The Block 2022 Bathroom Reveals: Tile Terror and The Team That Should Have Won

The Block 2022 bathroom reveals have just gone down, and boy do we have a lot to talk about. The tree change season is off to a bit of a bonkers start on the scoring front, with the wrong team winning this week (in my humble, unpaid judging opinion). 

I’ve decided each week I’ll list the order in which I think the teams should have been scored, and you can drop me a comment at the end of the post letting me know if you agree or disagree. I’m keen to know if we’re on the same page, or whether I’m in a world of my own.

This week I would have scored the teams as follows:

• First Place: Rachel and Ryan
• Second Place: Tom and Sarah-Jane
• Third Place: Dylan and Jenny
• Fourth Place: Omar and Oz
• Fifth Place: Ankur and Sharon

Omar and Oz Came First

Every year when I recap The Block, I ask the question: has the world gone mad, or have I? And this season, I feel the design gaslighting has started early. It’s only reveal two and I already need a Bex and a good lie down. I don’t know if I can carry on the whole season!

Sorry gang, but nobody will convince me that the tile combination in this bathroom is successful. No matter how hard they try. 

Let’s think it through: We have the busy mosaic floor tile. Then we have the herringbone wall tile. We also have the vertical lines in the VJ paneling. And we finish it all off with the horizontal lines in the plantation shutters. It’s more overwhelming than Tommy Lee’s Instagram post.

I also take issue with the herringbone tiles themselves. They look so dirty on the edges, like the grout is brown. I’d feel compelled to scrub away at them on-the-daily.

They could offer this up as a challenge on Survivor; go into the bathroom with a Chux and some Jif and if you can get the tiles clean you get bonus rice this week.

It’s Not All Bad Though

My little rant about pattern combinations aside, there are many positives about this bathroom. I’d not have ranked it first (the best bathroom is yet to come), but there are some wins overall.

The grandeur of the tall ceiling and Velux skylight is not lost on me. There’s something rather epic about it that wows me to no end. I appreciate the placement of the bath, and the ledge, and the window. It’s a good layout 

I also like the tapware colour and feel it works in the space. If only some of the other elements were pared-back they could take centre stage a little more. The hardware is in a really nice finish that feels luxurious but also a little earthy. I’m into it.

The Timber Stool beside the bath is a gorgeous styling touch and leans into the earthiness once more. I would have left it in the room and scaled back on all of the other styling elements. It all feels very busy and chaotic to me.

Tom and Sarah-Jane Tied for Second

Let’s start on the positives about this space, because there are many. Do I feel this style will date? Yes. Have we seen it before: Yes. Is it completely at odds with the red and green bedroom they showed us last week: Yes. But there is still a few moments to love.

I want to start with the shower zone, because those wall tiles are everything. They’re understatedly beautiful. They feel calm but chic. They perfectly frame the window. I feel like everything behind the glass shower frame is amazing. I want to roll that feeling across the rest of the space.

The rounded vanity is also a winner. It’s completely unexpected and softens the room wonderfully. The period-style cornice is also gorgeous, and I love the skylights above.

I’ll even declare the Artwork Above the Bath beyond divine. I don’t know the glass will hold up in a bathroom, but I love the look.

There’s a Lot Thrown at the Room Though

I feel a little bit about this bathroom the way I did about Omar and Oz’s. It’s giving me a busy feeling. They’ve thrown a tonne at it, and some of it shines, but some of it is unnecessary. 

The pendant light, though restored from the original home, feels out of place here. It’s too over the top, too blingy. It only highlights how much brass is displayed in this bathroom, which brings me to my next complaint: too much gold. It’s hitting you at every turn, especially in the vanity.

Speaking of vanity, while I love the rounded edges of it, the basins feel too expected, too vintage. Tom and Sarah-Jane have produced a nice bathroom this week, don’t get me wrong. But they would benefit greatly by editing the zone. Take a few things out and it would be way better.

I also feel that the navy blue paneling feels a bit here-today, gone-tomorrow. It’s overwhelming too. I put my hands over it in the photos of the space and the bathroom feels instantly calmer. Less is always more.

Dylan and Jenny Tied for Second Place

“There’s just so many heroes in that room” is what Jenny declared before the judges walked into her and Dylan’s bathroom. And that, I’m sorry to say (not really), is the problem here.

We have a lot going on visually in this bathroom. We have a hero arch as you enter the space, which I’m totally obsessed with. That is definitely a moment I want and need in my life. But then we also have a hero tile in a green and while pattern vying for out attention.  

We also have ornate tapware. And feet on the bath in a finish that’s brighter than the sun. Those pieces certainly aren’t using their indoor voices. They too are trying to be the hero. And then we have beautiful Bath Towels, which I adore, but they’re also wanting to shine. 

