Dee: ‘We really wanted to smash it out of the park!’

What a finish for Darren and Deanne! This week, the dynamic duo capped off their stellar Block: Glasshouse apartment with an impressive terrace.

And Dee is thrilled.

“It’s the perfect end of The Block for us,” she tells The Block Shop. “And we went up against terraces that were so much bigger than ours. That’s the icing on the cake.”

Dee and Daz were hungry for another win, and it’s not hard to see why, they’ve come close so many times this season, only to be pipped at the post.

“We really wanted to smash it out of the park in the last room and finish on a high!” Dee says.

That’s exactly what they did. The judges praised the terrace for its magical feel. Dee says she put “everything” into it, and she isn’t kidding. Neale, who has always told Blockheads, “Less is more,” was wowed by their perfect execution of “more is more”; from the Soho Rustic Reclaimed Pine Low Coffee Table, to the outdoor setting – it all worked.

“We had a small space,” Dee says, “so we had to do something really special.”

And under so much pressure…

“Not really, Daz and I have been cruising to be honest,” she admits. “We’ve managed our communication issue, and we’re playing to our strengths. Early on, we learned how to manage our time better. Part of that was me working on what I’m good at and him working on what he’s good at.

“Now, we’re getting five or six hours’ sleep before Reveal, instead of going all-night, which just makes a huge difference,” Dee adds.

For the aspiring Blockheads at home considering signing up for future Blocks, we ask Dee which skill she’s acquired has helped her out most.

“I’ve gotten really good at making fast decisions. It’s all about time on The Block. Producing rooms of this standard each week is the challenge, now that I trust my instincts, it’s so much easier,” Dee says. “So go with your gut!”

Of course, there have still been hurdles. Especially towards the tail-end of the competition, when money always starts to be a big issue.

“You can’t ever be comfortable, you just don’t have enough money to get through the whole process,” Dee reveals. “We didn’t have too many wins, so our budget was… Daz did a lot of the work, which helped us along, but everyone’s budget has been tight, and by the end, you really need to be smart about what you’re doing.

“In that sense, having a smaller room was a benefit.”

The judges felt their terrace, like the others, transformed their apartments, but their secret weapon, the balcony, is the bit of ‘wow factor’ that will set their home apart from the rest.

“The mezzanine was our favourite feature, and it allowed us to add value to our property,” Dee says.

“It gave us a whole other level to play with. You can sit out there and get great city views.”

The judges reckon it might just be a game-winner, and we’ll have to find out come Auction Day.

Dee has proven time and time again that she knows her way around a shop – her eye for styling has been commented on week after week, and this week, it was her cushions that the judges admired most this time.

“I love the cushions and because it’s such a small room, we wanted to make a feature out of the built-in seating area, and all the cushions we put there really made it feel like a Tuscan retreat,” she says.

The selection of cushions Dee and Daz used are available on the Block Shop now, browse their room to see them all.

And now that their home is complete, we have to ask, is this the apartment she imagined they’d build?

“It’s really hard to say. It’s hard to visualise how it’s going to be when you’re looking at a big, empty worksite. I guess, I did visualise high quality and marble finishes and that sort of thing, but I didn’t really know how the finished thing would look,” Dee says, “but right now I look at it, and I’m just so proud.”

As she should be. As should all our Blockheads. With the Auction Day rapidly approaching, don’t forget you can browse all of the rooms presented this season and order items from each one here at The Block Shop.