They say the first week is always the hardest, and that proved to be true for the My Reno Rules teams. They were learning on the fly, rolling with the punches and picking themselves up when things went wrong. To start off the week, each team chose two rooms to renovate.
In House 1, Emma and Michelle chose a living room and bedroom, while Nathan and Julia chose a bathroom and bedroom.
Over at House 2, Mitch and Shaz chose the living room and kids bedroom, while Franky and Isaac chose the bathroom and bedroom.
While some beautiful rooms were created, there were some major fails that we just can’t get past. Let’s dive in.
1. Rust effect feature wall
Some things come back in style, while others… should be left alone. When Emma and Michelle decided to paint their living room feature wall a ‘rust effect paint’, we were skeptical. When we saw their application – a chaotic, 1 am job filled with stress, spray bottles and paint drips – we knew it was over. They took a risk, and sadly for them, that risk did not pay off.
The ‘rust’ had an overly yellow tinge, and there were drip marks down the wall – definitely not a vibe. The judges had a lot to say about it, and they weren’t sugar-coating anything.
Simon Cohen couldn’t get his head around their choice of paint for the wall. “What is it, a sponge painting or something?”
“It’s like oxodised metal…” Julia Green said.
Neale Whitaker jumped in to explain the outdated approach. “There was a time in interior design – a while ago – where it was big. But we haven’t seen it for a long time.”
“There’s a reason we haven’t seen it in a long time, and this is the reason – it’s hideous,” Simon brutally said. “This was a massive risk… and I think they stuffed up.”
To make matters worse, their attention to detail was terrible with unfinished and messy edges.
Our takeaway: If you’re going to take a massive risk and try to bring back something that hasn’t been seen for years… make sure you at least finish the job well.
2. Stay consistent and commit
When creating the bathroom in House 1, Nathan and Julia went bold with colour, opting for a bright peach paint with light pink and white tiles just over the basin.
As soon as Julia walked in, she may as well have shielded her eyes. “This is too bright for a retreat-style bathroom. There’s no cohesion with the rest of the house. You should want to come in here and feel like you want to sink into that amazing bath and relax. If I had to stare at that wall, I’d put sunglasses on. I can’t cope with it.”
While Julia was on the hate train, Neale had different thoughts. Rather than the colour being the problem, it was their choice of tiling that felt slightly off and unfinished.
“I think the tiles against that colour are lovely, I just want to see these tiles carry on. I think that would’ve made a world of difference.”
Our takeaway: Commit to your vision. If you want bold colours, choose a colour combo that looks lovely, but make sure the whole room feels coherent within itself and the whole house.
3. Beige is officially out of style
After years of “beige” being trendy, it’s officially out of style. Everybody wants colour now, and sadly for Franky and Isaac, they completely missed the mark with their bedroom in House 2.
As soon as Simon entered their room, he said, “I don’t know if I’m in my grandmothers room… but my grandma has better taste.”
Julia was quick to agree. “It’s just not good. It’s beige on beige. We’ve got beige carpet, on a beige rug, with a beige ottoman, and a beige bedhead, and even beige coloured pendants.”
Neale added, “It’s a letdown – it’s just got no vibe, no personality. It’s really boring.”
Our takeaway: Beige is boring if it isn’t done right. Mix it up with different colours and textures – nobody likes beige on beige on beige on beige.
