Friday 23 August 2013

FEATURE FRIDAY: INTERVIEW WITH ALISA & LYSANDRA

Alisa & Lysandra winners of The Block 2013.
To connect and keep up to date with the twins
make sure to like their Facebook page. Ps: They
are wearing my favourite jewellery brand Fiel Sol!


It is a very exciting Friday today as not only am I sharing my first blog interview with the lovely Alisa & Lysandra, winners from The Block 2013, but I have 3 separate events on today/tonight and despite my shoulder injury I will be attending.

Even though The Block is over for this year, it does not mean all the excitement is over,  the beautiful designs by these two great dynamic sisters are now more popular than ever. They were a very strong team, such great designers, very entertaining to watch and with  my own application for The Block 2014 submitted, it is such a great opportunity to get some insider perspective on their experience.


1. First of all a big congratulations and great effort! Looking back on the experience that you have just had, if you could give yourself some advice or warning before starting this challenge, would would it be? To align yourselves with reliable and experienced tradesman (which made such a difference as our amazing tradies were able to turn our visions into a reality.) 2. You both developed such great design style and skill. Week to week what inspired you design wise and helped you make certain style choices to create the overall look? I think once we established that we wanted the apartment to have a natural, earthy feel, it became a lot easier for us to make the right styling choices. In every room we designed, we aimed to create a point of interest such as including timber features, using different textured wallpaper like concrete and grass cloth, the inclusion of a herb garden, plus a green wall and rendered wall. It was really important that each room flowed into the other and that all the rooms didn't compete with one another. 3. It would be so tough making such important design and space decisions very quickly, I know first hand the questioning and doubt you can feel once you make a decision or trying to make sure it is the right one. How did you both work on not doubting the design choices you made and finishes you picked? We literally had one night to come up with the design for the entire room. After we had finished judging at Scotty's warehouse and found out what room was being revealed the next week, Lysandra and I would go home that night (after being awake for 48hr + ) and have to come up with a design for whatever room was being revealed next. Our builder Shiran wanted a plan from us the next morning so he could get started that very day in order to have enough time to finish before the next reveal. To be honest I actually think it was a good thing that we had to make quick decisions because it forced us to go with our gut instinct and not second guess ourselves, because there just wasn't time to. 4. It is such a great achievement for you both especially in support of women in construction and design! Do you have an inspirational message for aspiring renovating, kitchen and bathroom queens? Do not be afraid to ask questions if you don't understand. The amount of times Lysandra and I would say to Shiran "But why can't you put that thingy there and then use that thing to hide it" etc..... Even though we didn't understand a lot of the terminology or tools, we asked questions and would not stop until we understood how and why it worked. Don't be rushed into making important decisions and don't settle for the first thing you see. Research and shop around before you make your mind up on a product. Just remember, you don't have to spend a fortune on something to make a room look amazing. Shop smart and save your money for the important key features.
5. The fast paced environment and the competition does get the better of you. How did you both work on keeping your motivation and moral high?
It was extremely hard towards the end. Motivation and morale were at an all time low, but we had to keep reminding ourselves why we were there and that we hadn't come this far and been away from our boys for as long as we had, just to give up. We had an end goal in mind and we never lost sight of that. We were there to win and we played the game to the very last second.

I just want to say a very big THANK YOU to Alisa & Lysandra for taking the time to take part in this interview, it is so very nice of them and really appreciate their time despite their very busy schedules!

Make sure to visit their Facebook page to keep up to date with what the twins are up to and follow their journey.

Have a great Friday everyone,

JDZ x





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