Inspiration

Meet the teams of The Block NZ 2016: Sam and Emmett

Article by Homes to Love

Friends since their school days in Palmerston North, Sam (29) and Emmett (29) now flat together in the Aro Valley in Wellington

TBNZ5 Sam and Emmett

Meet Sam and Emmett from The Block NZ 2016

Sam is a business development manager and Emmett is an HR advisor.  Sam describes himself as ‘polite to a fault’ and sometimes ‘too honest’. He’s a huge sports lover, very social and regrets not going to university – not for the degree, but for the amount of fun he’s  potentially missed out on. Emmett sees himself as a hardworking farm boy who can get along with anyone. He’s a selfconfessed sports nut who loves motor cross, hunting, diving and snowboarding.

Sam and Emmett make a hilarious pair with their catchy one-liners and deadpan humour, and they’re not afraid to make fun of themselves for a laugh. Neither have massive amounts of
renovation experience. Emmett’s brother is a builder and he quite often helps him renovating his house. He’s learnt a few tips and is a handy person to have around – especially when it comes to
friends being tackled through walls of rental properties. His plastering skills were solid enough to get past the landlords discerning eye – and they got their bond back!

Watch the judges comment on Sam and Emmett’s guest bedroom

Watch the judges comment on Sam and Emmett’s kids’ bedroom

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Sam and Emmett’s kids’ bedroom reveal

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Sam-and-Emmett

Q&A with Sam and Emmett

How do you know each other?
Sam: Emmett and I know each other originally from high school and then became good friends later on.

What do you think you’ll find hardest as The Block NZ progresses?
Emmett: Understanding the process and the order in which the tradies do their work. Not being so fluent with the trades, we’ll have to learn that quite quickly. But the organisational skills we have will bode well for us.
Sam: The feeling of being useless a lot of the time! I’m getting that already. I’m not too handy when it gets to the nitty gritty of building, so I’ll have to be patient and play my role where I can. I just need to get it sorted.

What interior colour schemes are you normally drawn to?
Emmett: Subtle colours – whites, browns and greys. Neutral, earthy tones that can be dressed up, which are hopefully what our theme is going to be in the house.

Have you spent this much time with your best mate before?
Emmett: Sam and I have lived together for a number of years between our overseas travels. We’ve also spent time overseas just one on one, so we’re used to each other’s company and living in the same spaces. It’s fair to say Sam and I consider each other as brothers.

What’s been your biggest DIY exploit?
Sam: I painted a roof, but we did it with paintbrushes instead of spray guns, which is apparently not the way to do it. I was still proud of the end product, though.
Emmett: I once built a planter box which, if I say so myself, was pretty snappy.

Are you big followers of the Block NZ?
Sam: Yes, I’ve watched three out of the four seasons, starting with Libby and Ben winning, and then Caleb and Alice. I was a big fan of Caleb and Alice.
 
Do you have a great eye for style? How will you decide what look to give your property?
Emmett: Sam and I know what we like, and we’ve got images inside our brains and in our phones that should head us in the right direction.
Sam: I’ve always been a big social media follower and trend follower, whether it’s fashion or interiors. I’ve travelled a lot, which has given me exposure to different types of design around the world, not just a New Zealand focus.

Do you have similar design styles?
Emmett: Yes, Sam and I think similarly, so generally our design styles do line up.
Sam: We match up. We sometimes do a process of elimination, which ends in a game of paper-scissors-rock.

Does your teammate have any annoying habits?
Emmett: When Sam drinks, he swallows loudly, and the fact that we have to share a bed for a period of time.
Sam: Emmett is very grumpy in the mornings until about 10am. Then he calms down and I give him a quick shoulder rub and we’re on to the day!

What strengths are you bringing to the competition?
Emmett: My strengths include being a practical thinker. I like to think I can speak the lingo of the builders and understand what’s going on, so I’ll be the practical one. But it’s our strong friendship that will bring us through to the end.
Sam: Comic value and a happy-go-lucky demeanour.

How will your work skills help you?
Emmett: My career in HR requires a lot of process and organisational skills. There’s a lot of process-driven management and organisational skills required in The Block NZ so hopefully we’ll see the benefits.
Sam: I’ve had a fairly successful career in operations and management, which will steer us the right way. I’ve got a big sports-playing background, which should help with any kind of physical challenge.

What makes you a good team?
Emmett: Our casual and light-hearted natures will ensure we have a pretty good working relationship, keep everyone calm under pressure, provide the builders with a few laughs, and keep everybody on track.

What are you most nervous about?
Emmett: How our house will get judged, and making sure we have a good flow throughout to ensure we achieve good resale value.

As the competition gears up, what advice have you given yourselves?
Emmett: It’s important to remember where we come from, that we’re actually good friends to begin with, and that we can’t let anything come between us.
Sam: We’ve just got to keep remembering that we’re a team and we’re here for each other, and that it’s a team event but also a game. If we manage to bear all that in mind, we should have a fairly successful competition.

The Block NZ: Girls v Boys screens Sundays at 7pm and Monday – Wednesday, 7.30pm on TV3.

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