Are you picking up what I’m putting down? Like any of the recent Marvel films, there’s just too many heroes.  

The Great ‘Country’ and ‘Heritage’ Debate

I enjoy the vanity area; it’s sophisticated and calmer than the rest of the zone. The round basins are particularly gorgeous and look handcrafted. It’s that element for me that works in a country home more than an urban one.

The image below is really beautiful actually, and just goes to show that you really don’t have to slap people across the face with country cliches to evoke a rural, heritage vibe.

It’s something I imagine will keep coming up, as it did last week; this constant push and pull between the teams trying to do country without it feeling tacky. It’s so easy for it to go wrong. And the judges keep pushing for it.

Someone Put Socks Over Those Feet

It’s that push for heritage design that results in moments like the brass clawfeet on that tub. I’ve not seen feet as horrible as this since I binge-watched Embarrassing Bodies. Even Liberace would consider them too much.

They are really quite the eyesore and nobody will convince me otherwise. They are just so on-the-nose and so bright. 

I do enjoy the vibe Dylan and Jenny were trying to create here, and some of it is divine. I just would have toned down the hardware in this space to let the floor tile be the moment. And, as Shaynna said, expanding the shower would have been smart.

Rachel and Ryan Came in Fourth

It must be said right here, right now: Rachel and Ryan were robbed. More robbed than Kim Kardashian in Paris. More robbed than Anthony Callea in the 2004 season of Australian Idol. And more robbed than me when Channel 10 decided not to air Changing Rooms.

This bathroom is a clear winner in my eyes and ticks numerous boxes on the form and function front. I’ve never been this excited by a new couple on TV since Garcelle and Sutton joined The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Let’s Address the Visual First

You can’t deny that this Block bathroom feels like a beautifully calm oasis. It’s something I can’t say for the bathrooms that scored higher this week.

The selection of large-scale floor and wall tile was so successful and makes the room feel soft and soothing. Making a space like a bathroom feel soft is no mean feat, but Rachel and Ryan pulled it off.

The smaller tile running up the wall behind the bath makes the tub the star of the show, but in a really considered way. It’s something Omar and Oz failed to do in their space. And can we talk about the colour of the hardware? It’s so refined, so appropriate. 

All of the Function Was There Too

The floating vanity was packed with functionality. Sure, it’s something we’ve seen on The Block more times than high-vis vests, but it works in the space. I would have preferred it in a lighter, less orange tone of timber, but I’m not losing sleep over it.

The layout of the bathroom is divine as well and makes the space feel rather grand. Add in mirrors with storage and power points inside, showers with ledges to place all of your lotions and potions on, and towel rails in spaces that make sense; we’ve got a winning bathroom in my eyes.

And can we talk about the two showers?

I don’t know if the guest bedrooms in this home are going to have ensuites. But if they’re not, I see two showers in a main bathroom completely appropriate.

Families with young kids might use them at shower/bath time. A couple staying as guests at the house would certainly put them to good use too. 

Honestly, apart from the lights above the vanity in this bathroom I can’t fault it.

Ankur and Sharon Landed in Last Place

I thought Starburst shutting down operations in Australia was going to be the most disappointing moment of the week, but then this happened. Coming off of last week’s bedroom reveal, which I thought was a successful first go from Ankur and Sharon, this bathroom is anything but.

I have to say, I feel for them. I feel for all of the Block 2022 teams. They don’t have any design skills and are being told week after week to ‘do country’, ‘do heritage’, yet they don’t have the know-how to understand how to do it successfully or blend traditional and contemporary aesthetics. 

Then they get dragged when it’s too obvious or on-the-nose, which this absolutely is.

Functionally I Can’t Really Fault It

Besides the loo sitting right inside the door, the bathroom is laid out pretty successfully. Everything is sitting where it should, lights are positioned where they should be, the towel rails are in the right place. There’s vanity storage and mirrors, a ledge in the shower.

It’s not usability that landed Ankur and Sharon in last place. It’s everything that’s going on visually.

The Style Here is Not Cute

The artwork above the toilet; give it to me immediately. That at the towels are the only items I can salvage from this bathroom. Everything else… not so cute.

The dark tiles are very out of place here, and make the bathroom feel doomy and gloomy. Pairing them with all the over-the-top gold moments is a marriage that doesn’t work. They also don’t work with the second tile choice, the mosaic marble. 

The worst moment for me though is the choice of lights. The ceiling pendant is bad, but the ones above the vanity mirror are even worse. They belong in Diagon Alley. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hagrid popped out from behind the shower to take me wand shopping.

I’m gutted for these guys, I really am. I’m hoping they can bounce back next week.

Images for this post were supplied by The Block Shop. Check out Nine Now for more of The Block 2022 bathroom reveals. 

What did you make of The Block 2022 bathroom reveals? Drop me a comment below and sound off with your opinions!