Episode 33 Recap – The Block 2026 delivered a dramatic Rumpus Room and Laundry Week on Monday, September 28, as a simmering feud between Adam and Wyatt erupted before Courtney and Sev produced a near-perfect room reveal to take the win in front of judges Shaynna Blaze, Darren Palmer and Marty Fox.
For a week that should have been relatively straightforward, there was very little about life on The Block that could be described as calm.
The contestants had already spent part of the week divided into two teams for a community challenge providing crisis accommodation for people in need, but even that task had become another source of tension.
Jolene’s passion for the project had seen her clash with contestants on the other team before a tiling issue also triggered a confrontation with her own teammate Tayla.
Back at the main site, the pressure had hardly eased.
A collection of disputes had been building between the houses, ranging from plants and trees to accusations of snooping and after-hours trades.
House 2’s Chantel and Wyatt had attempted to claim the plants at Bunnings, while House 5’s Rick and Tayla responded by filling House 2’s stone bath with rubbish.
Then Houses 2 and 4 took Rick’s olive tree, only for House 2 to blame House 1’s Adam.
There was also tension after House 2 was caught looking through House 1, while House 5 accused House 1 of using a trade after hours.
The weather may have brought cyclones earlier in the week, but by room reveal the atmosphere between some of the contestants was decidedly colder.
And the biggest issue was about to become the rapidly deteriorating relationship between Adam and Wyatt.
Adam and Wyatt’s feud boils over
The latest confrontation followed an earlier incident involving Wyatt and Jolene.
Wyatt had apologised to Jolene after standing in her carport with his hands on his hips, but he remained frustrated by the suggestion his behaviour had been intimidating.
That resentment came back to the surface when Adam and Jolene’s plumber needed a particular tool belonging to Chantel and Wyatt’s tilers, the Cursios.
Rather than approaching Wyatt directly, the plumber asked the tilers.
For Wyatt, that was another example of the deteriorating relationship between the neighbours.
He believed Adam should have approached him personally and was particularly unhappy that Adam had accepted Jolene’s account of their earlier encounter.
“If you want to borrow something come and ask me.
We would have lent it until we heard he’s been running his mouth the whole time.
Adam just took Jolene’s word and ran with it.”
When a producer asked Wyatt whether he believed he was intimidating, he pointed to the constant presence of cameras on the building site.
“We’ve been followed around by cameras 24/7.
If I was an intimidating person you’d be seeing a lot of that happening”.
The situation escalated when Wyatt eventually encountered Adam.
“I don’t like the way you and Jolene have been carrying on about me,”
Adam responded by referring directly to what Jolene had told him about their earlier exchange.
“You came in here and were standing over her,” Adam claims.
“She felt intimidated by you.”
But Wyatt countered with his own complaint about Adam’s movements around the site.
“I feel intimidated by you snooping through my house,”
The confrontation eventually ended with Adam walking away.
One supplied account had Adam telling Wyatt, “Pull your head in, mate,” while another recorded him saying, “settle down mate, f**king pinhead” as he returned to his own house.
Jolene explains why the confrontation affected her
Later, producers asked Adam and Jolene to explain their side of the dispute.
For Jolene, the issue went beyond the immediate disagreement with Wyatt.
She explained that his physical presence and the nature of their interaction had reminded her of difficult experiences from her past.
“He has an intimdating persona, he’s big.
There’s been things in my past that have had that same feeling of intimidation, a previous relationship was a little bit toxic and this interaction with Wyatt has been a little bit triggering and kind of put me back in that spot.
I probably got a little bit overwhelmed,” Jolene says.
Adam then asked:
“Do you think that he realises that?”
Jolene replied:
“No, I don’t believe that he realises that,”
She remained firm that her reaction to the encounter had been justified by the way she had felt at the time.
“I think in my opinion it was very much justified because of how it made me feel.
It’s not something I like to revisit.”
With the disagreement unresolved, the contestants still had rooms to finish.
