Dishing on HGTV's Rock the Block Season 6 Premiere

On this episode called "New Block, New Drama", HGTV kicks things off with a bang. The four identical houses are located just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, and the first challenge for the four teams is renovating the kitchen, dining room, and living room areas. 

The teams are Alison Victoria (Windy City Rehab) and Michel Smith Boyd (Luxe for Less), Chelsea and Cole DeBoer (Down Home Fab), Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama (Renovation Aloha), and Jonathan and Jordon Knight (Farmhouse Fixer and New Kids on the Block). Ty Pennington (Trading Spaces, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Rock the Block) is the host and Bobby Berk (Queer Eye) was the judge for this episode.

Alison snags her third kitchen crown in a row. No surprise there, but this was an area of contention online after the episode aired. The competition introduced a new twist with blind judging. HGTV also added the living room as part of the week 1 challenge. They also pit the Veterans against the Rookies. There's already some subtle and not so subtle tension and drama bubbling up. And if this episode is any clue, it's gonna be a juicy storyline to follow all season long.

Love and Kisses,

Rhonda and Shari

Find us at https://designingbesties.buzzsprout.com, Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).

Transcript

DESIGNING BITCHES - EPISODE 1 - DISHING ON ROCK THE BLOCK SEASON 6 PREMIERE

[00:00:01] Shari: Hi there, I'm Shari, and this is my BFF Rhonda.

[00:00:04] Rhonda: And welcome to Designing Bitches!

This podcast is for women

[00:00:08] Shari: and brave men

[00:00:09] Rhonda: who eat, sleep, and breathe interior design and recognize their addiction to HGTV.

[00:00:14] Shari: Whether you're rearranging your living room for the 12th time or here to justify another HomeGoods spree. You're in the right place.

[00:00:21] Rhonda: Let's talk design, disasters, and all the beautiful chaos in between.

Welcome to the Designing Bitches episode you've been waiting for. Today, we're excited to be dishing on Season 6, the lead off episode of Rock the Block. And Shari, based on internet interest, apparently we aren't the only ones excited about this season. 

[00:00:39] Shari: Oh, I'm so glad. On this episode called "New Block, New Drama", HGTV kicks things off with a bang. The four identical houses are located just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, and the first challenge for the four teams was renovating the kitchen, dining room, and living room areas.

Spoiler alert if you haven't seen the episode, here's your warning that we're definitely going to talk about who wins. So just put us in your queue and finish listening after you watch the episode. 

So Rhonda, what do you think about this season's twist, veterans versus rookies?

[00:01:09] Rhonda: I think it's fantastic. I didn't see it coming. I didn't anticipate that I would actually enjoy it. It feels manufactured and yet it really works.

[00:01:18] Shari: When HGTV publicized this, I didn't understand exactly how it would work until Alison and the Knights were talking. I was still totally clueless and naive about how this whole twist was going to work, and I love it.

[00:01:31] Rhonda: Agree. I've never watched Survivor, but I understand that there's some sort of survivor coalition and mechanism...

[00:01:40] Shari: you are right. They formed an alliance. Oh my God, you've never watched it. And you picked that up and I didn't even know what to call it, but yes, the Veterans Alliance and the Rookie Alliance. Now the Veteran Alliance, they're scheming and talking about it. But the Rookie Alliance, we didn't hear anything from Tristyn and Kamohai, and Chelsea and Cole.

[00:01:59] Rhonda: No, but I have a feeling based on the expression on Tristyn's face...

[00:02:05] Shari: Poor Tristyn her resting bitch face!

[00:02:08] Rhonda: I have it too, Tristyn. It's not nothing to be ashamed of. Based on her expression and Chelsea's expression after losing, I have a feeling we may be seeing down the road some alliances formed over on the rookie side.

[00:02:20] Shari: I also have a disclaimer. In our previous episode where we predicted the winners for Rock the Block, if you haven't listened to that, go back besties and listen to it and you'll see who we predicted was gonna win the season.

But I also talk about, I know Utah, I'm gonna add to what I said there in that my mom lived in Utah for several years. And Rhonda also knows Utah.

[00:02:20] Rhonda: I had a property in Utah I did at a ski resort.

