Dishing on Rock the Block Season 6 Episode 2

Rock the Block Season 6, Episode 2 Recap: "Don’t Call Us Rookies"

This week on the podcast, we’re diving into Rock the Block Season 6, Episode 2, titled "Don’t Call Us Rookies" — and trust us, it’s one you don't want to miss!

The competition heats up as the teams tackle the rest of their first-floor spaces, transforming the entryway, den, powder room, and mudroom into stunning showcases of creativity and craftsmanship.

Competing this season are powerhouse duos:

• Alison Victoria (Windy City Rehab) & Michel Smith Boyd (Luxe for Less)
• Chelsea and Cole DeBoer (Down Home Fab)
• Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama (Renovation Aloha)
• Jonathan and Jordan Knight (Farmhouse Fixer and New Kids on the Block)

The ever-energetic Ty Pennington (Trading Spaces, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) is back to host, and this week's special guest judges are none other than two Rock the Block veterans:

• Mina Starsiak Hawk (Good Bones)
• Jasmine Roth (Hidden Potential, Help! I Wrecked My House) — Season 1 winner, now based in Utah!

Spoiler Alert: After a tough battle, the rookies finally shine! Chelsea and Cole DeBoer score their first big win with their beautifully designed first-floor spaces.

Tune in to hear our full breakdown — the highs, the challenges, the surprises — and find out why this episode proves you should never underestimate the rookies!

👉 Listen now and follow us for weekly Rock the Block recaps, insider insights, and more!

Love and Kisses,

Rhonda and Shari

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

Transcript

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

[00:00:03] Rhonda: And welcome to Designing Bitches!

This podcast is for women

[00:00:07] Shari: and brave men

[00:00:08] 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.

[00:00:20] Rhonda: Let's talk design, disasters, and all the beautiful chaos in between.

This week we're talking about Rock the Block, Season 6, Episode No. 2.

[00:00:29] Shari: Ooh, on this episode called "Don't Call Us Rookies," the teams take on the rest of the first floor spaces. They work their magic on the entryway, the den, the powder room, and the mud room. Now, Rhonda, I know you were particularly excited for the entryways to get done as this completes the public spaces and gives you a real feel for how it all works together. 

[00:00:48] Rhonda: Yes, I was excited, but I feel like the teams were not. This week I really felt the energy is lacking. I was doing some research for the pod and I watched a couple of the previous seasons. I pulled up Season 2 with Nate and Jeremiah, David and Tiffany, Alison and Mike, Mika and Brian. I wanted to look at their kitchens and see what they spent on their kitchens, because in my mind those were sort of the most elaborate ones. But anyways, as a side note, I have to tell you, the enthusiasm and the fun factor was so much better and more engaging with this other season. It was really noticeable. I'm hoping the producers can create some kind of boost in energy and engagement to make things more fun to watch.

[00:01:32] Shari: Interesting. You know, they didn't have a stupid design challenge this week.

[00:01:36] Rhonda: and they did not, maybe they were listening to us.

[00:01:39] Shari: I would like to take the credit for that, but what if that has something to do with, maybe that creates some energy that we kind of need.

[00:01:47] Rhonda: I dunno. Uh, again, it was really noticeable for me. Granted, like Nate and Jeremiah are hilarious, right? Like they just have that sarcastic vibe of a married, old, married couple, right? And then David Bromstad, there's nobody with more energy, I think on HGTV. Maybe Ty is a Ty top. But, Tiffany and him were kind of going crazy, they were dancing together. They were like, there's just, again, just such a different vibe. And I really thought like, is it these rookies? Are they just not? They're just not the same energy. It's, it's kind of interesting. Uh, anyway,

[00:02:21] Shari: Maybe they're feeling like they have to prove themselves, so they're more serious.

[00:02:26] Rhonda: I completely understand how you ne would necessarily wanna make yourself vulnerable that way. I'm sorry, Hector's making a lot of noise in the background. I can hear him snoring

[00:02:37] Shari: hear it.