Courtney and Sev hit a last-minute paint problem
There was another problem unfolding at House 4, although this one was firmly renovation-related.
Courtney and Sev were unhappy with the paint colour that had been ordered, leading to an extremely late change.
The decision meant Courtney finished the week having completed six coats of paint as the pair attempted to get their rumpus room ready before tools down.
Despite the disruption, their final result would ultimately become the standout of the week.
When host Scott Cam finally called tools down, judges Shaynna Blaze, Darren Palmer and Marty Fox arrived on site.
Before the results were announced, Scott revealed another substantial addition to the Plungie prize pool.
The week’s prize was $50,000 worth of artwork from Michael Parker and Manyung Gallery, taking the stated total value of the prize pool to $370,000.
There was also another victory for House 3’s Lisa and Rosco, who collected the $10,000 CommBank Better Budgeting Award.
Then it was time for judging.
House 1 — Adam and Jolene
The judges entered Adam and Jolene’s rumpus room through what they described as a “nice, substantial door”.
Inside was a curved white lounge, television and soundbar, a long stone or marble bench beneath the television, a hidden kitchenette with a fridge, sink and coffee machine, and a compact exercise machine tucked into the room.
One supplied recap listed their cash spend as $33,880.29 against an estimated $28,500 budget, while another supplied account gave their spend as $33,830.
Whatever the exact figure, the judges immediately found plenty to discuss.
For Darren Palmer, the room’s textures created a strong first impression.
“It’s a feast for texture, isn’t it?”
Shaynna Blaze particularly liked the consistency created by repeating the feature wall treatment already seen elsewhere in the house, connecting the rumpus room with spaces including the living room and main bedroom.
The artwork also attracted positive attention.
The large Grafico wall image, however, divided the judges.
The oversized photograph of a nearby beach did not convince Darren that the room had reached the luxury level he wanted.
“I don’t think this elevates the room,”
He believed a more classic artwork could have lifted the room further.
Marty Fox agreed.
“That’s not shouting luxury at this price point,”
There were still several elements the judges liked.
Marty was particularly amused by the compact exercise machine and quickly put it to use with an impromptu tricep workout.
Darren also liked most of what Adam and Jolene had included, with the stone benchtop among the features to impress.
Then Shaynna spotted something far less welcome.
A tiny plant had been placed in a corner.
“How many times do I have to say, I do not want to see a teeny, tiny plant in a corner?”
Unfortunately for Adam and Jolene, the plant problem followed the judges into the laundry, where another small plant caught Shaynna’s attention.
Beyond that styling choice, however, the judges had relatively little to criticise.
The laundry included a drying cupboard and was regarded as functional, while the judges went as far as describing the room as “sexy”.
Adam and Jolene finished the week with 26½ points.
Darren Palmer awarded 9½, Marty Fox gave 8½, and Shaynna Blaze scored them 8½.
House 2 — Chantel and Wyatt
If there was one word that followed Chantel and Wyatt into judging, it was beige.
Their restrained neutral design had already become a talking point across the season, and the rumpus room once again left the judges divided.
Their budget estimate was listed as $27,000, with a cash spend of $26,605.88.
One of the first things noticed was that there was no door into the rumpus.
Inside, Shaynna Blaze felt the styling created a space that appeared difficult to relax in.
She was also concerned by what was missing.
“There’s no coffee table, there’s no side table, there’s nothing,” she says.
“You don’t feel welcome in here.”
Darren Palmer also felt the furniture had been squeezed too tightly into the room.
For him, the nib wall near the entrance contributed to the problem.
There were still several individual elements that worked.
The curtains, television unit, couch and rug all attracted some approval.
But the larger issue was the room’s purpose.
The judges did not believe it offered enough amenity to function as a convincing rumpus.
Marty Fox described it as “just a second TV room”.
Shaynna was even more direct about what she believed was missing.
“They’re not selling the dream,”
She also took a swipe at the “cheap lamp” beside her.
