Best mates from Victoria Ricky and Haydn have brought bright outfits and attitudes to The Block 2024 contestants for season 20. They were off to an exciting start in week one, with IT manager Haydn leaving the site to be with wife Chelsea for the birth of their baby girl, Matilda. Regardless, Ricky managed to pull off a pleasant main bathroom on his own.
Once the duo was reunited, they got the good times rolling with bunk beds in a kids’ bedroom. There’s no question they have the skills and work ethic to pull off a successful build, with Ricky being a plumber; it’s just the design know-how they’ll need to work on to keep up with other teams, such as Courtney and Grant, who are harnessing current trends and styles to get ahead.
The Block 2024: Ricky and Haydn’s house
Follow along the build of this easy, breezy beach property.
Week 1: Main bathroom
With Haydn’s pregnant wife going into labour mid-week, he jetted off the island to meet his newborn baby and Ricky was left to finish the room alone. “Commendable execution to be one man down,” said Marty. “Good floorplan, vanity’s in the right spot.” Shaynna agreed that the layout was good and she liked the bath, but thought the colour choices didn’t quite work together. Darren’s advice was to start with a flatlay or moodboard for each room to make sure all the materials work together.
Score: 24/30
Week 2: Kids’ bedroom
The use of bunk beds in this bedroom was good in theory. “There’d be no holiday house without some bunk beds,” said Darren. But both Marty and Shaynna weren’t happy with the layout of the room and where the bunk beds were – on the wall next to the door. “It’s an issue for me,” said Shaynna.
“It’s a good room, it’s not a great room,” added Marty, “and we’ve just seen great rooms.” However, Shaynna wouldn’t even give them that. “I don’t even think it’s a good room. I think the wardrobe is the hero. The rest of it needs to be fixed.” The lack of heating or cooling was a problem too.
Score: 22/30
Week 3: Main ensuite
This best-friend duo had issues with waterproofing, as the wrong product was used and it all had to be removed. They also went separate ways with their builder after not seeing eye-to-eye, meaning Ricky and Haydn were left with little to show at the end of the week. Darren had wished they at least placed materials on the floor so they could have given feedback on those. “This is the most unfinished room in The Block history,” said Marty. Scott Cam clarified that it wasn’t, actually. There have been quite a few contestants who haven’t finished rooms over the years, so there’s still hope for this team yet.
Score: 4/30
Week 4: Guest bedroom
Bringing on former The Block contestant Duncan Miller as their builder paid off for the boys. “I’m so glad they’ve got a good builder. This is levels ahead of what was there before,” said Shaynna, who called their room stylish and sophisticated. “It’s the first time I’ve said ‘sophistication’ for the boys.” The level of detail was noticed, such as the shadow line between the ceiling and wall. “That takes effort, it takes time. You’ve got to have a good builder who knows that they’re doing,” said Darren.
The feature wall evoked a “holiday resort” feeling that Shaynna wanted them to run with. The only thing that needed improvement was the colour palette, with the warm yellow not working with the cool grey, but it was a minor criticism. “I think they’ve delivered a room that a buyer will walk through and really appreciate,” said Marty. “It will shoot well, it’s a really good effort.”
Score: 26.5/30
Head to the real estate listing for more details on Ricky and Haydn’s The Block house.
Tune into The Block 2024 on Sundays at 7pm and Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7.30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
This article originally appeared on Home Beautiful and is republished here with permission.