/

[00:02:40] Shari: I have another disclaimer this week, besties. We will be talking about the winner of this episode. So if you haven't seen the second episode, put us in your queue and come back after you've watched.

/

[00:02:50] Shari: So the judges this week are Mina Starsiak Hawk From Good Bones, and Jasmine from Hidden Potential and Help! I Wrecked My House. Both have competed on Rock the Block and Jasmine won the very first season. She recently moved to Utah. What do you think about the judges this week, Rhonda? 

[00:03:05] Rhonda: So I'm surprised they had two. It feels like those are two A-listers. 

[00:03:10] Shari: True. 

[00:03:10] Rhonda: know, you could easily just have one and it would would've worked really well. I did read a really nice article by Jasmine where she talked about how excited she was to have Rock the Block in Utah in her city, so to speak, and she really did, I think her baby, she was only like five weeks old, but she made it a point that she would make herself available. I was impressed with both of them. I think they're, you know, certainly the most qualified. I didn't know the guy last week, you did. They understand obviously that process and what it's like to actually put in all that work and, and so anyway. The blind judging a little different for them 'cause they didn't have blind judging in there showing Mina made the little snarky remark that she thinks she might've won if she had blind judging. So God bless her. God bless her. I'm not sure that's true. She had some tough competition, but, uh, anyway.

[00:03:57] Shari: So let's talk about Chelsea and Cole and their spaces

[00:04:00] Rhonda: The Cowboy

[00:04:01] Shari: contemporary and they spent 40 K. So I will tell you, spoiler alert, that's the largest amount that was spent this week.

[00:04:10] Rhonda: Okay.

[00:04:10] Shari: I liked that all of their doors were frosted.

[00:04:14] Rhonda: Mm-hmm.

[00:04:15] Shari: I also liked that they moved the doorway. So instead of being in the little hallway that leads to the primary space, they actually put it so it's in the hallway across from the kitchen. And everybody did that except Jonathan and Jordan.

[00:04:31] Rhonda: Yeah.

[00:04:31] Shari: I think that was a good idea. The added door into the den area and adding a shower was brilliant. Talk about value add and having the perfect judges to appreciate value add that 

[00:04:43] Rhonda: you a little surprised that Alison was like, oh, I can't believe I didn't think of that. Like really, I think every, if you've watched a previous episode of Rock the Block, somebody always puts another bedroom on the main floor, right?

[00:04:56] Shari: True. Maybe that team was so focused on the design part of it.

[00:05:00] Rhonda: Hmm.

[00:05:01] Shari: I don't know. But yeah. So yeah, they made it into basically an en suite.

[00:05:05] Rhonda: I thought it was smart. If you think about grandparents,

[00:05:08] Shari: Yeah.

[00:05:09] Rhonda: to visit, these are family homes as we've said many, many times, and everyone, you know, likes the grandparents to come and visit. So

[00:05:15] Shari: They won't have to do stairs.

[00:05:16] Rhonda: they won't have to do stairs and they have their own bathroom. They don't have to use the other bathrooms.

So

it was smart. 

[00:05:23] Shari: And the wallpaper that they featured with the elk is actually, I looked this up. It's actually from Chelsea's line with wall

[00:05:32] Rhonda: ah, and what did you think of this wallpaper, Shari?

[00:05:35] Shari: So the bighorn sheep is the state animal for the state of Nevada. But I would in no way ever have a bighorn sheep in any kind of wallpaper or anywhere. Anywhere in my house. But also my house isn't designed as cowboy contemporary, so maybe I do think it feels almost a little theme-y, almost like this is a house not for a family as much as it's for an Airbnb.

[00:05:58] Rhonda: Yeah, it, it was very masculine, right?

[00:06:01] Shari: It is. And uh, but when Cole said

[00:06:05] Rhonda: Yeah.

[00:06:06] Shari: it would be random if they had pelicans on their wall in Utah, I immediately thought of you. I know pelicans and flamingos are not the same thing, but I just thought, oh, Rhonda can relate.

