Our Favorite Designs from Rock the Block

Rock the Block has become one of our favorite HGTV designer competitions to tune into each year. Season three just wrapped up, and as always, we were blown away by the designs from HGTV’s Egypt and Mike from Married to Real Estate, Keith and Evan from Bargain Block, Dave and Jenny from Fixer to Fabulous, and twins Lindsay and Leslie from Unsellable Houses. The task? Transform four newly built homes near Charleston, SC into waterfront dream homes.

The Gist of the Rock the Block Competition

Each season, four teams of HGTV’s top designers are selected to finish a newly built home on a brand new block. The team is tasked with completing the home from the inside out--including the exteriors. Each episode reveals a new part of the home the teams have to design.

This year, designers were asked to create a kitchen, living room and entry, and other options in the first level. For the main suite, they created a bedroom, bathroom, and closet suite. They were also given a loft area to transform into any space their hearts desired, and if that weren’t enough, each team had a F.R.O.G. (full room over garage) to transform into valuable living space. Finally, the teams had to cover the home’s exterior and create a backyard oasis.

The Winner

Since today’s blog is more about our personal favorite designs and less about a recap of each winning design, we don’t mind spoiling the winner for you here. If you haven’t watched the season finale skip past this section.

The winners of this season’s Rock the Block (and we agree they definitely deserved the honor) were Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson of Married to Real Estate. Egypt is a CEO of an Atlanta-based real estate company that has also hosted other HGTV shows like Property Virgins, and Mike is a contractor who has actually assisted Egypt with many projects on and off-screen. He recently stepped into the HGTV spotlight himself when the production company decided to give the couple their own show together following their appearance on last season’s Rock the Block! Talk about coming full circle. Another fun fact about Mike? He moonlights as a DJ known as Fadelf.

Our Favorite Rock the Block Designs

We agree Egypt and Mike’s overall win was well-deserved. Here’s a peek at our favorite design of theirs…the front entry and living room!

Image: Tom Griscom Big Table Media/HGTV

Image: Tom Griscom Big Table Media/HGTV

Egypt and Mike did something unique with their front entry. They connected their F.R.O.G to the main living space with a small hallway. That hallway leads to the peek-a-boo mud space located behind a beautiful accent wall welcoming you into the living room area.

Our Favorite Kitchen

Dave and Jenny Marrs won the kitchen competition. Their lovely design was lovely fits just about any buyer, but our personal favorite kitchen design once again goes to Egypt and Mike! Their design goal for the kitchen (and the overall home) was historic luxury, and we think they nailed it with this stunning kitchen. To fit with the neighborhood, the couple built a Charleston-style shroud for the cooking area and whitewashed cobblestone tile for the backsplash. Egypt added luxurious touches like a marble rainfall countertop over the island. Around the corner is a butler’s pantry, and down the hall a piece is a large walk-in pantry. We love the way they mixed full cabinets with open shelving to give that beautiful backsplash the spotlight it deserves. Natural elements like rattan were woven in to give homage to the area and set the mood.

Image: Tom Griscom Big Table Media/HGTV

Image: Tom Griscom Big Table Media/HGTV

Image: Tom Griscom Big Table Media/HGTV

Image: Tom Griscom Big Table Media/HGTV

Image: Tom Griscom Big Table Media/HGTV

Our Favorite Bathroom

Again, our favorite bathroom design did not win the bathroom competition! We know exactly why this stunning bathroom was overlooked. That week’s competition wasn’t just for the bathroom but for the bathroom and closet suite. While these designers definitely took the cake on bathroom design, their closet left much to be desired. Still, Keith and Evan from Bargain dropped a whopping $35,000 into their master bathroom, and, oh was it a stunner. The image below simply doesn’t do it justice so we’ve also included a video walkthrough.

Image: Tom Griscom Big Table Media/HGTV

Redbrick walls and warm, geometric vanities flank the stunning showpiece of the room--the shower. A handbuilt curved shower that demands your attention the moment you walk in the room with a beautiful deep-set tub that greets you immediately gives this bathroom an old Hollywood glam meets coastal oasis vibe. If the boys had put just a bit more thought into their closet design, we bet this bathroom would have walked away as the winner.

Our Favorite Closet

We’re known for building custom kitchens and bathrooms, but we love creating storage in any room including closet storage for your bedroom. Nothing takes the thrill out of an otherwise stunning master bedroom like a subpar master closet. Choosing our favorite closet design was a bit tougher than our other picks so far. That’s why we didn’t pick just one closet, but two! We absolutely loved the incredible amount of storage the twins Lindsay and Leslie added to their adorable master closet. You can’t tell this from the image, but that corner cabinet is actually a lazy susan that spins all the way around with even more storage than meets the eye. Not to mention, a closet is a great space to try out bold accent colors as the twins did here.

Image: Tom Griscom Big Table Media/HGTV

As much as we love this closet by Lindsay and Leslie, we felt just as much affection for this master closet by Dave and Jenny Marrs.

Image: Tom Griscom Big Table Media/HGTV

In keeping with the theme of appealing to a family, Dave and Jenny designed a his-and-hers master closet with established separate storage spaces for each spouse as well as shared storage (and seating) space for shoes and linen.

Our Favorite F.R.O.G and Loft Spaces

F.R.O.G spaces have so much potential--from a mother-in-law suite to a home office to a loft apartment, F.R.O.G.s done right increase your home’s value and can even add income to the property.

Image: Tom Griscom Big Table Media/HGTV

Once again, Egypt and Mike showed why they deserved to win season 3 with their F.R.O.G. They wisely converted this into a multifunctional space that includes a home office and a completely separate living area with a kitchenette and full bath. Where does one rest their head at night in this space? Why in the custom-built Murphy bed that folds out easily from the wall.

Image: Tom Griscom Big Table Media/HGTV

Image: Tom Griscom Big Table Media/HGTV

With more of us working from home and homeschooling than ever, it’s important to have a designated space to get work done. Leslie and Lyndsay did just that with their loft space and we especially love the pegboard wall for adding functionality.

Image: Tom Griscom Big Table Media/HGTV

And that’s a wrap on our favorite picks from Rock the Block Season 3. You can catch the series in its entirety on Discovery+.

Want to see how some of these star designs would look in your upcoming dream home? Give us a call today to get started with a free quote.