I will tell you as someone who feels like she knows Utah, my first thought watching this show was, my God, where are they? I was

[00:02:30] Shari: It is a large state with a lot of empty 

[00:02:33] Rhonda: I went back and re-watched the promos for this season, and it really was just my own bias that led me to believe they were gonna be in the mountains. I don't know why. I guess I wanted it to be in the mountains.

[00:02:42] Shari: You do see the mountains in the distance, along with I-15.

[00:02:48] Rhonda: off. Yeah. They're

[00:02:49] Shari: you know, they, you have suburbia, like they have sprawl and I looked, they're like 36 miles outside of Salt Lake City. So they're not, you know, tragically far away.

[00:02:58] Rhonda: It's not, it's my own sort of idea what I thought it was going to be. And then when I saw it, I, my first thought was like, do they have power? Do they have city sewer? Do they have water? Are they on well water?

[00:03:10] Shari: I looked up Grantsville and, uh, there are other homes there. It is a small community.

[00:03:16] Rhonda: Yeah. 12,000

people. 12,000 based on the, based on the 2020

[00:03:20] Shari: It reminds me of when I did a Tough Mudder race in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the race was actually in Beatty, Nevada.

[00:03:26] Rhonda: So they kept talking about these great views and the whole time I'm thinking of what, of the lights on I-15

[00:03:33] Shari: can see, you can see the mountains in the distance.

[00:03:37] Rhonda: Shari, it's flat as a pancake, so as soon as they build a house next door, you are not gonna see those mountains. They're

[00:03:43] Shari: In my head I was thinking, is this a flood zone? Are they on a

[00:03:46] Rhonda: It does like It does. It does.

Have they disclaimed? Is there, is there a disclaimer about the flooding in that area

[00:03:54] Shari: I didn't see any. I didn't see any, and I did look up some of the houses on Zillow. Hamlet Homes who built these homes. They have some great information on their internet, and they're pretty active on social media, so I've kind of love that 'cause I don't think we've seen that kind of interaction before.

[00:04:09] Rhonda: Yeah, I've always been curious about why you would do it. Like I would like to ask Hamlet Homes 

[00:04:13] Shari: I 

[00:04:13] Rhonda: that, 

[00:04:13] Shari: wanna 

[00:04:14] Rhonda: why would you agree to do this?

[00:04:15] Shari: How did you get picked? I'm imagining Rhonda, that it's something like the Olympic Committee from HGTV. They go out, they get these cities to bid on being the next competition site for Rock the Block, and that these companies go out of their way to be the homes that are featured.

I wanna know from Hamlet Homes, how did this happen? Like did they approach you? Because I looked, there are other bigger, more well-known builders who are actually building in Grantsville and I'm thinking how did it end up being Hamlet Homes? I'm an internet spy, so I was actually able to find the floor plan. Hamlet Homes, Worthington Ranch. It's the Campbell model for all of you little nosies out there. 

[00:05:01] Rhonda: So I wrote in my notes, I have in my notes right here. I would've liked to see the entire layout for perspective, like I couldn't quite figure that out.

[00:05:09] Shari: Just go to Hamlet Homes, I also wondered, does Hamlet Homes own the homes until they actually sell to a buyer, or does 

[00:05:17] Rhonda: Does HGTV 

[00:05:18] Shari: buy all four homes? And then HGTV sells them. I mean, what would you do to have an Alison Victoria designed home?

[00:05:27] Rhonda: Yeah. I don't know that I could do it in Grantsville, Utah. 

[00:05:31] Shari: There goes our interview with the Grantsville Chamber of Commerce.

So what did you think about the changes for Season 6?

[00:05:40] Rhonda: I think the blind judging is great.

[00:05:43] Shari: I'm a big fan of blind judging. I'm so 

[00:05:45] Rhonda: I am, yeah, it was a good idea. I will say it was nice to have them explain why they maybe did something or didn't do something. A lot of times the judges will infer, uh, like the backsplash Tristyn's kitchen. Right? He was like, oh, well she should have just done this.

Well, she didn't have the money, right? She ran outta money. So,

[00:06:06] Shari: Well, if she had been Alison and Michel, she would've just spent the money

[00:06:09] Rhonda: yeah. Yeah. And suffered later

but, there is something to having the designer explain a little bit about what we couldn't get this in or this didn't arrive in time, or,

[00:06:20] Shari: But the thing is, it wouldn't have changed the look. So I am a big fan of blind judging. I'm hoping, fingers crossed that they also do that for the next season of the flip off, which I'm. Wishing into existence. I like the idea of blind judging. I also like that the judges themselves, I feel like when they're doing blind judging, they're a little more honest and pointed with their comments because it's not like they know who they're giving them to.

