Week 4 Main ensuite reveal

A frantic main ensuite week came down to the final 24 hours, with every team battling time, budget and unfinished details. Some teams were a little over-ambitious (especially Lisa and Rosco), others had difficulties with trades (Adam and Jolene). However, the final spaces created were all elegant and refined, echoing this year’s brief of ‘quiet luxury’.

Winner: Rick and Tayla, House 5 

“It’s not going to age quickly, and it feels very appropriate for the location,” said Judge Marty Fox.

Rick and Tayla scored their first win of the season with an elegant ensuite that included luxurious stone-look tiles and lots of natural light.

Rick and Tayla produced their strongest room so far, winning the week (with the help of a gnome) with a thoughtful design that included stone-look tiles, generous storage, a large shower and strong buyer appeal.

Tayla decided not to include a bath in the ensuite as there is already another bath on the same floor, and to use just one tile throughout the space to create the light bright and white aesthetic that the judges are looking for. The tile, a large format travertine, was a hit with the judges who loved its tactility and muted tones.

“I think using the same tile everywhere feels very coastal, very beach,” said Darren Palmer. “It looks like a landscape from above.”

With the help of three skylights overhead, the room was flooded with natural light, which in turn highlighted the texture of the tiles and the cosiness of the space.

“It feels very luxurious,” added Shaynna Blaze. “This is the best room Rick and Tayla have done.”

Design tip

Choosing just one tile for a bathroom is a great way to make the room feel more spacious, especially when it is in a large format.

House 1: Adam and Jolene

“In terms of inclusion and amenity they have ticked every box,” said Judge Darren Palmer.

After a disastrous tiling problem, Adam and Jolene recovered to deliver an ensuite bathroom filled with light and designed with style.

Sadly, Adam and Jolene’s bathroom was unfinished after a problem with their tilers (despite some last-minute help from the Cursio Brothers from House 2), but the judges praised the space for its layout, tile choices, basins, skylights and high-end feel, with Darren Palmer calling the layout “perfectly satisfying”.

“It’s such lovely geometry,” he said.

The SA couple chose a feature wall of marble tiles at the end of the bathroom as a focal point, complemented by the same wall and floor tiles as their previous bathroom, changing the colour of the kit kat tiles as the splashback behind the vanity as a point of difference, matching them to the green basins.

“I am loving the tile choices,” said Shaynna Blaze. “Those beautiful feature tiles really match the wall they have got in the hallway – and those beautiful green tiles really match the ceramic basins.”

The couple also experimented with their timber vanity, choosing a fluted veneer for a textural addition, which mirrored the detail in the door to the room. A smart toilet with built-in bidet washing was the finishing touch.

“It will draw buyers in,” said Marty Fox. “This is selling the dream.”

  

Not all products in these images were supplied by Bunnings. These images include various other brands and suppliers that provided product to The Block in 2026. 

Design tip

Fast growing in popularity, a smart toilet is an advanced electronic fixture that combines a traditional ceramic bowl with built-in bidet washing and automated sensors.

House 2: Chantel and Wyatt 

“It feels calm, it feels elegant,” said Judge Darren Palmer.

Just pipped at the post because of a gnome, Chantel and Wyatt delivered a calm haven with an ensuite that was beautifully executed.

Chantel and Wyatt continued to impress the judges and the builders with their organisation and design skills, delivering a complete bathroom in a week when other teams struggled to finish. The Gold Coast couple earned compliments for their calm and elegant room which was executed to a high standard. 

“It looks like they have finished it with military precision,” said Marty Fox admiringly. “It looks spotless.”

Chantel stuck with her light and bright “old luxury” aesthetic with pearl-coloured large-format tiles throughout, complemented by soft champagne-gold tapware. Shaynna Blaze admired the layout of the room and the sense of space that was created, singling out the curved glass shower screen as an example of how well the room was designed.

The design echoed the neutral tones from their last bathroom, but the couple added in a contemporary marble-topped vanity (“sculptural and organic” Darren Palmer called it), semi-inset basins and oval mirrors for a point of difference.

A pair of elegant sconce lights bookended the vanity to finish the room beautifully.

  

Not all products in these images were supplied by Bunnings. These images include various other brands and suppliers that provided product to The Block in 2026.

Design tip

Bathroom basins can be installed in a variety of ways – countertop, inset and semi-inset, depending on the look you are going for. Just make sure that if you choose a countertop basin you make sure the vanity is slightly lower to make the sink accessible.

House 3: Lisa and Rosco

“I love the tactility, the materiality and the colour choice,” said Judge Darren Palmer.

WA couple Lisa and Rosco created an ensuite that provided layers of texture for a luxurious day-spa vibe.

Although the room was sadly unfinished, Lisa and Rosco impressed the judges with their choice of vanity, the inclusion of lots of storage and material tactility in their ensuite bathroom. The neutral colour palette was considered to be a great match with their winning bedroom suite.

However, their labour-intensive faux crazy-pave floor was controversial with judges, who felt it was too busy for the room.

Paramedic Lisa said the mood she wanted to create was a day-spa energy to mirror their bedroom. Texture was the key, with the crazy pave flooring complemented by micro cement on the walls and a tiled bench seat in the wet area. Handmade basins atop a soft timber vanity added to the mood. A pair of wall lights (that Shaynna Blaze called “divine”) framed the vanity to provide soft task lighting.

“I love the scale of the vanity, I love these mirrored cabinets, and I love the storage that we have got,” said Darren Palmer.

In the wet area, the couple included a double shower complete with black tapware, which matched the bold steel-framed ribbed glass door on entry, a detail loved by judge Marty Fox.

Not all products in these images were supplied by Bunnings. These images include various other brands and suppliers that provided product to The Block in 2026.

Design tip

Crazy paving uses irregularly shaped pieces of stone fitted together in an organic pattern. Popular in the 1970s and experiencing a bit of a resurgence, it is mostly used on outdoor areas such as pathways and pool surrounds.

House 4: Courtney and Sev

“It’s the softness in this that makes me feel comfortable and at ease,” said Judge Shaynna Blaze.

Courtney and Sev’s high-end luxurious ensuite had the judges raving about the textural elements and sense of elegance.

Courtney and Sev’s ensuite looked and felt expensive, elegant and market-ready, but the oversized shower seat divided the judges.

The best friends from Brisbane created a custom love seat in the double shower, which was separated from the rest of the bathroom with nib walls and double glass doors. A hand-held shower nozzle helped to create the steam-room atmosphere that the girls were aiming for, while the seat itself was finished in the same tiles as the wall tiles for a streamlined look.

The rest of the bathroom included a stone-topped curved timber vanity along with micro-cemented walls. Sev kept to the same tile that won them the winning room in family bathroom week, but changed the floor tile to a very similar one that had a P3 slip rating.

“The tactility is yummy,” said Darren Palmer. “It’s a really lovely finish and absolutely right for the market. That floor tile and this benchtop could not have been better together.”

Marty Fox agreed. “This is really nice,” he added as he walked into the space. “It’s simple and it’s elegant.”

“The colour palette and floorplan are brilliant,” said Shaynna.

 

Not all products in these images were supplied by Bunnings. These images include various other brands and suppliers that provided product to The Block in 2026.

Design tip

A P3 slip rating ensures good grip in wet and dry areas, so it’s important that all floor tiles have this rating when used in residential bathrooms.