[00:06:21] Rhonda: Yeah,

[00:06:22] Shari: Even Cole doesn't think the, they doesn't think the flamingos should be on your bathroom wall.

So maybe 

[00:06:30] Rhonda: it's a requirement that that animal lives in your state. That you could put it on the 

[00:06:34] Shari: I am thinking now maybe you should be looking for great horn sheep 

[00:06:38] Rhonda: Yes. That's a great idea. maybe ichthyosaur, that's the state fossil in Nevada. That would be pretty.

[00:06:45] Shari: I don't even know what that is.

[00:06:46] Rhonda: Well, it's a giant fish, let's just say that.

[00:06:48] Shari: Usually I'm not a fan of stripes, but I did think that the tile that they did in the shower turned out beautifully. And I, you know, I'm a lover of green, so I loved that look,

[00:06:58] Rhonda: Now I have read reviews on those artisanal tiles. Is that how you say that? Uh, and they've said that those are terrible for a shower, that you get a lot of mold and soap buildup because of the unevenness.

[00:07:11] Shari: I don't know if this is true, but I'm assuming there's a type of grout you can use that is waterproof. I could just be talking out my butt here because I am not actually sure if that's true or

[00:07:23] Rhonda: Yeah, I, like I said, I just read something about that and I don't, again, I don't know if that's true or not. This is a shower that's probably gonna get used a couple times a year, so maybe that's not an issue for that shower. Right. It's not your main shower. It's not the kids' shower, it's a guest shower, so maybe that's not an issue for them.

But yes, I thought I loved it too. I thought it was

[00:07:41] Shari: And I loved the look and feel of their cozy den area, but I also thought it's a great hangout place, but I'm not sure it would be good for an actual guest because well, can grandma and grandpa like sleep on that little bed in front of that window?

[00:07:59] Rhonda: it felt like a twin bed. Yeah, it

[00:08:01] Shari: Yeah. So I just didn't know if that's. Like the best, but not everyone needs like, maybe one of the other bedrooms could be a guest room for them.

I really loved the vibe of it. Kids would probably love to hang out in there. And I then they frosted the doors. So if kids hang out in there and not everyone's gonna see the mess they make, you don't have to clean it up immediately.

[00:08:19] Rhonda: Mm-hmm.

[00:08:21] Shari: Okay, so Jonathan and Jordan, they're Modern Farmhouse. I'm already laughing thinking about this one. 

[00:08:26] Rhonda: Oh my God. 

[00:08:27] Shari: They spent, $35k. What did you think?

[00:08:32] Rhonda: So I will give them snaps for their laundry room. I think the dog washing station is smart as someone who has four dogs and her own dog washing station out in her garage. I would like that. I don't like that it's on the floor that you have to get down on your hands and knees to wash your dog, like, or bend over. Right. That's, that's tedious. But, bigger dogs, I guess that's all you can do. But anyway, I, I did think it was funny they grabbed this poor cocker spaniel and throw 'em in there. Let's 

[00:08:59] Shari: try it out.

And also, do you think they just threw dirt on Roxy so they could clean her in the dog wash? I mean, that dog was so dirty. My dog can run out in the dirt and there's not like dust just flying off them. And that dog looked terrified. Like she's probably in counseling now.

[00:09:16] Rhonda: Well, think about it. Two strangers grab you and 

[00:09:19] Shari: Yeah. 

[00:09:20] Rhonda: like silk wood start 

[00:09:26] Shari: scrubbing 

[00:09:28] Rhonda: Anyway,

[00:09:29] Shari: That's funny. Now, would you sacrifice, would you take a dog wash but sacrifice all the storage in your laundry room? I mean, 

[00:09:37] Rhonda: Well, given that I've seen the floor plan of the bottom floor of this house, there's plenty of storage downstairs. So I, I think keeping your laundry room and I'm willing to bet as a prequel for next week's main, main living suites or what are they calling those? The primary suites? someone's gonna put a washer and dryer in the closet, right? Like that's typical.