It's a little bit like 

[00:06:47] Rhonda: Yeah. 

[00:06:48] Shari: troll

[00:06:48] Rhonda: Oh

[00:06:49] Shari: The other change was they added the living room 

[00:06:52] Rhonda: That was smart, I think,

because again, those rooms are all one room.

[00:06:56] Shari: Yes, I've looked at the floor plan also. They did show that part of the floor plan on the actual show. But again, if you wanna see the full floor plan, just check it out from Hamlet Homes

[00:07:07] Rhonda: Despite what the internet says about people not wanting great rooms, here again is another great room.

[00:07:11] Shari: So I'm actually am a fan of all the changes. I think having these larger homes and lot size, but the same budget just creates its own.

Hey, also, let's just say it out loud. The challenges are stupid and this

challenge and this challenge, not only was the challenge stupid, but so was I, because in my head when someone says chalet, I thought something completely different.

I thought it would be like what you see on a ski resort. Little Swiss chalet, but no, no, no, no, no, no. I had to look it up in Webster's, a chalet is a remote herds man's hut in the Alps and that is what we got and why these people think that the Utah market wants everything to look rustic and old. And I, I, I don't know.

Again, I watched Sold on SLC I promise you that is not what people were buying.

I feel like all the challenges, it just seems, it seems a little made up. I would much rather see more of Alison scheming to get at the rookies than this unsafe helicopter.

I thought he was gonna land on Ty Pennington because all the dust that kicks up.

[00:08:19] Rhonda: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:08:20] Shari: I just thought, I Manufactured drama, you and your reality drama like Again, I'm 

I love the drama, but I'm not so much with the challenges.

[00:08:28] Rhonda: I am married to a helicopter pilot. There is no way he's risking his life to deliver a shed, a wood shed to a Ty Pennington, right? That felt so fake. That so fake.

[00:08:42] Shari: I do think some teams were more clever about using the crap that they got, and 

[00:08:47] Rhonda: still dumb. 

[00:08:48] Shari: through each

kitchen, but the overall idea of these challenges, and this will be a continuing theme, I'm sure throughout our coverage of Rock the Block Season 6, but the challenges are just stupid.

[00:09:00] Rhonda: Yeah, I will say previous episodes I really enjoyed the Pasadena Flea Market challenge. I thought that was actually, um, you know, something they had to work at, something they had to think about.

[00:09:00] Shari: And they got to pick different, I guess they got to, they got to pick things that would be more fitting in their design than some rotted piece of wood.

[00:09:00] Rhonda: Yeah. Yeah. Or tin sh tin sh tin roof. Right. Um, the other thing I love the challenge in Charleston with, I guess it was parts of a sailboat. Yeah. And Keith had those sails he made into those beautiful

looking, I guess 

[00:09:00] Shari: an artist. I think it's one of the few challenge things where if you didn't, if you didn't really know, you might think like he just created that.

[00:09:00] Rhonda: Oh yeah. 

Absolutely. Absolutely. 

[00:09:00] Shari: speaking of that, I 

[00:09:00] Rhonda: think 

[00:09:00] Shari: Kamohai were probably the most cleverest with theirs. Their use of the challenge.

[00:09:00] Rhonda: yeah, I guess

[00:09:00] Shari: Make it into art and the knife block, like, I don't know why you'd put your steak knives in your pantry like that, but if you were going to, if you were going to put the steak knives there, I hope you don't have like a little, you know, demon is one of your kids in the house.

Like here's the knife. 

[00:09:00] Rhonda: So, Um,

you can buy a knife block, uh, pretty easily at home.

[00:09:00] Shari: oh my god. You know what, wouldn't that be scary? Like someone breaks into your home and they don't even have to find the knife drawer. They're just in the pantry getting some munchies. 'cause 

maybe they're hungry and they're like, Hey, look at all the knives.

I, 

don't know. I 

don't know. I live alone. This is how my, and I watch way too much criminal minds. I am, I know the criminal mind. And when you're doing crime, you get hungry. You get 

[00:09:00] Rhonda: You're worried about your knife block.

