JULIA and Sasha have come out as early front runners on The Block after winning the first room reveal of the season.

The Melbournites impressed the reno show's judges with a mix of modern and retro pieces referencing the art deco history of the former soap factory they and four other teams are renovating into five luxury apartments.

The women came second in last week's 48-hour challenge and despite issues with their builder delivered a finished master en-suite for judging.

The judges were clearly impressed with the room, calling is sophisticated, classy and spectacularly beautiful.

"Bow this is the business," Darren Palmer said.

"This is the blend between really contemporary and sophisticated with little hints of the classic and of a bygone era."

Queensland lovebirds Will and Karlie redeemed their disappointing pod renovation by finishing runner-up with their ground floor en-suite.

"The maturity they've shown from the last challenge to now is the other end of the scale," Shaynna Blaze said.

"I do feel like they're understanding the sense of luxury they need to bring."

School teachers Ben and Andy, surprisingly, finished third with their bachelor-pad styling.

"It feels like the bathroom you would expect to see in any apartment development anywhere in Australia. It's like the boys are living in here," Neale Whitaker said, referring to the cheap razors in the shower.

"What they've done here is they've created the bathroom of a bachelor pad."

But the mates were praised for dividing their wardrobe in half to move the en-suite and make room for a fourth bedroom.

"The only reason you would ever do something like that with a floor plan in an apartment like this would be for an extra bedroom," Palmer said.

"That is a masterstroke, and this is a massive en-suite by any standard."

Newcastle parents Kim and Chris finished fourth after failing to take the judges' feedback on board from the previous challenge, sticking with their out-dated style and not incorporating any art deco references to the building.

"This is one of those moments where your worst concerns become real," Whitaker said.

"It's not causing any emotion in my at all and it's totally off brief."

Blaze didn't hold back, declaring the tile feature wall ugly.

"Their quality is incredible; their time management is incredible, but they really need to work out this is a unique building," she said.

"Cookie cutter is outside these walls, not in here."

Baby boomers Dan and Carleen finished last after failing to complete their en-suite. But it was their styling that earned them the most criticism.

"Why let themselves down when they've gone to all this trouble?" Whitaker said.

"That's a point off (candle that says 'I love the sh*t out of you'). These guys need to think so carefully about the little touches. Styling has let them down."

This upcoming week the teams will renovate their first guest bedrooms.

The Block week 1 scores

Julia and Sasha: 26.5/30

Will and Karlie: 25/30

Ben and Andy: 21.5/30

Kim and Chris: 19.5/30

Dan and Carleen: 17/30