[00:09:56] Shari: I do appreciate that the boys listened to what Bobby Berk said and are incorporating that in their designs this week. They added central vacuum. They're the only ones who did that.

[00:10:05] Rhonda: Have you ever had that? Did you have that in your other house?

[00:10:08] Shari: No.

[00:10:09] Rhonda: My girlfriend Barbara had that and she said her kids kept shoving things in it, like vacuuming up things to clog it as in experiments,

[00:10:17] Shari: Uhhuh. Uhhuh. What that, like what's gonna happen with that pivot

[00:10:20] Rhonda: Yeah. What's gonna happen when this, you know, this little matchbox car goes down the, down the chute. But on the other hand, it is nice to have it and, you know, just be able to plug it in any room and immediately vacuum. I've never gotten anyone to say it's a must. Right? As opposed to, I've never gotten anyone also to say it was worthless, so I don't know.

[00:10:39] Shari: I'll repeat what you've said before. They are definitely missing Kristina. isn't there a phone a friend,

like a 

[00:10:47] Rhonda: can't they, yeah. Can't they call her? Yeah.

[00:10:50] Shari: Because she might've suggested, Hey, let's put some art on the wall in the entryway. 

Or, 

[00:10:54] Rhonda: a nice wallpaper.

[00:10:56] Shari: hey, let's not use a swan faucet how did they look at that and think

[00:11:05] Rhonda: Yes. That's what we're doing.

We must have it. We must have

[00:11:09] Shari: with our modern farmhouse look.

[00:11:13] Rhonda: Which just tells me they don't, again, I hinted this last week with the kitchen. I feel like they don't really understand what modern farmhouse is and they're sort of doing this, you know, throw something up and then go, oh, how can we make it look, look farmhousey? Um, I do agree. I am a follower of the every room should have a little whimsy. I feel to personalize it, right. To not make it look so much like magazine. Um, so again, It only has to be one or two pieces, but, uh, I, I don't know. 

[00:11:42] Shari: in that room?

[00:11:42] Rhonda: Absolutely not. Like this belongs in a New York mansion from the turn of the century and on the previous century, not this.

[00:11:52] Shari: It just felt disjointed and a little like, it didn't feel designed.

[00:11:57] Rhonda: Yeah. else about Jonathan and Jordan?

No, I, again, it, it had the desks against the wall, and you and I have talked before about about that. 

[00:12:08] Shari: So Alison and Michel, their Refined Rustic. They spent $33 k.

[00:12:14] Rhonda: And did you notice the first thing that Jasmine and Mina said was. I don't see rustic anywhere here.

[00:12:20] Shari: I know. And I felt vindicated because I was struggling to find the rustic in the kitchen and living room 

[00:12:26] Rhonda: What? Why did you even bring this word up? Why did you even add

[00:12:29] Shari: But I also agree when they said the sink definitely is rustic, so maybe we're gonna see little spots of it elsewhere in the design. I loved the interaction with Michel 

can 

[00:12:42] Rhonda: quote. 

[00:12:42] Shari: yeah.

[00:12:43] Rhonda: You always want me to get excited about something old. It's so perfect.

[00:12:49] Shari: It is. It 

[00:12:50] Rhonda: That's how I feel about antiques as well. Like, because it's old. I just, I don't get why you're excited about this.

[00:13:00] Shari: So then in the entryway they created like a little anteroom, a real space to the entryway.

[00:13:07] Rhonda: Yes.

[00:13:08] Shari: And is that a yay or a nay?

[00:13:11] Rhonda: Well, it is with my husband I have to tell you. He does not like a house that you walk right into. He has a idea that you would have somebody standing there and if they could see your whole house, it would be a problem. But Jasmine, or Mina, I can't remember which, said something about your guests are coming through here, right? Like this is a, as Alison likes to say, this is a moment when you walk in, you see that lovely arch and how she made that room just so much prettier.

