The Block 2023 House Decider Reveal Recap: Some Rough Starts and an Unmet Brief

The Block 2023 house decider challenge reveal just landed, ushering in a brand new year of my honest Block recaps here on the TLC blog. Have you missed me? It’s been a while between truth bombs, hasn’t it?

And you know how it goes with these recaps: as an interior designer working in Melbourne with real-world clients on-the-daily, I consider it my job to bring you an honest critique from the front lines. And to echo the things you’re probably screaming at your TV each Sunday night.

The first reveal saw The Block contestants turning around a kids bedroom in 24 hours. Not an easy challenge by any means, and some rooms reflected it. Let’s rip the bandaid off and talk out 2023’s first big Block reveals.

Leah and Ash Came First

In a rare turn of events, I agree with the scoring this week. It’s possibly the first and last time it’ll happen in the 2023 season, so let’s enjoy this brief and fleeting moment.

There’s no way to deny the facts though: this room is head and shoulders above the others. The only team to deliver some clever construction, Leah and Ash pulled off a house decider room that feels pretty magical.

I’ve showcased amazing bunk beds for kids on the blog before, but nothing quite stands up to a custom solution. The scalloped edges, the drawback curtains, and the lights; they ticked a lot of boxes here. Of course, there’s some room for improvement, which I’ll cover off below…

How You’d Improve the Space at Yours

It would be criminal of me not to point out how this room could be improved. You know, in case you wanted to create something like this in your own home.

While the colour palette is lovely, it’s a lot of the one tone. A room needs one focal point, and the bunk beds should be what draws the eye. But because it’s pink everywhere, you don’t get to appreciate the bunk zone as much as you should. It’s quite intense, like that time Peter Overton interviewed Tom Cruise.

I’d suggest painting the bunk zone in the bolder pink, and have the other walls in a much softer shade. The one saturated colour, like Will Smith at the Oscars, is slapping you in the face. It’s a bit of a sugar hit when it needs to be more of a low-GI fruit rollup.

Eliza and Liberty Came Second

A decent effort by Eliza and Liberty. Inspired by Groot though, not so much. The sense of nature isn’t that evident in this zone, and it feels little empty. It’s a light-pour wine at a nice restaurant when it needs to be an over-the-line gobblet guzzler at an RSL.

In other words: more is more. Especially in a kids room. If any space can abandon design subtlety it’s a kids space. That’s really the main issue here; the idea has not been taken far enough. If any room’s begging to be covered in a nature-inspired Grafico wallpaper, it’s this one.

Also, how old is the kid you’d imagine in this room? The styling is very young but the desk is set rather high, more like a teenager’s study zone. I agree that no wardrobe is a bit of a crime, Shaynna was right there. But it did have some positives going for it…

It’s Not Bad, It’s Just Not Pushed Far Enough

While Eliza and Liberty’s kids bedroom didn’t evoke the sort of joy and rapture I want to see during a Block reveal, it did deserve second place.

If nothing else, unlike many other teams this week, they embraced a colour and ran with it. They included a variety of timbers, which I guess loosely speaks to the nature theme. And they staged it in a way that (while minimal) works from a staging-for-sale perspective.

I just hope all of the teams in the 2023 season really ramp up the design. I want epic styling. I want Sundays to inspire me again. After last year’s lacklustre attempt at country styling, this year I need contemporary interiors that make me want to run out to buy furniture again.

Kristy and Brett Came Third

Kristy and Brett’s room is a little disappointing. Nice, sure. Mass appeal, sure. But it’s very much what most everyday Aussies could pull off in their own kids bedroom, and we (used to) turn to The Block to witness something more than that.

An all-white room with two Frozen toys in it does not make it a bedroom inspired by a classic kids film. The brief was to use the film to inspire the room design. And from where I’m sitting, this brief was not met.

To not have light blue walls in this room feels like a sin worse than what the writers of And Just Like That did to Miranda’s iconic SATC character. It’s Frozen; one of the most recognisable of all the Disney films. Go big or go home.

So Many Ways to Improve This Room

Considering a Frozen-inspired room for your little one? As mentioned already, the walls have to be blue. Even blue and white. Give me the full frozen fantasy like it’s free slurpee day at 7/11.

From there we need more whimsy. Cool-white fairy lights strewn across the room are a must. You need to give snow-vibes through white shaggy rugs on the floor. Glow-in-the-dark snowflakes; you want to buy dozens and dozens for the walls. The dial needs to be turned up.

I feel this team got the easiest inspiration out of everyone and yet it wasn’t taken anywhere. And speaking of a road to nowhere, let’s get onto Kyle and Leslie’s kids room…

Kyle and Leslie Came Fourth

Sheesh Kebab! What can I say about this space that’s positive? It has four walls, a ceiling and a door that opens? From there, I’m on struggle street and the buses aren’t running.

Baby Yoda and Star Wars were another easy inspiration point. There’s literally so much you could do with it. If anything, you’d be worried you might take the design too far, too literal. But sadly Kyle and Leslie did the exact opposite.

The galactic wallpaper I’m going to pass on. It and the VJ paneling are unfortunately the only design that took place in this bedroom and even they don’t work together. The three undersized art prints by the door are on my list of biggest design mistakes and are quite underwhelming.

Theme Aside, this Room is Still Problematic

I fully appreciate that this is The Block 2023’s first room reveal. And I know they only had 24 hours to do this house decider challenge. But still, theme aside they didn’t get some of the most basic design inclusions right.

The bed is unnecessarily pushed up against the wall. It actually would have looked a lot better turned so that the head of the bed was against the VJ panelling. We also have no art, nowhere to sit, no desk, no drawers.

And correct me if I’m wrong, there’s actually no lights on the ceiling. Things are not off to a good start for Kyle and Leslie.

Steph and Gian Came Last

Steph and Gian didn’t want to execute a ‘typical kids bedroom’, but to be fair this isn’t even a typical anyone bedroom. A typical bedroom has bedside tables with lamps on them, art on the walls, a doona cover that fits the bed and more than five lonely pillows shoved into a corner of the headboard.

The brief was not met, plain and simple. And while I do my best to comment strictly on design and never on the contestants themselves, it must be said that there’s a certain audacity to deciding to ignore the brief on your first challenge. Interested to see how this approach plays out for the rest of the season.

The Eteched Clouds wallpaper is one of the standout features in this room, as is the armchair in the corner. From there, nothing else is redeemable.

The Antique Moments are Giving me PTSD

I have to plead and beg the producers not to let vintage furniture into the hands of people who have no idea what to do with it. I’m still reeling from last year’s use of op shop finds in Ankur and Sharon’s master bedroom.

My therapist tells me I’m not yet emotionally equipped to go through another season of teams doing bad things with old furniture on The Block. It’s too soon you guys, too soon!

What did you think of The Block 2023 house decider reveal? Drop a comment below and share your thoughts. And come back next Sunday night as we talk through the guest bathroom reveals.

Images by David Cook Photography, courtesy of The Block Shop. For more info on The Block 2023 House Decider Challenge Reveal, check out NineNow.