1. What's your favourite room?
The living room, which connects the whole house together, and works so well being open to the kitchen. It's just a really relaxing beautiful space. The cavity sliding doors open up the corner of the house and connect the interior and exterior together.
2. What was your most difficult job or moment?
Bathroom week. We worked so hard and got no sleep for three days. Sleep deprivation is awful - we felt so sick. The night before reveal we had to make the call to either go to sleep, which was tempting, or stay up all night again. We worked right through and can't believe we finished it and that it is stunning.
3. Which were your favourite shops and sources?
Flo's Home Store in Newmarket where we found so many treasures. Nikau Contractors is where we got the recycled timber that we used throughout our home and they were great, too.
4. Best buy and most indulgent buy?
Our best buy would be the native recycled rimu pillars. They give an instant "wow" statement when you come in the front door. Our most indulgent buy is the spa pool. It's in a perfect setting for privacy and sea views.
5. Anything you'd do differently?
We would have scheduled in more sleep!
6. Which of your DIY ideas are you most proud of?
Using the native timber throughout the house has given life and interest to the home and created a beautiful flow inside and out.
7. Would you like to live in "your" house yourself?
We are totally in love with our house. We have made this into a beautiful family home and could picture ourselves living there very happily. Someone else will fall in love with it just as much and will be lucky enough to have it as their home.
Together for 13 years, this South Auckland couple brought energy and enthusiasm but little experience to the job in hand. What they lacked in that department, they made up with their attention to detail and it was clear that with each barrier they broke through, their resolve to succeed grew stronger.
Maree and James
HOUSE TWO: MAREE AND JAMES, 26 NEWELL ST
AGENTS: Peter Tanner, 021 379 379, Karen Clark, 021 355 284.
ON THE WEB: bayleys.co.nz/theblocknzhouse2
1. What's your favourite room?
Maree: I love the bathroom - it's spacious, beautiful and the walk-in shower and huge bath add a touch of luxury while Martin's handcrafted timber vanity keeps it warm and cosy.
James: My favourite is the open-plan living kitchen and dining area. There's heaps of room with lots of natural light. It's a dream family space.
2. What was your most difficult job or moment?
The garage was by far our toughest job. Even though we ended up having two weeks, we had a lot to deal with in terms of weather and learning new skills. In hindsight it was probably the best thing that happened to us because we quickly learned what was expected in a build and on The Block.
3. Which were your favourite shops and sources?
Maree: Freedom Furniture was always my "when in doubt" shop. The staff there are great and were always helping me make the difficult decisions.
4. Best buy and most indulgent buy?
The best and most indulgent aspect of the house is the multi-room audio and automation system. With this you can open the front door, control security, audio, selected lights, the fireplace and media room TV all by touch screens and/or a smartphone/tablet.
5. Anything you'd do differently?
Overall, we're happy with the way our plan came together. The house looks amazing and we still can't believe how spacious and practical the layout is. If there's anything we'd do differently it's probably leaving the Crocs at home - haha!
6. Which of your DIY ideas are you most proud of?
Maree: Definitely the artwork hanger I made out of metal mesh in the kids' room.
The fabric canvas art in the living room was another DIY saviour. We were able to make a piece that was perfectly sized for the room in a short timeframe.
7. Would you like to live in "your" house yourself?
We would love to live in the house as it's rare to get such a large, easy flowing indoor/outdoor space in central Auckland. We both come from big families, so everyone could come round for Sunday lunch and watch the kids kicking a ball in the backyard.
These two faced a particularly tough assignment with practically no background in renovation and, to top it off, Quinn soon revealed that she was pregnant. They faced the relentless pressure bravely and amazed themselves in terms of what they achieved.
Hard-working and determined, they took genuine pleasure in learning skills and putting them to work.
Quinn and Ben
HOUSE ONE: BEN & QUINN, 26A NEWELL ST
AGENTS: Blair Haddow 021 544 555, Victoria Williams 021 678 884.