[00:13:40] Shari: I have a hard time getting over the fake olive tree. I didn't fall in love with it. I kind of fall in love with the idea of it, but in execution it feels a little like I stepped into an elevator and I feel a little claustrophobic.

[00:13:56] Rhonda: It felt a little office-y to me. A little business-y.

[00:13:59] Shari: Yeah. And then again with the fake olive tree, I, just could not, 

[00:14:04] Rhonda: Well, that's an easy 

[00:14:05] Shari: It is an easy fix. but I have a hard time just visually getting around it. And you and I talked about it and she did a lot of fake big plants in her house. So it works for her, and I can appreciate that. 

 What'd you think about the pivot door? I, I loved it. I loved the way it looked.

[00:14:19] Rhonda: I, I'm torn on that. For some reason it appeals to me. I don't know, the child in me or the Agatha Christie fan of always having something hidden. But I'm not sure to what purpose that, what to, what avail. Like why are we hiding this? It feels forced I guess to me.

[00:14:36] Shari: It also makes that little anteroom when you walk in darker.

[00:14:41] Rhonda: Mm, that's a

[00:14:42] Shari: If that's from those windows. Yeah. Yeah. Way, the way the house is facing, I'm not sure, but uh, yeah, there seems to be this. Let's hide the pantry or let's hide this. You know, the secret door kind of thing is really popular right now. I did agree with, with, uh, Jasmine when she said her kids would abuse the hell outta that door. Right. And that's exactly what I was imagining. She is going to hear screaming of pinched fingers, you know, of kids getting their fingers pinched and using that door like a, a toy. And maybe there's a way to lock it down that it doesn't open and 

 I agreed with the judges on the wallpaper and just how perfectly that wallpaper just went with their whole design and had the curves. I loved it and it wasn't too much of it. That room when you walk in is absolutely perfect. Like it looks absolutely beautiful. It has zero functionality for me as a home office. Where do the cords go, Rhonda?

[00:15:38] Rhonda: Yes. It's not a functional office, and I can relate to this because I fell for the same design idea that I wanted my desk in the middle of the room.

[00:15:46] Shari: It looks beautiful.

[00:15:47] Rhonda: Because that's the way the model had it. But yes, if you walk by my French doors that come into my office, you are looking at the back of my screen and all the cords that hang down from, from my screen and my computer. So there is something to every time I see it now, I say, ha, yes, that 

[00:16:07] Shari: good 

[00:16:08] Rhonda: but there's not a computer on it.

[00:16:10] Shari: I see a lot of people on these reality shows who just use a laptop. So they can just put it away. But I'm not one of those people. I want a real keyboard. I have dual monitors. I don't want them in the way. I have a whole desktop unit. And because I do a lot of work with graphics and I love to play online games, I have a gaming desktop, so it's not just any desktop. And I, I can't make that beautiful. There's no way I could do a desk in the middle of my office.

[00:16:43] Rhonda: Well, you're certainly not gonna design a kitchen on your laptop, right? I,

[00:16:46] Shari: No, I, I don't think so, but I see a lot of these designers using tools like iPads and laptops, 

[00:16:53] Rhonda: Maybe, maybe. 

[00:16:53] Shari: it's probably possible

[00:16:55] Rhonda: Hmm. I wouldn't want somebody to design my kitchen on a laptop screen. I would prefer you design it on your giant monitors, so we make sure that's a three and not an eight. You know, that kind of thing.

[00:17:06] Shari: And even for the podcast, I love being able to have my notes sitting on one monitor and everything to do with the recording on another monitor. And you and I have even talked about the functionality I have, 'cause I do all the editing too, 

[00:17:20] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. 

[00:17:20] Shari: monitors is just fabulous. 

[00:17:23] Rhonda: No, I would def, I would definitely love to have two monitors, but there's no way I can support it. But there's a lot of the redesigns I see on Flip or Flop and the other shows where they don't have an outlet and I'm thinking, what are you gonna do? Drag the cord across the floor? It's not practical. I had to cut a hole in the carpet.

