Presented: Children's bedroom and front yard Score: 90/100 Prize: $10,000 off their reserve
They started off slow, struggling to win favour with the judges and wondering where it was all going wrong. But boy, have Sophie and Dale made up for it! The judges were absolutely blown away by what they delivered this week. Their Challenge House children's room scored an unprecedented perfect ten — the first in Block history!
"We are absolutely wrapped," Dale says excitedly.
"We only heard from Josh and Jenna at the judging, and they were just so positive," Sophie adds. "They said the room 'blew them away'. They said it was their favourite room ever! Jenna was joking, saying she was going to steal some of the ideas, so that was really good."
Shaynna, John and Neale were also blown away, with Shaynna, in particular, rendered speechless by their creative design.
"This is beyond amazing. This will sell this house. A kid will say, 'I will not leave this house until you buy it,'" she was quick to point out.
And she's right — there's something truly magical about what Sophie and Dale managed to achieve, thanks in part to their ingenious turf roof — complete with upside-down picnic!
The couple knew it was going to be a risk presenting such an off-the-wall room, but now they're glad they attempted it.
"We were walking around the room, and we were trying to think of ways to save time," Sophie explains. "We thought we'd put wardrobes on one wall, and wallpaper on another. And then we were both thinking and Dale just goes, 'Let's do grass on the ceiling.'"
They knew it would be tricky to pull off.
"It might not have worked — we were half-expecting it,” Dale explains. "If it didn't, we would have had to come up with something to fix the roof quick. We didn't really have a back-up plan."
They decided to start work early, leaving enough room for failure.
"We put it up a few nights before it was due," Sophie explains.
And thankfully, their worries were unfounded, with the whole room coming together perfectly. Their outdoor space, created at the last minute by Dale, was also perfectly executed, making it hard to believe that just seven days before the house had been almost unliveable.
"I love the feel of this house," Josh said upon entering.
"It's amazing," Katrina added.
Sentiments shared by all the judges — and even their fellow contestants.
"All the other contestants were really positive about what we did. They said it was just insane!" Dale laughs. "No one said it was ridiculous, or anything like that, they all just said it was the coolest thing they'd ever seen."
