Interior design expert slams 'glaring' error in The Block's winning room

After winning the all-important kitchen room reveal two weeks ago, Kylie and Brad took out the win for their impressive living and dining room space in Monday night’s episode of The Block. The controversial couple, who are rumoured to have split since filming the reality show, continued their dark and moody theming and received a near-perfect score of 29.5 out of 30 from the judges.

Shaynna Blaze sang at the top of her lungs as she entered the space because of how much she liked their efforts, while Marty Fox called it his favourite room so far this season. Darren Palmer also praised the lighting layout, and the trio applauded the colour palette, symmetry, and custom Christian Cole table and mirror.

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'Glaring omission' in Kylie and Brad's room

While Darren decided to take half a point off their score because he believed the rug under their dining table was too small, interior design expert and director of TLC Interiors Chris Carroll tells Yahoo Lifestyle that there were quite a few problems with the room that the judges seemingly didn’t notice.

“There were some issues overlooked, no doubt about it,” he shares. “In the living room, there's no storage. The open section under the TV is crying out for cabinetry.

“This would deliver essential storage for media and game consoles. Any family buying this home will be left with nowhere to put them but on top of the stone. It's a glaring omission.”

Chris adds that he agrees with Darren that the rug needs to be replaced, and he was surprised both Shaynna and Marty awarded the room 10 out of 10.

“In the dining room, the rug needed to be double the size because the chairs can't sit on it fully when pulled out,” he explains. “These are obvious functional issues that should have prevented perfect scores from being awarded.”

Viewers divided over near-perfect score

Viewers appeared to have mixed reviews on social media, with some people admitting they were “baffled” Kylie and Brad won.

“Don’t get how they got two 10s for this,” one person wrote, while another added, “Where is the beach feel that Shaynna keeps going on about?”.

“Bland, cold and not relaxing especially if you work in corporate, feels like you haven't escaped!” a third remarked, followed by someone else who said, “Too much black, makes it feel so cold and claustrophobic”.

Meanwhile, others thought Kylie and Brad had “nailed” the room and delivered a “stunning space” that deserved the win.

Running theme in the other four rooms

Speaking about the other four teams this week, Chris Carroll tells us that he believes a majority of the rooms “lacked interest” and “most of the teams lost their way”.

“Every room needs a focal point; a moment that grabs your attention,” he remarks. “They've spent weeks creating them in other zones - bathrooms with statement tiles or dramatic feature walls in bedrooms. Perhaps in a large zone like this, they felt scared to commit to something more adventurous.

“They've furnished rooms rather than designing rooms. Many of them were just big white spaces with furniture put down in them. We weren't taken anyway, there was no dream created. There was a sterile feel to a lot of them.”

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Chris agrees with the judges that the living room presented by runner-ups Maddy and Charlotte “lacks personality” and “feels vanilla”, and suggests some tips that viewers can take on when redesigning their own home.

“Some patterns would be helpful, as would a focal point. There is no design element commanding attention or giving a wow factor. A more vibrant painting would help, or a rug with some pattern in it would allow for some visual excitement,” he details.

“The timber furniture all feels a bit matchy-matchy too. You never want your coffee table and dining table to be from the exact same range, nor should the rugs be so similar.”

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