The Renovators (2011)
The Renovators is an Australian competitive reality renovation game show that premiered on Network Ten on 24 July 2011. The basic premise consists of 26 contestants who initially compete to become the head renovator of six run-down houses in the suburbs of Sydney, with challenges and eliminations taking place whilst the renovations are in progress. The last remaining contestant responsible for the property that has made the most profit when sold at auction wins the series. Network Ten announced in August 2011 that it had commissioned a second season of the series, but indicated that it would modify the program's format in order to address poor ratings, but to date no second season has been produced.
Seasons & Episode
The Sixties Suburban Team find themself in a Real Estate Stress Test elimination after losing the Coffee Table Challenge. ‘Team Chris and Tina’ is up against ‘Team Nathan and Joanne’ to guess the market value of a house in Caboolture, QLD. The unfortunate losers, Nathan and Joanne go head to head in round two creating renovation plans on scale models of the same house. With one hour to complete the plans the house deemed most profitable wins. Nathan’s plans get him through and Joanne must hand back the keys to The Sixties Suburban. Back at The Shop the rest of the contestants are happy to see Chris, Tina and Nathan.
The Navy Team are up for elimination in a Panic Room Challenge. One member of the team will go home. Michael, Kelly and Jarrad enter three separate rooms left in a mess. It looks like a party gone wild! There is food everywhere, holes in the walls and bright paint colour on the walls. With three hours to clean up and renovate their dining room the boys prove that they have the decorating skills needed. Kelly, described by Brendan as the “wonderful wildcard”, is the unfortunate renovator to go home.
The Orange and Green Teams arrived for their Stress Test, which took place over two rounds. The first round required them to put a selection of chairs from various decades into chronological order. With both teams correctly guessing the first few, it was the Orange Team that ultimately slipped up first, sending Peter and Bob to face-off in a ceiling painting challenge. The rest of the contestants, meanwhile, got stuck into the Working Bee over at The Sixties Suburban. In the second round of the Stress Test Peter was both faster and neater than Bob, winning him safe passage and eliminating his teammate.
Peter Ho took Jason J and Suzanne off-site to marvel at some award-winning light installations, while in the warehouse Baz and Brendan conducted a How To on replacing windows with French doors. Barry called upon Melissa, Sam and Kathy to help prepare the space, before Brendan walked through the fundamentals of hanging the doors, calling upon Peter to assist him. Robyn presented a mix and match masterclass, educating the contestants on the finer points of eclectic styling.
The safe contestants arrived at The Shop for the Working Bee, while the losing members of the Black Team entered the warehouse for the Stress Test. In round one the teams had to position lights in chronological order, with Peter winning the safe spot. The Sky Blue and Khaki Teams faced off in round two, each contestant having to complete a tessellated tile pattern perfectly. Suzanne struggled from the start, having to begin again after misplacing tiles, resulting in her elimination.
Twenty-two of the The Renovators contestants, past and present, are reunited for a special week of challenges in flood ravaged Queensland. In this episode they fly to the Sunshine state to makeover the house of Greg and Janet, and their two baby girls. Forced to live in a caravan on their property after their home was devastated by flood waters, they get the surprise of their lives and the Renovators are given two days to complete a challenge that they will never forget.
The contestants arrived in Brisbane’s South Bank for their latest Queensland challenge: to craft street furniture in their teams. The teams had five hours to complete the task, with award-winning designer Alex Lotersztain mentoring them. The teams threw themselves into the task with some spectacular designs, although the time-consuming process of working the metal was a tough pill for many to swallow. Natalia’s design, inspired by South Bank’s nature, won the challenge for The Shop, who selected Samantha to rejoin the competition on Peter’s team.
The best performers from Judgement Day arrived for their Panic Room Challenge, with an incredible prize on the line: a landscaping package worth $20,000. Entering their Panic Rooms, they discovered it was a bathroom they would need to completely transform. Nathan immediately got stuck in, despite suffering from flu and being a one man team. As usual Peter set himself a massive target and almost bit off more than he could chew. He and Sam managed to pull through, however, finishing a phenomenal space and giving them a clear win and the all-important prize.
The contestants awoke in their new homes, before heading off to face a styling challenge at Freedom Furniture. The teams had an hour to make an artistic statement with a piece of furniture, with the winners getting a 30 minute head-start going into the second challenge back at the warehouse. With a striking if surreal piece masterminded by August the Grey Team won, taking the advantage in a White Room Challenge that asked them to create a space inspired by Coco Chanel. The Sixties Suburban managed to take a much needed win, securing them a massive prize: $10,000 worth of LG electrical goods.
Peter and Sam squared off in the second Head-to-Head, Peter having to complete the living/dining space at The Half-Done House while Sam worked on the backyard. Sam’s nerves were stretched thin by teammate Jason taking longer gathering materials at the warehouse than she’d anticipated, and the narrow walkway into the yard made transporting plants and materials difficult. Peter suffered no such setbacks, producing a room stunning in both design and craftsmanship. Though the judges commended Sam for her effort, it wasn’t enough to stop Peter winning a well-deserved place in the Top 6.
Needing a boost in the aftermath of the Head-to-Head, the contestants were surprised by visits from their loved ones, who joined them for a family member Working Bee. Baz stopped in at The Inner-City Terrace to pitch in with some paving, Brendan gave August some landscaping advice over at The Shop, Robyn discussed colour palettes with the Greens at The Weatherboard House, while Peter Ho leant his considerable expertise over at The Half-Done House.