House Rules’ youngest teams will go head-to-head to decide if Claire and Hagan, or Luke and Cody have their mortgage paid off.
The final three teams dug deeper than ever this week to give back to the Leukaemia Foundation, transforming three of their Sydney apartments into an oasis of calm and tranquility. Each team infused three specific design briefs, including Manhattan Apartment, Scandi Chic and Balinese Resort throughout their three zones which spanned across all three apartments; in addition to transforming a neglected outside area.
Twin brothers Luke and Cody scored their third win in a row, securing their spot not only on the top of the leaderboard, but in the all-important life changing live Grand Finale. Receiving a combined judges’ score of 17 they nailed their kitchen and bathroom layouts, drawing inspiration from Sex And The City for their Manhattan Apartment design brief. And their clever design choices shone through in their relaxing country garden. “Your garden was sublime,” said judge Joe Snell. “It was so welcoming and that pergola was the perfect place for a relaxing cup of tea. You truly created a home away from home.” The boys’ only downfall was their Balinese bedrooms which failed to live up to their resort house rule. “You did get the Bali interpretation, just not the Bali resort – the luxury of that,” explained judge Wendy Moore. Scoring them a nine for their work this week Wendy summed up their secret to success so far, noting “It’s not just the fabulous design ideas you guys have, but it’s the emotion and the consideration that comes behind those ideas.”
Securing the second place in the Grand Final, young parents, Claire and Hagan’s ‘slice of heaven’ this week was their wonderful playground area. “The kids play space was a fabulous collection of really great ideas that worked together perfectly,” said Wendy. “You have built the foundation for many happy memories in a house that really needs them.” Wendy also loved their Scandi Chic bedrooms and thought they chose a lovely colour palette. However, Joe told them that their Manhattan living room was like walking into a doll’s house. “All the pieces of furniture just felt oversized,” he said faulting them for their use of size and scale. Overall, they scored 15 out of 20 from the judges.
Just two points behind on 13 out of 20, Melbourne husband-and-wife team Fil and Joe were eliminated. The pair lost points for their DIY Balinese resort cupboard doors and the amateur looking handwriting on their yellow bedroom wall. “They’ve done some good design, but their DIY has really let them down which is a pity,” said Joe. But they won applause for their fabulous Scandi kitchen, which Wendy awarded the best kitchen of the round. Wendy also praised their Balinese living room which she credited for having a great atmosphere. “It was an incredibly bold statement with that wall,” said Wendy. “But it sat so calmly with the luxurious leather lounge and the very restrained collection of cushions.” Despite not making it to the Grand Final, Fil and Joe were proud of their achievements and were happy to be going home to their dream house. “I’m not only proud of what we’ve done because it was really hard, but I’m proud of Joe,” Fil gushed.
Upon learning that they had made it through to the to the finael with the chance of having their mortgage paid off, the country twins were very emotional. “We never thought we would make it through the first round let alone get this far in the competition,” revealed a teary Luke.
Claire and Hagan were also brought to tears when they too realised they were in the Grand Final and had a shot of enjoying a mortgage free life with their two young daughters. The couple had struggled being away from their daughters during the filming of the but now realised it had all been worth it.
The final scores were
House Rules has just one important episode left this year to decide which team will live their life mortgage free. Will it be Team QLD Luke and Cody, or Team VIC Claire and Hagan? find out at 7PM on Sunday
