House Rules 2017 was a bit bonkers this week, as the wrong team was sent packing ahead of the semi finals.
In what was a mixed bag of garden reveals (if you missed last week’s judging, see this post), the wrong team ended up on the bottom of the ladder.
Tassie couple Sean and Ella waved goodbye to the series, although anyone with eyes knows it should have been Aaron and Daniella bidding a fond farewell.
Let’s explore why below. And please do let me know what you thought in the comments section at the bottom of this post.
Kate and Harry’s Front Garden
Transformed by Sean and Ella, this space wasn’t a complete success, but some elements were great.
The mix of materials was a win for me. The wood panelling mixed with stone, render and thatching in the fence all worked quite nicely together. The seating area you see above it perhaps one of the nicest nooks we’ve seen in the competition so far. And I didn’t mind the recycled timber arch.
Of course, the fire pit was a miss. Nobody wants to sit in their front yard with no privacy, metres away from the road and light a fire. It was a ridiculous concept to even consider unless you were going to fully enclose the yard and ensure a tonne of privacy. But should they have been sent packing for it? No.
Kate and Harry’s Back Garden
Andrew and Jono took on the back garden, and a lot of the structural elements were nice. The decking was smart and the paving was successful. So the shell of the space is on point. But they struggled to tie it all together.
You’ll see in the slideshow that things got progressively worse as you made your way down to the kids play area. The upper barbecue area was a winner, then the lounge area below was mediocre from a spacial planning perspective. And then the kids area didn’t fit in with the rest of the yard at all.
It’ll become clearer when you see the wider shot in the slideshow below. There are a lot of elements thrown in that don’t work together. So, as is true most of the time in this competition, the shell of the room is nice but the styling on top is a dog’s brekkie.
Andrew and Jono’s Front Garden
Let loose in Andrew and Jono’s front yard, it’s clear that Aaron and Daniella should have been the ones packing their bags and heading home this week.
I’m with Wendy on this one; this is not a liveable garden. It is not nice. Can you even call it a garden if it’s nothing more than a collection of rocks and pavers?
Even the plants they used in this space were harsh. There is no softness here and no mix of materials to make it inviting. I can’t even say it’s visually interesting.
This yard reminds me of a home you’d see on Selling Houses Australia before Andrew pokes fun and it and Charlie rips it up to start again.
Andrew and Jono’s Back Garden
So Kate and Harry rightfully came out on top this week. I’ll even go so far as to admit that I gasped when I saw the amazing deep teal wall panelling outside. What a genius idea.
Outdoor kitchens (like this one) are a huge trend this year, so although it wasn’t a 100% outdoor kitchen situation here, I like that it had that vibe.
The yard was well zoned, the spacial planning was well executed, and the boys were given distinct zones that felt individual and yet in keeping with each other.
I have to say, that rubik’s cube flooring outside in the seated lounge area is truly hideous in every way imaginable. But that is the only major fail here.
This zone felt so large and yet cosy, lush and inviting at the same time. The plant choices were amazing here and the positioning of them was bang-on!
Sure, Kate and Harry’s front garden wasn’t great, but it certainly wasn’t the worst of the week!
Cute idea with the fire pit, but not for a front yard.
Loved the timber decking here. A built-in barbecue would have been nice.
The styling is all over the shop here and the zones don’t work together.
This garden is giving me serious pet cemetery vibes.
Shall we sit and admire the rocks?
That deep teal wall is everything.
It’s a NO DEAL to the rubik’s cube tiles.
What Did you Think?
I’d love to know if you thought Sean and Ella deserved to be sent packing? I thought Aaron and Daniella were surely set to go.
Drop a comment below and let me know what you think of the final House Rules 2017 garden reveals!
I never got to see the last part of the episode because the Yahoo7 wouldn’t work – so now that I’ve seen the complete (can I use that term) garden front and back my impression is that I feel sorry for them when they get home – they have a big job ahead of them fixing up that mess. Just the thought of removing all those pebbles before the weeds start climbing through is enough to make me shudder. Where on earth did they draw their inspiration? Arizona? Desert? Cactus? Agree about the fire-pit. Wondered why there were no lashes on the “eyelids” haha. A pet hate I have is small patches of grass – how does one mow that? Not enough room to turn a mower – is this when scissors and shears come in handy? I thought they must really hate the boys for doing that to their yard.
Absolutely agree Chris! Aaron and Daniella’s front yard was hideous and Sean and Ella had done so many things right this series. Seems so unfair.