How to get polished concrete walls like Matt and Kim’s from The Block Channel Nine.

The Block 2013 featured on channel nine have left audiences yearning for more after the airing of Matt and Kim’s polished concrete walls featured in their kitchen and bedroom/ensuite – a modern concrete design challenge. Rendering changed their kitchen and bedroom/ensuite from bleak to sheek. I think Matt and Kim’s styling could be described as an industrial tone with a modern twist.

When wall rendering is complimented with the right type of furniture, it sets off the room with modern stylish tones and a luxurious feel that designers are ultimately striving for.  The concreting look conveys an industrial feel by using subtle shades of grey.

I can hear you thinking to yourself how too can I have concrete rendered walls as smooth as glass? A recent article by website, The Home Journal describes the look as, “Typically undertaken by the older generation Italian plasterers with years of experience under their belt, polished plaster or venetian plaster has made a huge comeback in recent years and covers the walls of every second café and new development in Melbourne.

You might remember the visit to John McGrath’s luxury penthouse apartment in Sydney during The Block All Stars where almost every wall of John’s apartment was completed to the highest standard in a white polished plaster. If done in the right tone and then furnished and styled appropriately, it can really set off a room and give it that luxurious feel the couples were all striving for.”

There are four key principles Matt and Kim from The Block 2013 channel nine used to design their ideas and create their interior rendering polished concrete walls;

Here are four concrete design ideas to get you started:

•  Sleek and Clean: Simple details, unfussy finishes, straight edges and polished surfaces.

•  Geometric shaping: Stick by using rectangular shapes and add interest by using asymmetrical arrangements.

•  Monohromatic scheme. This scheme uses concrete in white or different shades of grey as a backdrop for bold colours. Matt and Kim from the Block channel nine incorporated this technique into The Block rooms 2013: the kitchen, bedroom/ensuite challenge.

•  Lastly, in achieving the render look; furniture, artworks and vases compliment the abstract décor through geometric shapes. And utilise the use of modern materials such as stainless steel and glass.

My company, Render it Oz is a Melbourne based concrete design and rendering company specialising in concrete design and interior rendered finishes. If you have a room you want transformed, contact me today on 0415 310 802.