[00:17:43] Shari: Oh,

[00:17:43] Rhonda: Now I used the Flor, you know, the panels, so, but it still lands where like three carpet tiles, intersect. So yeah, I had to cut up a carpet to make it so I could use the, the plug in the floor.

[00:17:54] Shari: Yeah, I did consider that I'm just a dinosaur and that's why it doesn't work for me.

[00:17:58] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. Maybe the 

[00:17:59] Shari: thing, 

[00:18:00] Rhonda: today, maybe the kids today have a lot easier time with it.

[00:18:02] Shari: The last thing I think I have about Alison and Michel, and it applies to everyone who moved the door. You know how when they go into those older homes, like on Flip or Flop or other shows and they're questioning, why is the laundry room right off the kitchen?

[00:18:18] Rhonda: Yes. 

[00:18:19] Shari: Now we know. Although technically it's off the hallway right next to the kitchen for Alison and Michel and for Chelsea and Cole, Tristyn and Kamohai moved their kitchen.

[00:18:29] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. Yes. I, I thought the same thing, and I thought the same thing about Jasmine's first comment was, I don't wanna listen to my washing machine going all day. 

[00:18:39] Shari: because Alison and Michel didn't put a door on theirs. 

[00:18:42] Rhonda: has two, two kids, right? I'm sure that, you know, with a baby, her washer and dryer are going all day. 

[00:18:48] Shari: Mm-hmm. I do think that you're right that we're gonna see washers and dryers appear in other places 

[00:18:56] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Why not? Right? Why not?

[00:18:58] Shari: wouldn't you definitely put one on the floor that has your kids' rooms?

[00:19:01] Rhonda: A thousand percent? Yes. Yes. What a luxury, right? Again, I just sort of, I don't know why, 'cause I don't particularly enjoy laundry, but for some reason it just feels like such a luxury.

[00:19:12] Shari: It does. So Tristyn and Kamohai, Moody Modern, they spent 30 K. I think, that was the lowest budget spent this week.

[00:19:19] Rhonda: Yeah,

[00:19:20] Shari: And. Their rooms are beautiful. Now, I don't, so Tristyn says when they decide to move the powder room, which I think was a big mistake, but when Tristyn says you walk in the front door and see a toilet, that isn't exactly true. You walk in the front door and from that hallway you see a door for a room that has a toilet in it. And out of all of the sort of vantage points when you walk in the front door, I love how they staged it. I love that view. And the herringbone ceiling just draws your eye. I've seen photos of those entryways as if you've just walked in the door, the front door, and I will tell you, it takes your breath away. It is so well done.

[00:20:03] Rhonda: Yep.

[00:20:03] Shari: Also Tristyn and Kamohai used real plants in their design.

[00:20:07] Rhonda: They did.

[00:20:08] Shari: And I feel like the scale of that entryway, it really connected with everything else they had put in that house.

[00:20:15] Rhonda: Yeah. My issue was if you're going to put, let people sleep in your den, right? Which is what they had with their pull down. Look at how far they're gonna have to walk to go to the bathroom, right? They're gonna have to walk through the house and they don't have a shower on that floor. So 

[00:20:29] Shari: right. It's a really long way for them.

[00:20:31] Rhonda: Yeah, they're gonna go downstairs or upstairs to use another bathroom, take a shower in your robe, you know, with your hair a towel I don't know, just it, I just love the idea of a guest room, being a suite and having everything contained. So people, myself, I don't have to leave that room looking a mess or less than perfect.

But again, what's the moody part, Shari?

[00:20:52] Shari: They use a lot of dark colors. They color drenched that room, 

[00:20:57] Rhonda: They did. 

[00:20:58] Shari: Den.

[00:20:59] Rhonda: Did it feel moody to you though? I did not feel moody.

[00:21:03] Shari: I feel like it's a, it's a balance between modern and moody. I feel like it gets there. It's not moody maximalist,

[00:21:10] Rhonda: Mm. I

[00:21:11] Shari: so it's really a more modern, clean design. 

