For most people, moving out of the family home is an emotional experience. Every box packed brings back memories of good times growing up.
But if there was anyone who might find moving easier than most, it’s celebrity interior designer Shaynna Blaze.
After all, between working on The Block and Selling Houses Australia, Shaynna is no stranger to helping people move out and move on.
But when it came time to sell her own home last year, a four-bedroom property in the Melbourne suburb of Ringwood North, Shaynna discovered firsthand just how hard it can be.
“I thought it wouldn’t get to me,” Shaynna, 55, admits. “I help people make the transition every day, so I figured it would be easy.
“But when we were packing everything up, it became very personal and I realised how much stuff I’d accumulated.”
“When we were packing everything up, it became very personal,” she tells.
The house had been the backdrop to her family history. While her two children, Carly, 29, and Jesse, 28, had already moved out, the echoes of their childhood were hard to ignore.
“So many memories in that house,” Shaynna laughs.
“I had to put myself in the Selling Houses shoes and just get it done. But I remembered how distressing it was. We ended up putting everything in storage.”
The Block judges Neale Whitaker and Darren Palmer.
Shaynna and her second husband, personal trainer Steve Vaughan, have now settled in Hawthorn – an inner suburb in Melbourne’s east – following a well-trodden path for baby boomers.
“The kids moved out, we needed to downsize and where we ended up was determined by what we could afford,” Shaynna explains.
Hawthorn also happens to be where Steve’s gym is, and he wasted no time in roping his wife into attending every fitness class.
“I’ve always done yoga and Pilates, but I don’t do a lot of boot camp stuff,” Shaynna says. “But now Steve has this private gym, I decided to give it a crack.”
Shaynna with Selling Houses Australia‘s Andrew Winter and Charlie Albone.
It’s safe to say Shaynna is rarely not busy. Season 11 of Selling Houses Australia is on air at the moment – and filming is well underway for the new season of The Block, on which Shaynna is a judge. It’s going to be another big year!
“It sounds clichéd, but I’m so lucky, because I love both shows,” she enthuses.
“On Selling Houses, I’m part of the process. I love working with things from the ground up, so I find that quite easy. Whereas with The Block, I’m standing back and looking at the work.
“It’s the best of both worlds!”
