for all is insane, but everyone seems to playing very safe. Perhaps because Brooke and Mitch are winning continuously with their minimal look, the others teams are adopting this look too (?) I'm a big believer that small spaces like toilets and laundries should have personality too. Because you don't spend long periods of time in them, you can afford to be a bit adventurous - bring in wallpaper, pattern, colour, life. Maybe this week :)
You may've noticed that I'm no longer blogging every day. With my interior design business, Bibby + Brady, growing and getting busier and busier, I had been struggling to keep with five blog posts a week. I've decided it's a much better idea to do three quality posts a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday - where I will share with you Bibby + Brady jobs we're working on, as well as fabulous new products and businesses, and my favourite interior inspiration.
Today is the first in a series of posts on my own kitchen/dining/laundry reno, and I hope you follow me on the journey from demolition to dream finish! This is what I'm living with at the moment - some walls have already been taken back to the framing; old lino ripped up; some cupboards have been ripped out and the pantry relocated before it goes for good.
The old pantry has been moved down to this corner (below) temporarily. The hot water cylinder will be removed, as we're going to have a gas hot water system installed, and a set of bi-fold cupboards will be built to house our laundry and provide extra storage. The laundry is currently in our kitchen, and by moving it we get more precious storage in the kitchen. We used to have a set of industrial lockers in this corner of the dining room, and they have been moved out to our garage to make room for the new laundry cupboard.
We recently had a new round dining room table made in American oak, and we LOVE this! The old chairs will be sold, and in the corner of the dining room we're having an L-shaped booth seat custom made with internal storage. Three new chairs will be added around this side of the table, which means we will be able to fit lots of family and friends around it.
The fridge will be replaced by a double fridge and moves to where the laundry currently is. This is on the outskirts of the kitchen which means when the kids are popping in and out of the fridge (which they seem to do a lot!) they won't have to come right into the kitchen and get under my feet. Wall hung cupboards will be added right to the ceiling with the range hood concealed in one and down lighting added underneath for task lighting. A new oven and cooktop will be installed in the same place as the old oven (which helps with electrics not having to move). On the left hand side will be bi-fold cupboards, a tall pull-out pantry, and the fridge.
Here's another view of where the fridge and pull-out pantry will be. To the left is our back door.
The bench will be extended slightly and will have open shelves and a cupboard on the dining room side to utilise as much of the cupboard space as possible. Storage is key for me as I've lived with this kitchen and it's lack of cupboard space for 10 years. The bar stools will go, as we have plenty of seating around the dining room table. The floor boards will be sanded and polished.
To give you an idea of the look I'm going for, here are some of my inspirational pics. My husband wanted an all white kitchen, so I have found clever ways to incorporate texture to avoid it looking too clinical. I love the contemporary take on an old look achieved by simple wainscoting or wood panelling. Darren and Dee used it beautifully in their Block Glasshouse apartment. To add to the clean look I'm opting for handleless drawers.
There will be touches of wood including an open shelf made from our old mantelpiece.
I have my heart set on a matt black stone sink and a matt black (or even copper!) tap.
The splash back behind the oven will features some gorgeous tiles. I'm hoping for small marble hexagon tiles to bring some more texture and subtle colour to the white room.
Michael and Carlene's kitchen (yes, I was a fan of The Block Glasshouse) has the wall hung cupboards and pull-out pantry similar to the ones we will have. We'll also have the storage cupboard above the fridge.
Although the kitchen drawers will be handleless, the bi-fold doors will have simple but beautiful brass handles.
This is what I want our booth seat to look like - more panelling and comfy squabs.
I know that's a lot to take in, but what do you think??? I didn't mention the benchtop as we're still trying to decide on this and have several options being priced up at the moment. It may be a long process but I promise to include you on our journey, and can't wait to, one day in the near future (please be near!), reveal the finished rooms.
This incredible apartment by Russian architecture firm INT2 is so cleverly thought out, everything flows, and there is a beautiful sense of cohesiveness.
A three sided built-in bookshelf provides a wall divider between the entrance and home office (you can see more of this further on in this tour).
When the TV is not turned on, the wallpaper behind becomes the feature. This leads your eye down to the rug, which also acts as an anchor for the living area in the large open space.
It's a toss up whether my favourite space is the kitchen or dining area. Even though they're both part of the large open plan, they have clever features which help to define their zone.
The kitchen has a striking batten ceiling to claim it's space. The dark wood on the front of the island bench is a gorgeous contrast to the stark white, and marks the end of the kitchen.
The dining room, with it's raised floor and lowered ceiling, is like a room within a room - a room with no walls - I love it!
Each space has very different, but equally stunning lighting. The light wood on the back of the island bench adds a link to the dining room.
A small alcove between the dining area and home office is the perfect spot for the piano. The grey wall is what defines this space, and this continues along one wall of the office beyond.
I love the half blue wall in the bedroom. It's a beautiful backdrop to the simple white bedding, and the mirror is a genius way of linking the two.
The wall behind the TV in the bedroom is reminiscent of the kitchen ceiling, and (like the wallpaper panel behind the TV in the living area) it takes some of the emphasis away from the TV. TVs are often a necessary part of a home, but I love seeing clever ways of making them not the main focus of a room.
More beautiful batten ceilings in the bathroom, and the tiles remind you of the wallpaper and rugs in the main living areas - there's that cohesiveness!
Everything has been thought of in this apartment - even the wardrobe and laundry are beautiful in the same simple, clean-lined style. If you look carefully you'll notice the mirror at the end of the wardrobe reflects the perfectly placed chair in the entrance (first pic). I've got lots of inspiration from this apartment, I hope you have to.