[00:09:00] Shari: And I'm not putting my knives on display in the pantry, I'll, yeah, I just thought it was an awkward placement, but they just had to use them. I did think that Alison and Michel using it as the the front part of their floating S shelves,

[00:09:00] Rhonda: Yeah,

[00:09:00] Shari: it almost just kind of disappeared and that's what I 

[00:09:00] Rhonda: fine. 

[00:09:00] Shari: challenge items to do. I don't wanna see 'em. I don't wanna see 'em. What was the one 

[00:09:00] Rhonda: The red.

[00:09:00] Shari: Yeah, 

[00:09:00] Rhonda: Yes, the red paint challenge, right? Nate and Jeremiah were like, God, please don't let us get red. And sure enough they got red and then they just put it behind a

curtain. Like, okay, that, that they shouldn't be allowed to win 

because of, you know of that.

That's not the challenge.

[00:09:00] Shari: Also, when people go look through that home, like when they're selling it, do they look at that and go, oh my God, were there some weird satanic rituals going on here that 

they've hidden 

[00:09:00] Rhonda: Yeah. 

[00:09:00] Shari: this? Like, 

[00:09:00] Rhonda: Anyway, yes, I would challenge HGTV come up with some better challenges and, and ask the designers. I think designers could, you know, if you ask Leanne Ford what would be a good design challenge? I promise she could come up with

[00:09:12] Shari: let each team come up with a challenge for the others and themselves. I like that. I actually, I love that idea, Rhonda. I love that idea. 

[00:09:22] Rhonda: Anyway, so...

[00:09:23] Shari: so let's talk about these kitchens, dining rooms, and living rooms.

[00:09:28] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. 

Which one

[00:09:30] Shari: do you wanna talk about 

[00:09:31] Rhonda: do you wanna talk about first? 

[00:09:31] Shari: Well, I wanna talk about Moody Modern. You know, I love a good alliteration. I'm assuming HGTV said for your design style, you can only use two words. 

[00:09:42] Rhonda: And they must go together

[00:09:44] Shari: and they must go together. Well, three of the teams. Three of the teams got the memo

and the poor Jonathan and Jordan team, they did not.

But all the other ones are in alliteration. And I love the idea of a moody space. I love the idea, I don't wanna live in it, but every time I see it, also, when you see it in its photographed, I don't know if people know this, but when you photograph paint, you don't see all the imperfections. When you walk in a room that has been color drenched in a dark color, you're gonna see every imperfection and you know, my little OCD kicks in and I would, I would be like, uh uh, every time I walk in the room, but in a photograph, it looks beautiful and I see these beautiful photographs and I think, ah, I should do that. And. No. Mm-hmm. Nope. I, I just, I can't get there. But I love the, I love the idea, so I wanted to see this play out from Tristyn and Kamohai also, it didn't sound very islandy. 

[00:10:41] Rhonda: No, the, the phrase that I wrote down, let's bring some Hawaii to Utah. And Utah actually has a very, especially Salt Lake, has a very large Polynesian community. So I think this might be to their advantage. However, I did not see a single thing about Moody Modern that made me think of Hawaii other than they were gonna put some pohaku some Hawaiian rock out in the front around the pillars of their house on the exterior. That's the only Hawaiian thing I heard out of them.

[00:11:11] Shari: Now when we made our predictions, I worried that them bringing their island design to Utah may not play well. But you've given a reason why it might have played better. I do think what I did see from Tristyn and Kamohai that I'm used to seeing in their show is that they brought a little of the atmosphere in.

So they have all those pictures in the dining room like Arches National Park. 

[00:11:32] Rhonda: Yes. 

[00:11:33] Shari: if you've never visited, I 

[00:11:35] Rhonda: Highly 

[00:11:36] Shari: for the Utah Tourism Committee, but uh, it really is like a beautiful state and they captured all of that and that reminded me of kind of their style because you know you're in Hawaii when you go in their houses and you know you're in Utah when you see the pictures in the dining room, and I think they had the cleverest use of the stupid challenge where they cut out from the tin roof and they made it into a mountain. Even when they were talking about it and showing it, I couldn't have pictured it, but I think they did a beautiful job of that.

[00:12:09] Rhonda: Yeah, I agree. (that's Rhonda's adorable French Bulldog Hector snoring in the background ... we couldn't bear to take it out :) 

I was just gonna add that I think they're at a bit of a disadvantage because if you watch their show. A hundred percent of their renovations other than when they did their parents' home, uh, are usually, you know, just some rotten, dilapidated, old Hawaiian house with a tree growing up in the middle of it. they're used to dealing with houses where the jungle has reclaimed the property and the termites have eaten the house. 