The laundry produced a noticeably stronger reaction.
Functionally, the judges believed Chantel and Wyatt had delivered what was required, with Marty describing it as a textbook laundry.
But the styling again raised eyebrows.
A large piece of art on the laundry wall confused Shaynna, while the placement of a coffee table book on the bench prompted another question.
“Are you going to read a book in a laundry?”
Despite those styling choices, the underlying room itself was praised for its functionality and presentation.
Chantel and Wyatt finished last on the supplied leaderboard with 23 points.
Darren Palmer gave them 8, with Marty Fox and Shaynna Blaze each awarding 7½.
House 3 — Lisa and Rosco
The contrast between House 2 and House 3 was immediately obvious to the judges.
Despite the rumpus rooms being the same size, Lisa and Rosco’s space appeared considerably larger.
Their budget estimate was listed as $29,105.37, with a supplied cash spend of $29,105.88. Another source rounded the figure to $29,105.
The biggest difference was the placement of the cabinetry.
Rather than allowing the nib wall to dominate the room, Lisa and Rosco positioned cabinetry along the side wall, opening up the space.
Marty Fox could hardly believe the transformation.
“I can’t believe that these rooms are the same, but they are,”
The room also contained something that had been notably absent next door — a coffee table.
A brown couch, dark cabinetry and an arched kitchenette continued the visual language already established in Lisa and Rosco’s kitchen.
The kitchenette also included a sink, adding another practical element.
The judges liked the colour palette, although they were not convinced the splashback needed to continue into the cabinetry.
For Marty, the room was easy to imagine being used by a family.
He pictured children outside in the pool, a movie playing on the television and drinks waiting in the fridge.
“It’s a really nice, casual way to just live,”
Shaynna agreed.
Where some of the earlier rumpus rooms had felt formal, she believed Lisa and Rosco’s room understood that a rumpus should be relaxed.
Her assessment was simple.
“It feels casual but still high-end,”
The positive feedback continued into the laundry.
Dark cabinetry had been paired with dark appliances, while stone and copper tapware added depth.
One of the most distinctive additions was a robot vacuum cleaner with its own built-in, plumbed hideaway hatch.
Marty praised the “richness” of the room.
Darren Palmer could find little wrong.
“There are no notes,”
The result was another strong week for Lisa and Rosco, who finished second with 28 points.
Darren Palmer awarded 9½, Marty Fox gave 9, and Shaynna Blaze scored them 9½.
Their performance came on top of winning the week’s $10,000 CommBank Better Budgeting Award.
House 4 — Courtney and Sev
Then came the room that changed the tone of judging.
The rumpus rooms in Houses 4 and 5 were considerably larger than those in the downtown houses, and the scale of Courtney and Sev’s room made an immediate impact.
Shaynna Blaze summed up the first impression.
“Whoa, this has impact,”
The room included a U-shaped furniture arrangement, timber cabinetry, shelving, a kitchenette, bronze mirror, backlit shelving and acoustic panelling.
But perhaps its most striking design feature was the television.
Rather than leaving it exposed, Courtney and Sev concealed it behind rolling timber doors.
The judges noted they had not seen the idea executed on The Block before.
The kitchenette was another major success.
It included a coffee machine, drinks fridge and a mini dishwasher designed for glasses.
For the judges, the space contained repeated signs of detail and considered design.
It felt polished, expensive and complete.
Darren Palmer could barely contain his enthusiasm.
“I’m so besotted with every single decision,”
He later offered an even stronger assessment.
“This is hands down my favourite room on The Block thus far.”
Marty Fox was equally impressed.
“This feels like a cocoon,”
Then:
“It’s amazing.”
The judges even questioned whether it might be the best room they had seen all season.
For Darren, there was little doubt.
That left only the laundry standing between Courtney and Sev and the possibility of a perfect result.
Fortunately for them, the laundry was another strong room.
