HGTV / YouTube Bryan & Sarah Baeumler
Monday, April 3’s penultimate episode of “Rock the Block” season four saw each team – Bryan and Sarah Baeumler from “Renovation Island”, Jonathan Knight and Kristina Crestin from “Farmhouse Fixer”, Michel Boyd and Anthony Elle from “Luxe for Less”, and Page Turner and Mitch Glew from “Fix My Flip” – pulling out the stops to try and win the final weekly challenge of the season.
After Ty Pennington issued the teams yet another design surprise midway through their exterior renovations, they had to stretch what little budgets they had to add a sports/activity-based element to their yards, and the Baeumlers went big, installing a parkour course in their Colorado home based on their children’s love for the activity, however, fans of the show were mixed on the veteran designers’ choice.
SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for “Rock the Block” season 4 episode 5, “Exterior Face-Off” (April 3, 2023). Do not read ahead if you do not want the winner of this episode spoiled.
Bryan & Sarah Baeumler’s Parkour Course Sparks Conversation
“I was inspired at the Denver Airport. They had that telephone pole art,” Bryan said, with Sarah adding, “It’s kind of like parkour kind of vibe, too,” when the teams were first told to add an activity-based element to their space. They stuck with the idea as their children do parkour, with Bryan having wooden beams sticking out of the ground at various heights, allowing parkour enthusiasts to run, climb, or leap across them.
While some fans appreciated the parkour element’s inclusion in the Baeumlers’ final design, others were confused by it and felt it was too dangerous of an activity.
“I didn’t like Bryan & Sarah’s exterior. #RocktheBlock and the parkour idea has liability issues written all over it,” one fan tweeted.
“NO, Bryan and Sarah! The average homeowner can’t just DO parkour! What in the hail?!?! #RockTheBlock” another fan added on Twitter, with a laughing reaction gif attached.
“For me, that boulder and the fact that they had an exterior space where there were so many places where people could do different things at the same time. And their exterior space most reflects Colorado,” a third fan wrote in the Baeumlers’ defense.
Fans also took to an HGTV discussion page on Reddit to talk about the episode, where the reviews were equally as mixed.
“The parkour and [Michel and Anthony’s rock] climbing wall both looked like a future trip to the ER. There’s kid friendly and then there’s ‘kids love it until they fall face first into the lawn,'” one fan commented.
“I don’t think the parkour was dangerous. You can get mats to put around the course lol. But parkour is HUGE here so that was spot on!!” another fan argued.
Season 2 Winners Brian & Mika Kleinschmidt Return as Judges
Regardless of fan opinion, the Baeumlers’ parkour course paid off, as guest judges (and former “Rock the Block” champions) Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt from “100 Day Dream Home” awarded them the win for the outdoor spaces. What put the Baeumlers over the edge was their massive red rock firepit and the overall flow of their spaces. Brian Kleinschmidt said their space “captured Colorado the best”, and when it came to the parkour space, Mika actually said it was “the one thing that I wasn’t really sure on”.
The judges also felt that Michel and Anthony’s exterior nailed the “Modern Mountain” feel that they were going for, and loved their outdoor theatre, but felt the exterior materials on the home itself felt “too manufactured”. They liked Jonathan and Kristina’s exteriors and bocce ball court but felt it would be hard to maintain year-round. The judges felt Page and Mitch’s space was “sleek” and full of surprises, but had a few details left to be desired (including their accordion door, which opened directly into a seating area they had built).
Bryan and Sarah Baeumler’s prize for this week’s win is an extra $5,000 going into the finale, which airs next Monday, April 10, where former “Rock the Block” champions Jasmine Roth, Egypt Sherrod, and Mike Jackson return to judge the homes and declare a new winner. Each team has at least one weekly win going into the finale (with Jonathan and Kristina having two wins), so it is still anybody’s game.
“Rock the Block” airs Monday nights at 9 p.m. Eastern time on HGTV and discovery+.
READ NEXT: HGTV Reveals Fate of ‘Farmhouse Fixer’