Around The Block

November 2015, By Nicole Langelier

Sometimes when Blogging, things you never intended to reveal have a way of coming out. Through the process of writing and researching, little secrets and guilty pleasures you never intended to expose to the world bubble their way to the surface and burst onto the Internet.

That brings me to today’s big reveal: once upon a time, way back in 2012, I was a fan of channel 9’s renovation show The Block. Back in 2012 Tim and I had just moved to Australia from Milan and we knew very few people and were just getting to know the lay of the land. On top of that we had no furniture for the first 6 weeks due to a delay in the arrival of our container, so we borrowed a few bits and pieces – including a crappy old TV, and camped out in our new home for 6 weeks before our stuff came. It was depressing to say the least, but we were entertained by watching a bunch of amateur renovators having a crack at being designers and builders on The Block, and we enjoyed it.

The love affair with The Block however was short lived and now we have moved on to not actually watching much TV – due to working 18 hours a day… and so don’t get to experience the same level of fascination with The Block and the plethora of other Reality Reno/Styling programs that have emerged in droves…

On one hand The Block and others like it have brought the importance of property presentation (for sale) to the foreground, and that is great. But, on the other hand for many ‘average Joe’s’ out there programs like this have become the pinnacle of design – and for that I feel a bit gipped for everyone. Some of these ‘Reality Show Designers’ have gone on to create product ranges for various design companies, and others have built booming careers on the coat-tails of prime time TV. Good on them for raising awareness but… the foundation is often not rock solid, moreover perhaps ‘whimsical’ and what looks good ‘right now’ rather than what will stand the test of time.

When I visit a property to quote on the styling for the sales campaign and the vendor tells me that that want it to look like ‘The Block’, I smile politely and assure them that we can do that but will make it even better. My many years in professional interior design and styling, my multiple degrees and international qualifications never really prepared me for the day when the design standard I was held to was that of former football player, gym teacher and Penthouse centerfold to name a few (however in all fairness one of my favorite world renowned interior designers Kelly Wearstler did actually pose for Playboy many years ago!).

As satisfying as it is that your average punter is now aware enough about interior design to pay some meaningful attention, the buck stops with The Block and other reality shows for most of the new ‘I must have it’ crowd. And that is where the problem lies. It is true that ‘everyone wants to be a designer’, but lets face it – not everyone is and not everyone can be, and for consistent quality without the fads and gimmicks it is still best to go pro

So ‘Block Heads’, I implore you – step out of your comfort zone and embrace your new found Block sparked design inspiration, don’t just like what you are told to like because Shaynna Blaze gave it a ‘10’. Seek design, follow design and learn design. It is far move complex, deep, inspirational and genuinely interesting than an “on-trend” emotion.

If you are really interested then some of my favorite design sources are The Design Files for some daily inspiration (http://thedesignfiles.net), Pinterest (www.pinterest.com) where you can find whatever you can imagine and file it for your reference, and Habitus Magazine for some really interesting ‘outside of the block’ design projects (http://www.habitusliving.com).

So by all means, enjoy the guilty pleasure that is The Block, but take it a step further and go around the block for a couple of laps too.