The judges believed it contained virtually everything a buyer could need, while luxury details from the rumpus continued into the adjoining space.
Even the curved ends of the cabinetry attracted attention.
At one stage Marty sensed history could be coming.
“I’ve got a feeling this might be the first week of three 10s,”
Then Darren found the flaw.
A small section of skirting board had been left unfinished.
Rather than draw attention to it, he stood in front of the problem and encouraged the other judges to effectively ignore what was behind him.
It was not enough to destroy the result, but it did stop Courtney and Sev from securing three perfect scores.
Their supplied budget estimate was $30,000, while their cash spend was $26,939.41, with another supplied account rounding that figure to $26,939.
The final score was a remarkable 29½ points.
Darren Palmer gave 9½, while Marty Fox and Shaynna Blaze both awarded perfect 10s.
The victory earned Courtney and Sev $10,000 from Chery.
Their two perfect scores also added another $20,000, while the pair received a Chery Getaway to the Lancemore Lindenderry Hotel in Red Hill, which was described as having its own two-hatted restaurant.
House 5 — Rick and Tayla
The final reveal belonged to Rick and Tayla.
Like House 4, their rumpus was a large space, and the pair entered judging hopeful their layout and styling would impress.
Their room included a curved olive couch, circular mirror, joinery and kitchenette.
Their budget estimate was given as $22,996, while their cash spend was listed as $39,029.24.
But the judges immediately questioned the way the room had been arranged.
Marty Fox summed it up almost immediately.
“Huge room, but funny layout,”
The problem was that much of the furniture appeared compressed towards one side of the room, with the television positioned on the smallest wall.
For Darren Palmer, the furniture also failed to provide the comfort expected from a rumpus room.
Rather than luxury, he felt the room had more of a holiday-home quality.
Scale quickly became the central criticism.
In such a large room, the judges wanted larger pieces.
Shaynna Blaze believed the coffee table was too small, the pendants were wrong, the rug did not have enough scale and the artwork had been positioned too high.
Her verdict was:
“It’s wrongly laid out, it really is,”
Despite the criticism, Darren made clear that he did not regard the room as a disaster.
“I don’t think it’s a bad room, I just think we’ve seen excellent rooms today,” he says.
The judges also liked the joinery and believed the space had come close, even if the overall layout prevented it from reaching the standard of the strongest rooms.
Things improved considerably when they entered the laundry.
The judges liked the idea of lifting the appliances off the floor and responded positively to the room’s design intent.
Marty Fox offered particularly strong praise.
“It’s perfect, it’s a great laundry,”
The paint finish was not flawless, but the room itself was widely regarded as successful.
There is a discrepancy across the supplied material regarding Rick and Tayla’s total score.
The individual judging scores supplied were 8 from Darren Palmer, 8 from Marty Fox and 8 from Shaynna Blaze, which totals 24 points, and one source lists their final score as 24.
Another supplied source lists Rick and Tayla on 23½ points.
The final leaderboard
There was no uncertainty at the top.
Courtney and Sev dominated the week with 29½ points, two perfect scores and the $10,000 Chery win.
Lisa and Rosco finished second on 28 points, while Adam and Jolene took third place with 26½.
Chantel and Wyatt finished on 23 points.
Rick and Tayla’s final total individual judging scores add to 24.
For Courtney and Sev, however, it was comfortably their week.
After surviving a last-minute paint change and six coats of paint, they delivered the room the judges believed had all the required touch points of effort, detail, amenity and luxury.
Their victory also brought a much-needed change of focus after another episode dominated by tensions between neighbours.
The confrontation between Adam and Wyatt remains unresolved, with both men maintaining very different views of the events that led to their dispute.
And with the rumpus rooms and laundries now completed, the contestants are approaching another significant stage of the competition.
Next comes the final indoor room of the houses, along with a redo room that will give each team an opportunity to revisit a space previously criticised by the judges.
That means another two rooms and another two reveals as the competition enters its next phase.
