Sue Stubbs
Toad and Mandy’s hillside home homestead continues to come to life at the hands of the House Rules teams.
It’s round two of the backyard battles and the House Rules teams have put their bodies and design skills on the line this week with an enormous effort to makeover the back yards of Toad and Mandy in country NSW and Chiara and David in WA’s Yangebup.
Whilst it was the first week of exterior renovations for Mel and Dave and Josh and Brandon, their own homes being done last time, lessons learned last week were helpful for Kim and Michelle and Jess and Jarod – all took on board the judges feedback but both teams still struggled to deliver completed zones that impressed the judges.
Candelo – at Toad and Mandy’s home
1. Be bold with blues in a formal country garden
2. Warm things up with the ultimate fire pit
3. Create a country cook’s veggie patch
4. Turn the old shed into a pub
5. Choose your zone
Zone 1: Josh and Brandon – Pub, outdoor patio and formal garden
Josh and Brandon jumped at the chance to create a pub for Toad, although on further inspection were worried they’d bitten off more than they could chew. Nevertheless they came through with flying colours to create an authentic and relaxing space with all the charm of the original homestead – retaining most of the structure of the shed in the process – Drew called it “rustic and real”, while LLB said it was “a proper celebration of Australian history.”
With corrugated iron on the walls, they echoed this material on the base of the bar and topped it with a heavy timber slab.
Outside the judges were also happy to see Josh and Brandon’s realisation of the formal country garden – LLB called their efforts “proper horticulture” and Drew agreed.
The outside dining area also got rave reviews. Wendy said the pizza oven “owns the space,” and LLB praised their design confidence, despite the lack of shade.
In total Josh and Brandon scored 25/30 from the judges which put them on top of the leaderboard so far this week.
Zone 2: Jess and Jared – Fire pit, formal garden and vege patch
In their zone Jess and Jared thought they had ticked all of the House Rules. The judges liked a lot of what they had created however all were concerned with the scale of their design, saying that it would have been better to have both a connection to the house and a larger sense of scale and grandeur befitting the majestic country setting.
Their fire pit impressed the judges with its style and cosy, sunken position – beautifully situated to take in the sweeping views of the surrounding countryside.
In the vege patch the judges said a stronger blue would have looked better on the raised garden and felt Jess and Jared needed to go bigger with a more substantial, functional kitchen garden in the space.
Jess and Jared scored 20/30 from the judges and with this being their last chance to score points for this phase of the competition, they are concerned they are now at risk of elimination.
Yangebup WA – Chiara and David’s home
Rules:
1. Give us a sparkly Miami pool party vibe
2. Have fun with a kids’ water park
3. Make a grown-ups’ escape
4. Calm us with water features
5. Choose your zone
Zone 1: Mel and Dave
For their first garden makeover Mel and Dave felt they’d been “to hell and back” in transforming Chiara and David’s backyard into a Miami pool party. They worked tirelessly to reclaim the pool area, install a water feature and create an area of calm and tranquillity for Chiara and David to relaxed in.
Whilst the judges were impressed with the amount of work Mel and Dave were able to achieve and the quality of the finish on the work they produced, all felt the lack of colour and pizzazz used to dress the spaces fell short of a Miami-style injection they were looking for to answer the rules.
The parents’ retreat in particular disappointed with its poor layout and lack of space for both Chiara and David to use together, with LLB likening the daybed to a psychiatrist couch.
The pool area was generally a hit however and the water feature Drew called a “brave attempt”, but the lacklustre garden left them wanting more.
Mel and Dave scored a total of 22/30 from the judges.
Zone 2: Kim and Michelle
Kim and Michelle wowed the judges with their water park. Not only impressed with the clever design, colourful fixtures and playful water fountains, they were doubly thrilled to realise that Kim and Michelle had created the entire area themselves – from scratch! LLB said it was “astonishing design” that he will never forget.
On the patio Kim and Michelle fell short though – with all of their time and effort going into the water park, they were left with little time and no imagination to dress the space, plant a beautiful garden or execute work to a pleasing decorative standard. Kim and Michelle scored a total of 16/30 from the judges, placing them at the bottom of the leaderboard and they too are in danger of elimination.
All teams now await feedback from homeowners Chiara and David and Toad and Mandy, with their scores which will shake up the leaderboard and leave the teams with one more backyard renovation before three teams are eliminated from the competition.
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House Rules reveal: The backyard battle Round 1
House Rules 2018: the best rooms so far
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