[00:21:14] Rhonda: Yeah, I think of, uh, Alison and Michel's powder room as a moody, right. That's dark and yeah, that whole thing. But I did love that special wallpaper, her nod to Hawaii.

[00:21:25] Shari: Yes.

[00:21:26] Rhonda: I wanna replace my flamingo with some beautiful Hawaiian wallpaper. Yes. Now again, that doesn't go with my house. This is me just reacting to I think is beautiful 

[00:21:35] Shari: Yeah,

[00:21:35] Rhonda: I must have it. I just thought it was lovely. 

[00:21:38] Shari: It worked really well in their spaces and Kamohai had promised that he was gonna bring a little of Hawaii in. So I loved when I saw that, 

[00:21:45] Rhonda: Good for you. Because, yes, that I thought was, was really nice.

[00:21:49] Shari: They were the only ones to put a sink in the mud room.

[00:21:51] Rhonda: Now do you have a sink in your laundry room?

[00:21:54] Shari: I don't. I have had a laundry room with a sink in it and I never used it.

[00:21:59] Rhonda: I was just gonna say, if you had a sink, would you use it because. This is the second house now that we've had that because you, you somehow think you need it. Like, oh yes, I must have a sink in this room. Never used it. We ended up, uh, putting the doggy door there, taking out the sink and putting the doggy door in instead.

Um, so yeah, we put in the sink and I just, I just have the same response because I have a sink right outside the door to the garage. That's my doggy wash station right there. And if I have paint or something that I, you know, that's messy, something messy, I just, I just rinse it off there. I guess a lot of people who hand wash their delicates, maybe

[00:22:34] Shari: Like, I'm never gonna do that.

[00:22:36] Rhonda: abuse mine. Yes. Maybe the first wash I'll hand wash it, but from then on now my, my give a crap meter goes to zero and I throw it in with everything

[00:22:43] Shari: Yeah.

/

[00:22:44] Shari: So let's talk about the judging. So Mina and Jasmine were the judges this week, and it's such a different feel from last week. So last week we had a designer doing the judging and he judged based on design. And this week we had Mina and Jasmine who not only design, but they're also very much into kind of the functional piece of it and living in this space and the value added. And I think that really helped the winners win.

[00:23:11] Rhonda: Me too. It felt obvious to me anybody who adds, you know, a shower on the, on the main floor. It, it just was so obvious that, again, when Alison said, oh, I wish I'd have thought of that, I just thought, are you, are you faking this? Because I really can't believe you didn't think of that initially, right?

[00:23:29] Shari: Yeah. 

Yeah. 

[00:23:30] Rhonda: I don't know. 

[00:23:31] Shari: And Jasmine felt like the wallpaper in Chelsea and Cole's, the elk was right on track. Like she immediately recognized that was the state animal.

[00:23:40] Rhonda: I don't think she hung it very well. You could actually see the seams on the television, which 

[00:23:45] Shari: Oh, 

[00:23:45] Rhonda: you crazy. I know

[00:23:46] Shari: I didn't even notice. 

[00:23:48] Rhonda: in. You'd rip it down as soon as you moved in. There's no way you would have elk wallpaper in your house. But I, I liked it 'cause it was kind of a masculine vibe to that room,

[00:23:57] Shari: Mm-hmm. 

[00:23:58] Rhonda: it.

I will say I was pleasantly surprised to see how happy Chelsea and Cole were to win. Like you 

[00:24:04] Shari: Yes, yes. Do you think Tristyn and Kamohai were as excited as they appeared that Chelsea and Cole got the first rookie win.

[00:24:15] Rhonda: Uh, yes, mainly because

They get, you know, again, they get $1,500 and it's a rookie and I don't know, anyway, whether it's genuine or not, I felt like the Chelsea and Cole response definitely was tickled, right? They were just tickled. and maybe it's a relief. Right. When we watch Mina every week, not win. Right. Or Mika and Brian every week not win. It's tough I'm sure to just sit there and smile. Yay, 

[00:24:42] Shari: well, for two weeks in a row, the team that spent the most won.