[00:12:35] Shari: No way that can't look beautiful after they finish it.

[00:12:38] Rhonda: Yeah, they're just trying to get the foundation to not collapse. And now they're in these spec homes, right? These spec homes, which are not, you know, they're perfect, right? They're brand new. So I think that might be a little bit of a disadvantage, but they were the only ones that were thoughtful about where they put the kitchen.

They were like, we're gonna do indoor outdoor living. We're gonna have this little pass through window.

[00:13:00] Shari: they're the only ones who moved their kitchen.

[00:13:03] Rhonda: yeah. And Kamohai kept saying, that's gonna be expensive. Like, really, you really wanna move the kitchen?

[00:13:08] Shari: The downside of doing that is the space is narrower and they had the smallest island of all four teams, and I think that is gonna hurt them in the overall assessment.

[00:13:20] Rhonda: Me too. They must say a thousand times like our bingo card has on it. This is a house for a family, right. Where does the family gather? Everyone gathers in the kitchen around the island. So I do think that's an issue 

[00:13:32] Shari: And overall I thought they met the design style. I do think it could be a little moodier, but I do think Moody Modern fits. What really stands out as a value add is their pantry with all the appliances. They're the only ones who did that.

[00:13:47] Rhonda: Yeah, the only thing that stood out to me was that indoor outdoor, that they were the ones that addressed the indoor outdoor

aspect. Yeah. 

[00:13:54] Shari: actually pretty nice, that garage door type window.

[00:13:58] Rhonda: Let's talk about Jonathan and Jordan's Modern Farmhouse.

[00:14:04] Shari: I'm sorry, but this was not what I think of when I think of Modern Farmhouse. Based on my watching of Sold in SLC, I actually think that modern farmhouse is a style that plays really well in Utah, in Salt Lake City. And I'm assuming the surrounding areas. But what I found was that this was much more rustic than the modern farmhouse styles I was seeing in every single home that they sold on Sold on SLC.

[00:14:32] Rhonda: You know what? It felt to me like a conflicting style, like they did the modern ceiling and then. Jonathan couldn't sleep thinking about adding beams, right? So they add beams and they're like, okay, now it's rustic. And they have this super modern pantry cabinet style. And then they're like, yes, let's just throw this chalet door on the wall.

And now it's, now it's modern farmhouse. Right? It, I really

[00:14:55] Shari: Modern Rustic Farmhouse. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe they wanted to say modern Rustic Farmhouse and HGTV came 

back and said, Nope. Mm-hmm. Two 

words. 

We prefer an alliteration, but because you guys are from New Kids on the Block, we're gonna allow this to happen.

[00:15:10] Rhonda: I think he's missing Kristina. She is the designer, and I think that they're gonna struggle with just kind of these, and, and I don't mean this meanly, but kind of dumb decisions. Get off track and try to, try to write it and with, with just, you know, throw some beams up on the ceiling or throw this door on the wall or whatever it is that they're gonna try to come up with.

So. 

[00:15:32] Shari: the positive side for Jonathan and Jordan, I think they spent the least.

[00:15:36] Rhonda: They did, but what did you think of two islands?

[00:15:39] Shari: well, I have a hot take. There are two things they did in that kitchen that I think are not as functional. Maybe it's just, I'm lazy, but two islands, uh, nobody needs two islands in their kitchen. You imagine your kids coming in and they just throw all their their stuff. on one of the islands. I would be constantly cleaning up. How much stuff accumulates on your island, Rhonda?

[00:16:01] Rhonda: A lot.

[00:16:02] Shari: A lot. And I'm the same way. And I think, oh, I'll just set this here and then I'll put it away later. But I don't put it away until someone's actually coming over to my house. And for you, it'd be when your cleaning lady comes over, you're gonna put it away for her, which is hysterical. Um, mm-hmm. So I'm not a fan of the two islands. I do think that it worked out better when it became more of a table.

[00:16:21] Rhonda: But why would you tables.

within 15 feet of each other 

[00:16:25] Shari: I don't know, it's more stuff for your kids to stack things on.

So I so I'm not a fan of two islands. 

