An Ex-Block Star Just Exposed The Show’s Dirtiest Secret — And It Explains Everything Wrong With This Season
Kirsty Lee Akers said that while she enjoys watching the show, all the rooms from different contestants look “the same”.
Former Block star Kirsty Lee Akers has criticised homes on this year’s season as looking like “hospital wards” with an extreme lack of colour.
Kirsty and her partner, Jesse Anderson, came in second-to-last in the 2021 season of the hit Channel 9 program, selling their property on auction day for $4.4 million.
She ripped into the ongoing theme and asked why all the properties were so boring.
“Design-wise, it’s pretty meh,” she said.
“I’m not saying the designs aren’t great, it’s just so fricking beige.
“I don’t understand why, in 2026, we’re designing rooms that look like futuristic hospital wards.
“It’s not the contestant’s fault. They’re just following the brief that they’ve been given. Apparently, that’s what the rich folks want. But I don’t know, just throw in a sage cushion or a throw rug for God’s sake.”
In a recent episode, contestants were judged on the main bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe — and all the rooms looked shockingly similar.
In fact, there was no colour to be seen, with beige, white and cream being the chosen shades.
Kirsty added that she “can’t pick a favourite team” this year because she “can’t tell the rooms apart”.
In a recent episode, contestants were judged based on the main bedroom with a walk-in wardrobe — and all the rooms looked shockingly similar. (The Block/Channel 9)
“They all look exactly the same. It’s just 50 shades of beige,” she said.
Despite the criticism, she still watches the show out of interest, but wishes it incorporated fun, eye-catching designs.
“The room reveals are very boring because it’s just.. every single room looks exactly the same,” she said.
“It’s all beige. It’s hard to really pick out of favourite team because, I guess, none of the rooms looks any different to the other.”
She expressed serious concerns about the final auctions, as bidders might not be keen to splurge millions of dollars on a home with four identical properties next to it.
In the comments on her video, other viewers agreed that the 2026 season’s homes looked “boring”.
“What happened to colour? Why does every house have to have the same brief and look the same?” one wrote.
“They just look like display homes for mediocre house estates,” another said.
“They literally remind me of nursing homes,” a third added.
Are homes becoming boring?
Kirsty’s observation while watching the show tapped into a couple different factors in interior design at the moment.
According to Homes & Gardens, some designers opt for “playing it safe” but can fall into the trap of “cookie-cutter” approaches, which result in homes looking the same.
Kirsty has opened up on TikTok about how this year’s designs are underwhelming, with the rooms looking “the same”. (The Block/Channel 9)
Interior designer and stylist Jono Fleming told the Sydney Morning Herald why he believed homes of today were turning to minimalist designs.
“Beige is really a safety net for people who don’t have the design skills to put colour in,” he said.
“They say: ‘Beige is what I like and it’s my taste because you cannot go wrong. It blends together and it all looks cohesive.'”