Photos of near-finished Block homes slammed as ‘hideous’

The Block judges have slammed contestants for “not respecting the heritage” of their homes – just wait until you see these photos.

There’s been a common criticism among the judges on The Block so far this season: Time and again, contestants are chided for not properly respecting the heritage of the country homes they’ve been tasked with renovating.

Judge Shaynna Blaze has been the biggest stickler for this, slamming contestants Sharon and Ankur on Sunday’s episode for presenting a bathroom she did not feel was in keeping with the rest of the house.

Referring to their house as “the grand dame, the jewel in the crown,” she challenged the couple: “Are you going to treat her like this? Because if you’re going to treat her like this, you’re going to have to deal with me.”

We're getting a lot of this face from the judges when they spot, say, non-Victorian cornices

All that for a few small details in a bathroom. But as these photos show, the houses – which have been brought from Queensland for their new home on a hillside outside Gisborne, north east of Melbourne – will all have giant, modern extensions tacked onto them over the course of the season.

The photos show the modern extensions dwarfing the heritage homes:

The original home in the foreground, with the extension at the back.

The original home can be seen at right, with the extension at left.

Kidspot reports that these looks at the near-finished houses have received a negative reaction across several Facebook groups.

One fan wrote: “Why bother putting a little old farmhouses there if you’re just going to dwarf them with hideous and completely unsympathetic extensions.”

It’s hard to tell which part of this home is the original house.

This home has a smaller extension (at left).

Another said, “The additions totally destroy the look of the original homes.”

As one viewer wrote on Twitter: “If the judges have an issue with teams not doing justice to the old houses now … what’s their thoughts going to be on the finished extensions! THEYRE SHOCKIN’!”

Photos taken before the contestants started show what the houses looked like pre-renovation:

One of the homes. Picture: The Block/Channel 9

Renovations get underway. Picture: The Block/Channel 9

Meanwhile, some contestants are already struggling on this season of The Block, with Sharon declaring she was “over it” after the judges’ tough critiques on Sunday.

“I’m over it and it’s week one, basically. I’m over it, and I’m so tired, and … maybe I don’t have a clue,” she said.

And on Monday’s episode, contestant Rachel flew back home to Sydney just one week after she and husband Ryan had arrived on-site as last-minute replacements for Block quitters Elle and Joel.

Getting drafted in to replace the couple meant a mad scramble for Rachel and Ryan, who would be leaving their three young children – aged five, three and one – for several months.