Well, the other thing I didn't like about their kitchen was the Stove Cove. Do I think it looks beautiful in a photograph? Yes. Do I like saying stove Cove. Stove Cove. Can I, I like saying it,

[00:16:43] Rhonda: Yes.

[00:16:44] Shari: but in reality, I want a place where I can set stuff next to my stove.

And I was actually reading a comment from someone online and I wish I could remember their name because I would credit them for it. But they, they were a chef and they talked about where do you put your spices when you're cooking? And I would imagine in that stove you put 'em on the griddle because there's no place else.

Or you have a little table that sits next to you when you're cooking.

[00:17:10] Rhonda: Well, Shari, you're gonna have to put your spices on one of your two islands 

[00:17:14] Shari: I don't know, 

but 

I'm 

not, 

[00:17:16] Rhonda: My last comment on the stove code is, I think anytime you put in a stove, an oven, a stove top, you need to think about cooking bacon, right? Where is this grease going? How am I gonna clean this? I don't even cook a lot of bacon, but for some reason I always think like, how are you gonna clean that? That's the first thing that comes out of my mind.

[00:17:34] Shari: It's funny, I don't cook a lot of bacon either, but I did buy bacon the other day and I've had bacon every morning I have a tile backsplash, so no worries for me. And 

[00:17:44] Rhonda: Easy to clean. 

[00:17:45] Shari: on either side.

[00:17:46] Rhonda: Me too. Me too. Just real quick with Jonathan and Jordan. I did agree with the judge about the lighting that it looked a little bit like a lighting store with the four giant pendants. I love the pendants. I don't think he needed four of them, and I think that's where they're missing Kristina, where she would've looked at that and said, take two of those out.

It's too many

[00:18:04] Shari: Oh, a hundred percent.

[00:18:05] Rhonda: So let's talk about Chelsea and Cole, by the way, fun fact, today is Cole's birthday.

[00:18:11] Shari: oh, happy birthday Cole. I hope you're listening to us. By the time we publish this, your birthday will have been over, but I hope it was fantastic.

The name of their design style is called Cowboy Contemporary,

[00:18:25] Rhonda: Which you hate, I'm sure

[00:18:27] Shari: I like the alliteration.

I like contemporary, but the cowboy part, I just thought, I realize that you see a lot of land and space around you, but I don't see many cowboys in Utah.

I feel like Cowboy Contemporary would play better in a place like Texas

[00:18:45] Rhonda: Montana.

[00:18:46] Shari: Maybe. I love her style. Again, I picked these two to win, to take it all the way to the end. But I was a little nervous after seeing this kitchen. I love the overall design and feel of the kitchen. The cabinet finish

[00:19:03] Rhonda: Yeah.

[00:19:04] Shari: looked very splotchy when you're watching the show. So in my head I'm thinking either someone did a really bad job of staining those cabinets.

Like they didn't give them a good preparation and the stain didn't apply equally. But also, maybe this is hickory.

[00:19:21] Rhonda: That's just a bad choice then.

[00:19:23] Shari: And Chelsea and Cole never said anything about the quality. So I assume something about it is intentional because neither did the judge. I'm worried because these are my winners and oh my God, the last thing I wanna do is lose to Rhonda over who wins Rock the Block. I'm like, Jesus, Chelsea and Cole. Like, you guys gotta win this.

And was a critical mistake

I, well, I, I, 

looked online and

I am, listen, I'm telling you people online loved this kitchen.

Well, there's a lot of contention about who won. But people online loved the kitchen. And when you see this kitchen photographed, it looks like something out of, uh, I almost wanna say like Architectural Digest. Like this looks good.

This kitchen and how they staged everything. It looks really good, Rhonda.

 I am feeling more confident about my choice of Chelsea and Cole for taking this home. I'm

[00:20:27] Rhonda: all right. 

[00:20:28] Shari: Antlers chandelier.

[00:20:30] Rhonda: I like the Antler

chandelier. 

[00:20:32] Shari: to get, like, that feels a little themey and that feels a little bit like, I don't know,

[00:20:36] Rhonda: It was subtle. It was subtle. Yes. And it was, it was 20 years ago. I remember when we bought our property in Utah, we were looking for an antler chandelier that we could afford, actually.

[00:20:45] Shari: Oh, 

[00:20:45] Rhonda: we thought it was kind of interesting because there's antlers everywhere, all over the place 

[00:20:49] Shari: yes. 