ON THE WEB: bayleys.co.nz/theblocknzhouse1
1. What's your favourite room?
Our master bedroom is definitely one of the best rooms on the whole Block with a covered private deck with a view of the Harbour Bridge and a massive en suite. As soon as you walk in you just feel cosy and comfortable.
2. What was your most difficult job or moment?
Decorating the kids' room. We had about six hours' sleep during that whole week and were completely out of our depth.
3. Which were your favourite shops and sources?
You can't go past Freedom Furniture; Collected was great and so were Stone and Water World who helped out with the garden feature.
4. Best buy and most indulgent buy?
Best buy would have to be the zebra painting from O.W.L in Takapuna.
5. Anything you'd do differently?
Ben: I would focus on being positive 100 per cent of the time, no matter how hard it gets it is never the end of the world. I had to be strong for Quinn and
I feel in hindsight that I let my frustrations get the better of me a few times.
6. Which of your DIY ideas are you most proud of?
We're proud that we stuck to our guns and carried the same look and feel the whole way through. If we'd tried to impress the judges and changed the way we did things halfway through, we wouldn't have ended up with such a beautiful family home.
7. Would you like to live in "your" house yourself?
We would pack up the dogs, Quinn's mum and my [Ben's] dad in a heartbeat and even move to Auckland if we were able to live in this dream home we've made. When you are sitting out on either of the decks at any time of day it just feels like paradise.
Although they had extensive previous experience in building and decorating, the tough nature of what lay ahead was just as daunting for this couple as it was for their counterparts. Blessed with a strong sense of what they wanted to achieve, Corban and Alex applied themselves with determination and vigour.
Alex and Corban
HOUSE THREE: ALEX AND CORBAN, 28 NEWELL ST
AGENTS: Andrea Ritchie 021 906 793, Duncan Ritchie 021 400 811, Luke McCaw 021 950 145.
ON THE WEB: bayleys.co.nz/theblocknzhouse3
1. What's your favourite room?
We absolutely love the practical kitchen and dining space with its beautiful open flow. The scullery is basically another kitchen with the oven, microwave, wine chiller, bench space and sink. The advantage to this space is being able to make your mess here while using the main kitchen for serving and entertaining guests.
2. What was your most difficult job or moment?
Being asked to complete the entrance, lounge, guest toilet, fireplace, stairs, moveable wall, upper living and attic all in one week. We couldn't meet our own very high expectations in that time and therefore were disqualified from that week's competition. However, we're happy we didn't rush to finish as now it is perfectly presented for our future buyer.
3. Which were your favourite shops and sources?
We loved the range at Freedom Furniture and also loved sifting through Junk and Disorderly to see what could be re-purposed. It was so much fun.
4. Best buy and most indulgent buy?
We had a few, but our top three would be the beautiful cream couch in our family room, the brass lights in our stairway, and finally the $25,000 worth of marble for vanities, the mant elpiece and kitchen from SCE Stone. What an indulgence that was.
5. Anything you'd do differently?
We wouldn't change anything for the world. We think the house is a perfect combination of sophistication and practicality for a couple or young family who appreciate quality design and finish, and know the difference between a "standard" and a "luxurious" family home.
We didn't cut any corners or ever compromise our standards.
6. Which of your DIY ideas are you most proud of?
You may not have seen it yet but we are most proud of the American oak ceiling slats that extend from the entrance through to the family room, paired with solid oak sliding doors which hide the entertainment system in the living area. It creates a beautiful feature and sets a theme for the rest of the house.
7. Would you like to live in "your" house yourself?
Yes! We love the interior finish, the design and the neighbourhood and we love its unique features, which can't be found in the other three houses.
A solar power system and central gas heating mean it is energy neutral - in other words, no power bills. This is by far the most eco-efficient house on The Block. One day we would love to live in a house exactly like it.
