Block Glasshouse newbies reborn with perfect score

Last night, Australia was treated to the first round of bathroom reveals on The Block Glasshouse.

In one of the hardest tasks of the series (as host Scott Cam likes to remind us), each team was given one week to create the main bathroom of their office conversion apartment.

The week saw yet more delays, tradies in tears, and a particularly unsavory furniture upcycling challenge featuring a taxidermied deer head (the furniture world's Martin Margielas, our blockheads are not).

But it seems the hard work was worth it in the end, with the judges marveling at the bathrooms this season's  contestants managed to deliver.

Despite being cursed with a severed, taxidermied, hollowed out and illuminated deer head courtesy of Shannon and Simon, Chris and Jenna managed to wash the negativity away with their bathroom offering (pictured above, courtesy of Channel 9).

The Campbelltown couple, characterised as the "newbies" of The Block, earned a perfect score of 30 from judges Neale Whitaker (soon to join Vogue Living as editor-in-chief), Selling Houses Australia's Shaynna Blaze and interior designer Darren Palmer.

Some major tiling miscalculations saw the couple bring in a two metre wide mirror to cover up their error - a blessing in disguise, creating the illusion of an expansive space.

Continuing the theme set with the exposed beams in their guest bedroom, the team ran a metal pole (with a pipe tucked inside) across the entire length of their bathroom, which suspended their shower head (pictured below).

Picture courtesy of Channel 9.

The second highest score of the night went to Darren and Deanne, whose bathroom was particularly popular with Darren (judge, not Jolly), pictured below.

Picture courtesy of Channel 9.

Shaynna Blaze noted that their bathroom had a "provincial feel" translated to an urban setting, while Neale Whittaker said the bathroom held its own against some of the best bathrooms he's seen in his career as a magazine editor. The couple were awarded 28 points out of 30.

Their bathroom featured a medley of materials - with a plain plastered wall, a marble vanity, patterned floor tiles, a paneled wall and a wall covered with large white tiles.

Maxine and Karstan redeemed themselves after failing to complete a room last week, scoring 26 points for their glossy grey bathroom, pictured below.

Picture courtesy of Channel 9.

Theirs was a particularly big space and Shaynna appreciated their extensive storage, which allowed access to the bedroom linen closet through the wall. However, the couple lost points for the lack of underfloor heating, which was seen in many of the other bathrooms.

Queensland couple Michael and Carlene coped with their pokey bathroom by building a raised platform with an in-built bathtub and open shower three steps above the floor level, pictured below. The judges all thought the couple's herringbone tile feature wall was worth the trouble (though their tiler who was pulling all-nighters alone for the majority of the week may not agree).

Picture courtesy of Channel 9.

The raised shower was not so popular, with Shaynna concerned that wet, soapy steps would be unsafe for buyers and their children. Michael maintains that the tiles were fairly porous, and wouldn't be slippery. The couple was awarded 24 points for their effort.

Last week's winners took a tumble in the judges eyes - Simon and Shannon received the lowest score of the week, with 23 points. While their timber vanities were appreciated, there were a number of awkward points in the bathroom, including a hidden-but-not-so-hidden boxed-out cistern which reminded Shaynna of a public toilet (pictured below).

Picture courtesy of Channel 9.

The judges also noticed the absence of a bath in the main bathroom, noting that it felt more like an en suite (which is was, thanks to the door adjoining the bathroom to the guest bedroom, an idea the brothers pinched from Chris and Jenna).

This week, the teams will tackle two rooms - the second bedroom and study.