[00:20:50] Rhonda: but the chandeliers were in the thousand dollar range, which didn't work for us at that time.

[00:20:56] Shari: I don't know why I was surprised because she does use a lot of antlers in her design for herself. So I don't know skulls. but I wasn't, I wasn't, a big fan of the chandelier. I think there were better choices.

[00:21:09] Rhonda: Do you like a cow skull on your wall? Is that what you like? 

[00:21:11] Shari: not in 10 years or so 

[00:21:15] Rhonda: mm-hmm.

[00:21:16] Shari: And the sconces in the dining room, they were beautiful, but the cords hanging down looked awful. They competed with the chandelier and I think the outside view, they would've been much better on the fireplace and they could have more easily hidden the cords.

It made me wonder if they meant to get wired rather than corded sconces.

[00:21:34] Rhonda: Yeah, I, I wonder about that. If the electrician had time to finish it.

[00:21:37] Shari: They put that fascia on the fireplace and they could have easily hidden cords. I mean, they could have easily hidden it.

[00:21:43] Rhonda: Yes. Agree.

[00:21:44] Shari: I also agree about the hood. This is a Coco Chanel moment where you need to take one thing off and that needed to come off.

[00:21:54] Rhonda: Yeah.

[00:21:55] Shari: I wasn't a fan of that. I agreed with Bobby Burke about that with the tile on it.

Maybe it's the idea that it has texture and it mirrors and it's a different color. Like those three things, at least one of them's gotta go away.

[00:22:08] Rhonda: Yeah, I guess I liked it because I thought it needed something bright. It just felt so dark. 

All right. Should we move to the winners, the ones that Rhonda predicted, Mr. Michel and Ms. Alison? And their green kitchen. Now remember the judge did say the reason you won was because the other three were neutral and yours was green. I thought that was interesting. He said that like that's the only reason she won is because she had a green kitchen.

[00:22:37] Shari: I think when you spend $130,000 on a kitchen, 

[00:22:42] Rhonda: Yes.

[00:22:43] Shari: probably it's going to win. I didn't quite get the design name of Refined Rustic. I found very little rustic about this. I guess maybe the stove and the hood, maybe that gets it like a refined rustic, I don't know.

But I I don't really see the name in their design. I love green.

[00:23:05] Rhonda: Yes.

[00:23:05] Shari: when they said they were gonna do green, and I love that light white oak, I absolutely love the look of their kitchen. It was almost a little too much green for me. And when we watched the show, you and I both agreed that the green for the backsplash and the green for the hood felt like they were competing because they didn't really match. 

[00:23:25] Rhonda: I felt like it was fighting.

[00:23:26] Shari: That didn't look the best to me. But again, that never comes up when it's being judged or from Alison and Michel. They had no issue. 

I was so glad they couldn't get the raw edge island because that

Carrara gold marble was unbelievably, and for me, if this had been my kitchen, that would've been all of my countertops and the backsplash.

[00:23:50] Rhonda: And the backsplash, and it wouldn't have clashed with the hood

[00:23:52] Shari: Now, it might not have been affordable. That's a, a pretty expensive piece of stone. 

[00:23:58] Rhonda: Yes. 

[00:23:58] Shari: There's also a lot of contention online about who won.

[00:24:02] Rhonda: I'm surprised at how much discussion there is online about who won. Yeah. about it. think any of 'em could have won, quite honestly. They were all beautiful.

[00:24:13] Shari: I do think that Alison and Michel's kitchen stands out and looks like it's high design I do think that of the other kitchens, Chelsea and Cole's probably stands out the most maybe just 'cause I picked them as the winner. But I do think it, it ends up looking very dramatic and photographs beautifully. I'm thinking maybe in person you also see that. 

[00:24:34] Rhonda: Maybe again, they're, they're supposed to be judged on design, added value, and creativity. And I think they're all, they all even out given those three.

[00:24:43] Shari: My other little nitpick is that there's a new trend of not putting the sink in the island. Their sink looks at a window and I'm assuming at some point it's probably gonna look at a neighbor.

[00:24:52] Rhonda: Yes, as flat as it is there. They're going to be looking into somebody's backyard. Yes.

[00:24:55] Shari: Mm-hmm. They're the only team that did not put the sink in the island. And I dunno where that trend comes from.

