The Block 2020 episode 16 recap: in a stressful week contestants deliver the best Block bathrooms ever

Author:ahsan

In a week when COVID-19 was three days from shutting down the country, the contestants somehow managed to deliver the best five bathrooms The Block has ever seen.

There wasn’t a bad decision among them, and the voting was as close as it’s ever been, and Scott Cam paid tribute to the contestants before delivering the judges’ verdict.

Radical way COVID is changing our homes

He said after last year’s Block he had vowed to make things easier for future contestants.

“I promised myself we’d never do a Block that hard again, and here we are, doing a Block while the rest of the world goes to hell,” he says. “You’ve shown nothing but a fighting spirit all the way.”

Perhaps hardest hit were Sarah and George, who had the death of Sarah’s grandmother to cope with, as well as pre-ordering every tiny item needed for the rest of The Block build and creating their master ensuite.

STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL SUNDAY SEPT 20 9PM Sarah and George's master ensuite bathroom

Sarah and George’s efforts in a trying week scored them a perfect 10 from Neale Whitaker.

They were rewarded with their efforts with a perfect 10 from Neale Whitaker, and while it wasn’t enough to secure them the win, Sarah was chipper.

“I don’t give a s. t!” she says. “We got a 10!”

Their black bath, black trims and black fittings paired with blush pink subway tiles laid vertically alongside small white square tiles, white subway tiles laid horizontally and square floor tiles had the judges lauding their chutzpah in defying the cardinal rule of not having too many different tiles in a single space.

“It blends beautifully,” judge Shaynna Blaze says. “That’s what I love about design. When you are confident, you know the rules and can break them.”

Harry and Tash came a cropper with those rules during guest bathroom week, and while they’ve again chosen three different styles of tile, this time they did it right.

Their green vertically laid subway tiles have the judges oohing and aahing, and their skylight, black and brass fittings, double shower and elegant white basins and bath are declared perfect choices.

STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL SUNDAY SEPT 20 9PM Harry and Tash's master ensuite bathroom

Four different tile choices didn’t harm Harry and Tash’s chances this week.

They lose marks for their shower screen not reaching the tile line. They made the same error last week but Harry didn’t think a 10cm shortfall would matter.

“Why would you do that?” a puzzled Shaynna asks.

Daniel and Jade’s ensuite is hidden behind wardrobe doors, and opens up to a Alice in Wonderland of matte marble floor tiles, matching gloss versions on the shower wall and an epic two walls of fiddly and hard to lay fish scale tiles which Daniel was dead against because of the toll he knew it would take on their tiler.

Other Block tilers told him they’d walk off the job rather than take on such a job, but it ended up being a master stroke, with the judges loving the choice.

They lose points for not choosing a longer vanity, when they had the room for one.

“I’ve got cosmetics for days and I like to spread them around,” Darren Palmer says.

STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL SUNDAY, SEPT 20 9PM Jimmy and Tam's master ensuite.

Jimmy and Tam fixed their walk-in robe disaster by creating a separate ensuite.

Jimmy and Tam are on a mission to show the judges they listened to their harsh feedback from last week. They’ve closed the door in their walk-in robe and moved a wall to fix the problem of having their ensuite only accessible via a stroll through a bathroom.

They’ve chosen blush pink subway tiles, brass fittings, pink concrete basins, a vanity which matches their bed head and bedside tables, modern terrazzo floor tiles and skylights.

They only thing they don’t have is a bath, because their rejigged wardrobe doesn’t allow them enough space for one.

“If we didn’t have the others to compare to I would say this is a perfect size for a couple. If I was a buyer I would prefer a bigger walk-in robe than a bath in my ensuite because I can put a bath in the main bathroom,” Shaynna Blaze says.

They do lose points for not having appropriate over vanity lighting, but it’s a minor quibble easily fixed.

STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL SUNDAY SEPT 20 Luke and Jasmin's master ensuite bathroom

Luke and Jasmin finally score a win with their master ensuite.

Luke and Jasmin have pulled out all the stops to win this week.

They have a curved wall, circular skylight, $6000 black stone bath – which they chipped getting into the room – fluted shower screen and rolled brass fittings in their whopping 10.5 sqm room.

They say they’ve once again decided to go with their guts rather than the era of the home.

“I don’t know how 1910s it is,” Jasmin admits. “I wouldn’t call it a 1910s bathroom, I’d call it a bathroom that’s going to sell a house in Brighton.”

STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL SUNDAY SEPT 20 AT 9PM Luke and Jasmin's master ensuite bathroom

Luke and Jasmin’s curved wall circular skylight and rolled brass fittings impressed the judges.

Luckily, the judges don’t entirely agree.

“This is exceptional. They have given us a very modern bathroom but they have remained faithful to those period cues,” Neale Whitaker says.

One of their basins is too close to the shower screen, and the loo roll holder is in the wrong place, but other that than the judges can find little fault.

It’s going to be a close one, so Jimmy and Tam decide to use the bonus point they won last year, and Luke and Jasmin can’t conceal their disappointment. Last season a situation just like this nearly caused World War III to breakout, but this year their use of the point sees them tie for first place with Luke and Jasmin, so warfare is averted.

Tying for second place is Harry and Tash and Sarah and George, with Daniel and Jade coming last, with a score that would have seen them win in many other weeks.