After last week’s horrendous whole house reveal, I didn’t think things couldn’t get worse for House Rules 2017.
Thankfully, they haven’t. We gotta at least start off by admitting that the spaces dramatically improved this week, right? Not all rooms, of course. But at least some of the spaces actually worked. I’ll even go so far as to say I really loved some of the rooms. I know right – who knew!?
There are some clear front runners in this competition, and the rest are pretty dire. We all know the team that is absolutely diabolical and need to go immediately, don’t we?
Let’s take a look at the good, bag and ugly from Sunday’s House Rules reveal…
Kate and Harry had a bit of a shocker this week, and the shoddy work in the entryway above made it obvious that they bit off more than they could chew. The Kardashian-themed room (who asks for that as a theme, btw?!) was better, but not entirely something to write home about.
Every single time I see the reveals I want to host a styling masterclass with these contestants. They have no idea how to style a bed, bedside table or coffee tables. It’s so disappointing to see the finishing touches neglected like this.
Below, the judges praised the laundry created by Aaron and Daniella, but I believe they made a small space feel smaller. The storage on the left is a step too far and I’d have gone with a less-is-more approach here. Talk about claustrophobic. Does a laundry really need all that shelving and cupboard space? How many people live there?
My Vote for Best Rooms: Kitchen and Dining!
The kitchen, created by Andrew and Jono, was really lovely. Great colour palette, nice layout, and styled quite well. There’s loads of storage on offer here and there’s enough interest in the design without it being overbearing or dominant. From the kitchen we saw last week, this week’s space was mind-blowing.
The kitchen flowed wonderfully into the dining room, which Aaron and Daniella knocked out of the park. After seeing last’s week’s horrible Nanna-gone-wrong dining space, it was SO good to see a clean, modern and well-styled dining zone. It met the house rules perfectly and I’d happily steal every piece for my own abode.
In the slideshow below you’ll see the worst space of the week first: Nicole and Fiona’s GHASTLY living room. Can we kindly show these gals the door ASAP and request they don’t return? That coffee table is possibly the worst thing I’ve ever seen.
You gotta admit, there was nothing redeeming about Nicole and Fiona’s wrong.com living room design. It was by far the worst of the week.
What did you think of the Murals?
Is there a major mural/wall decal sponsorship going on this season? Because both the living room and the master bedroom had whole-wall murals going on and neither space was better for it.
I thought the living room mural of Sydney Harbour was bad, but the technicolour nightmare on the wall in the bedroom was just as on-the-nose.
I know the teams were probably encouraged to be bolder and brighter this season to coincide with the show bringing on Lawrence. But really, there are far better ways to execute colour.
Let me know what you think of House Rules 2017 in the comments below. Who do you reckon will win this season?
Really liked th curved timber work. ..and the velvet sofa.
I loved the laundry! Compact and lots of storage. Would love to know where they got the white laundry hanging rail.
I’m disgusted on the reactions of troy and did they not see what they had before even gave them extra rooms the girls lounge room was so bad but became and troy didn’t slam them for the roof but slammed all the others the painting in harry and Kate’s room was bad but they asked for kardashian room and it was gorgeous seriously they are wingers
Oh Jay…you are so right.
Fiona and comany don’t grasp the essence of this competition. It is about skill NOT aggressive opposition, verbal assault and sneakiness. This team will not win, neither will Troy and Bec. The producers need to choose people more mindfully I like to suggest. There is nothing wrong with a little conflict as it adds an element of excitement to the program; but, and I don’t say this lightly , people with possible mental issues regardless of how mild they present, are not pleasant to watch.
I’m sorry but I have to comment about the absolute arrogance of Fiona and Nicole’s approach to renovating. They do not care one iota about the home owner’s opinions, they are completely focused on ‘winning’. But the strange thing is …they can not design to save themselves. No hope of winning because they don’t care what the owners want they just do what they want…That ceiling!!! All the other contestants try hard to follow the house rules and poor Sean and Ella! While Troy and Bec may not have liked the black tiles, they didn’t deserve those comments and that score! The effort put in to that ensuite was huge and it had a lot of thought behind it. I didn’t particularly like the black tiles but I liked the blue tiles and the design and would not have given below a 5! Plus the judges loved It! So who’s opinion should we follow? Fiona needs to shut her mouth, she will not win and Troy and Bec need to show more gratitude to the people that transformed their house from non-liveable to stunning.
I think the house rules are usually somewhat difficult to interpret. Contestants put their ‘spin’ on them and then it is just pot luck. Present case… Troy and Bec should have stated ‘no black’. I agree, the lounge room is ‘frighteningly mechanical ‘….but then Fiona and friend have little warmth about them and this shows in their design and styling. I quite liked most of the other rooms; remembering that contestants are amateurs and have little time to plan and execute.
Cheers Ingrid
Spot on. What’s going on this year with HR? the past years haven’t been this bad surely? I watch this show lately with a cringed /painful look on my face !nicole and Fiona don’t style full stop. Sorry to be harsh because I am sure they are lovely people …. oh wait they are not. They just put things in a room and then crap on how amazing and unique their ideas are.
And couldn’t agree more about the laundry!! I personally like minimal, clean lines in a laundry. I don’t like to see shelves full of work and folding and ” housework” things. Our laundry has purposely been designed to make me feel happy to be in there!
P.s murals . Ugh that’s a whole different post.
Love your commentating !
haha thanks so much for your comment! I plan on dedicating another pose to murals and decals, don’t worry. I’d like to put a stop to them at once.
Yeah, this season is an odd one. I feel like the contestant quality has gone down, in terms of them knowing anything about design or decorating. Hopefully things improve!
Catch you here for next week’s recap 😉
I completely agree. The lounge room! A place where you should be able to lounge about, nothing like that can happen there. No rug, no nice accessories and let’s all crane our heads left to watch tv. Kitchen was lovely, the laundry I did like, the tiles especially but yes as you say too much cupboard space. Kate and harry took on too much and sadly it showed, the Kardashian themed bedroom I didn’t like, if they were going for glitz and glamour it didn’t happen. Sean and Ella have a very good eye, I can see them going a long way but please let’s just get rid of Fiona and Nicole, so far out of their comfort zone it’s painful!
I agree with you Bee. It doesn’t even seem like they have a mild interest in design or decorating. Certainly no skills for it at all.
Let’s see how things go this week. Hopefully the next reveal gives us a true styling WOW moment.
So far the best rooms have been kitchens and bathrooms. Which actually require little to no styling. I want to see some killer decorating done well. Let’s hope!
See you next week for the next recap 🙂