The Block winners Steph and Gian reveal exciting post-show plans

The Block’s Steph and Gian Ottavio have opened up about their exciting post-show plans after winning this year’s season of the renovation reality series and receiving an enormous $1.75 million profit.

The fan-favourite couple tells Yahoo Lifestyle that they’re taking their unique Japandi aesthetic from the show - which combines the functionality and minimalism of both Japanese and Scandinavian design styles - and launching their own business called Japandi Estate.

In addition to selling products that are completely ethical and sustainable, the business aims to educate people through masterclasses on how to incorporate the Japandi style into their homes and ultimately embody the “Japandi way of life”.

“It’s bigger than just homewares, it’s a lifestyle as well,” Steph explains. “Japanese and Scandinavian architecture for me is a lifestyle choice, so it's all about how we're going to be educating people about what Japandi means to live in that way versus having that stuff around you. It's a whole company ethos.”

“Japandi Estate will have more than one arm, and that's the one thing that we've been very big on,” Gian adds. “We’re also not trying to flood the market.

“The homewares won’t be making 10,000 of a certain product, it will be creating a range of products in potential drops and then actually educating the consumers as to where this product could fit and what type of colour tones would be best in a set in a room.”

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While Steph and Gian might not have invented the Japandi aesthetic, they definitely introduced the style to plenty of viewers who had never heard of it before.

Not only were fans taking to social media throughout the season to share their attempts at implementing Japandi design principles in their homes, but major Australian retail company Nick Scali announced just one week after The Block finale aired that they had launched a range of Japandi-inspired furniture.

“I think at that moment that’s when we were kind of like, it’s actually crazy that we’ve kind of influenced this style,” Gian remarks.

'From that moment on, we haven't really looked back'

Gian shares that he and Steph never intended Japandi to be their signature style on The Block, let alone launch a business centred around it post-show, and they actually had a very different aesthetic in mind when filming first began.

“The whole Japandi thing came about when we saw the renders of the home because that dictated what the interior of the house would be,” he details.

“We were originally thinking Art Deco would be our style. Our current home is Art Deco at the front with a Scandinavian extension at the back and we thought our Block house would be the same, but it was completely different.

“It wasn't until after we finished everything where we were like, look, we did this home that has such a homey feel that resonates so much with the Japanese ideologies and ways of life with Scandinavian design aspects, so why don't we run with it?”

Steph adds that one of the biggest reasons why she loves Japandi is that it’s achievable for everybody because there’s a formula to it.

“The more people that were saying Japandi, although we don't own the name, the more that it reinstated our brand,” she says. “It was amazing, this beige army.

“Also, I found when I was looking for elements to put in my house I was lacking in certain areas. It wasn’t easy to find an affordable option to achieve the Japandi look so I was like, that’s it, we’re gonna do it. And then from that moment on, we haven't really looked back.”

'It's a different path'

Speaking about their plans for 2024, Steph and Gian reveal that they want to sell their Sydney home and take on another renovation project where they can fully implement their Japandi style and homewares.

“What I love is that a lot of Block contestants finish The Block and then they sort of continue their studies and they go and learn,” Steph says. “But finishing The Block and already being a registered fully qualified architect, it's a different path.”

“We've always been big dreamers and I think coming off The Block, you do feel invincible because of what you have achieved,” Gian admits. "And I think it's also important for us to kind of continue running, but then take a step back to be like, are we running in the right direction? That's what we're looking at doing.”

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