[00:24:47] Rhonda: Let's keep an eye on that, see if that's the trend. I did notice in next week's preview that maybe there's, there's a little drama with Michel and Victoria over, I think he says something, he says something like, we're $6,000 over budget. And I thought, oh God, it's Donovan, all over again. It's Donovan all over again. He's, he's gonna be screaming at her. Yeah. 

[00:25:12] Shari: Michel screaming, but that is funny.

[00:25:14] Rhonda: Me either, but I think he has a breaking point and that may be it, I don't know. I hope, I hope it's true. I, there didn't seem to be any manufactured drama this week, and maybe I can't have my cake and eat it too. Maybe I can't have a fun riotous spicy, you know, episode if there's not gonna be any, any drama. It just felt this week was a little bit of just, okay, well let's do these rooms. Okay, they're done. What do you guys think. It didn't feel at all , exciting or vibrant? Like I, like, I want it to be so

[00:25:41] Shari: Yeah. Just so we're clear, Chelsea and Cole won the competition this week and they took home the first rookie win. Well, next week it's the main suite. And it'll be interesting to see what they do in that area. Those are the final areas on the first floor.

I love to see how they do the primary suite. So I'm excited about next week's episode.

[00:26:02] Rhonda: I saw some of the preview and thought, Ooh, I'm not that, not that crazy about it. So I don't know. We'll see. Yeah. Yeah. There's some red, there's some red in there, Shari. And I it makes you angry like a bull.

/

[00:26:14] Shari: Thank you for dishing with us about Episode 2 of Rock the Block. The rookies finally snagged their first win, and I was so thrilled for Chelsea and Cole. They totally earned it. This week there was no design challenge to distract them. So it was all about transforming the entryway, den, powder room, and mudroom. And let me tell you, they poured everything into making those spaces shine. Of course, we've got some hot takes, nitpicks, and more than a few strong opinions about those design choices.

[00:26:41] Rhonda: I'm gonna give Jonathan and Jordan a menty b as the kids like to say, for the mental breakdown of purchasing and installing that swan faucet. This is another example of where they need their designer, Kristina, to help keep them on 

[00:26:57] Shari: example. 

[00:26:58] Rhonda: them what modern farmhouse design is.

[00:27:01] Shari: Yeah, please HGTV. Give them a phone a friend.

[00:27:04] Rhonda: Yes. Let them call her and show the room or run their design ideas by her. She would, uh, probably remind them modern farmhouse includes simplicity, rustic charm. The swan faucet is some kind of elegant glam estate luxury look and really, really could not be farther away from modern farmhouse.

[00:27:25] Shari: I totally agree.

[00:27:26] Rhonda: Mm.

[00:27:27] 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 would love to hear from you. 

[00:27:43] Rhonda: Also, we've done a special posting for this week's episode. We're kicking off an office design challenge.

[00:27:49] Shari: Ooh.

[00:27:50] Rhonda: We'll be posting photos of Shari's office. 

[00:27:54] Shari: Practicality 

[00:27:55] Rhonda: first 

as her desk

faces a wall. Yes, faces a wall, and then my office more style than function as the desk is in the middle of the floor. Please weigh in with your opinion. Which setup do you prefer? Shari's no-nonsense approach, or my focus on design flare with my desk in the middle of the room, like a throne.

 Also we'll be posting our bingo card for Week 3, so let us know if you won. 

Give us your comments and they can earn you a spot as our Designing Bitches Bestie of the Week.

[00:28:25] Shari: Ooh. So are you gonna take the stickies that we use for our Designing Bestie Hall of Fame out of your office for the picture?

[00:28:33] Rhonda: I am. There will be no stickies. It will look magazine ready, I promise.

[00:28:37] Shari: Hey, as always, we have some apologies to make. I'm sorry to everyone who loves swan faucets, the color red and fake olive trees.

Well, until next time. Bye

Bye.