[00:25:01] Rhonda: I read about it online. They tend to put in, people don't like great rooms and people don't want their sink in their island, 

[00:25:07] Shari: Uh, who are the, again, who are

[00:25:09] Rhonda: Who are these people? 

That's exactly, 

[00:25:12] Shari: They're all good for different reasons. I think the only one that might have been a little lower for me and only because of the smaller size of the island would be Tristyn and Kamohai's, but maybe the added appliances in their pantry makes up for that.

[00:25:25] Rhonda: Also the indoor outdoor,

[00:25:26] Shari: Oh, that's true. That's true with the window.

You're 

[00:25:29] Rhonda: element. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

[00:25:30] Shari: But I do see why Alison and Michelle won because that kitchen did stand out out of all four kitchens, that one really look different.

[00:25:38] Rhonda: Yes.

[00:25:39] Shari: We know from previous seasons the fact that Alison wins the first competition or wins the kitchen, she's never actually won the overall competition. So it doesn't say anything about whether that's gonna take them to the end. 

[00:25:50] Rhonda: So Shari. Remember, there's supposed to be judged on design added value and creativity, and I think it's impossible to separate these four kitchens based on that. I think they're all pretty equal and pretty Oh, well then case, I'm pretty sure that I would've selected Chelsea and Cole as the winners.

[00:26:06] Shari: Just kidding. I just, 

[00:26:08] Rhonda: sure you would've.

The judge did say he selected their kitchen because it was green the others were neutral. So I, it, it was almost like he was just looking for something like, what can I, 

[00:26:18] Shari: Mm-hmm. This season, more than any other, I've noticed that these kitchens photograph better than they showed on TV.

Well, besties, thank you for dishing with us about the Rock the Block premiere. In this episode, Alison snags her third kitchen crown in a row. No surprise there. The competition kicked off with some exciting twists, like blind judging. Adding the living room to the first challenge definitely upped the stakes. And can we talk about the veterans versus rookies angle? There's already some subtle and not so subtle tension bubbling up. And if this episode is any clue, it's gonna be a juicy storyline to follow all season long. Of course, we've got our Hot Takes Nitpicks, and more than a few strong opinions about those design choices.

[00:27:00] Rhonda: So I'm calling out HGTV for gaslighting us with Rock the Block, Salt Lake City title. To me this is Pioneer Prairie Rock the Block, not Beautiful Mountain Home Rock the Block. I'm also calling out the design Surprise Challenge and I mean, so lame. Fake drama by delivering an old shepherd shed via helicopter.

[00:27:21] Shari: A chalet.

[00:27:22] Rhonda: Yeah. Yeah. if I were in the production meeting where this was suggested, I would boo it out loud.

I mean, seriously, designers, grab some wood, put it on the wall, make a knife block out of it. call it creative. That's not a challenge for any of them.

So, no, I did not appreciate this design challenge at all. I did appreciate getting to see Cole run around like an action hero.

[00:27:43] Shari: Ooh, yeah. That guy is in shape. Yeah, it was actually, that was probably the highlight of the design challenge.

[00:27:49] Rhonda: Agree, agree.

[00:27:51] Shari: If you like our vibe and are obsessed with HGTV like we are, please like, subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to our podcast. You can also let us know on Facebook, Instagram, and at designingbitches.com, what HGTV shows you're watching and what you think. We'd love to hear from you.

[00:28:09] Rhonda: We've done a special posting on Instagram and Facebook for this episode, and we will for the future episodes. Our special posting this week is the Rock the Block Bingo Card. Let us know if you win. Give us your comments about it, and you could earn a spot in our designing bitches Hall of Fame.

[00:28:23] Shari: Oh, that sticky you put on your computer?

[00:28:25] Rhonda: It's it's beautiful.

[00:28:27] Shari: I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure nobody wants to see that.

[00:28:31] Rhonda: It's, it makes me happy.

[00:28:34] Shari: Well, as always, we have some apologies to make. I'm sorry to everyone who loves stove coves, hates green, loves antler chandeliers, or who's lived in a chalet.

[00:28:44] Rhonda: I would like to apologize to the 12,617 people that live in Grantsville. I think those houses will be beautiful, and I'm sure you have a lovely, lovely town. It is just not what I expected when I heard Salt Lake City.

[00:28:58] Shari: Well, until next time, besties. Bye.

[00:29:00] Rhonda: Bye.