LUCKY MOVE

The Block's Marty Fox has flipped 14 houses in his time, but this Victorian mansion in Melbourne holds a special place in his heart.

- Victoria Carey

Having nerves of steel is a prerequisite in Marty Fox’s business, but the latest addition to The Block team was feeling a little bit nervous before moving into his new house.

“My wife gave birth to our third child, Bonnie, the day after we moved in,” he tells me. “It was really full on because Charlotte was just so heavily pregnant. I was like, ‘Oh God, what about this baby waiting for us to be in Toorak, what a little silver spooner!’”

How much time do you spend at home? “Heaps” is Marty’s adamant reply. “My office isn’t too far from home,” this father of three explains.

What does home mean to The Block’s newest judge? “Home is where I’m able to turn off and it’s my sanctuary. It’s where I recharge. It’s my happy place,” he says. “I’m a big homebody. I love being at home. I love walking around the garden with my shoes off. I love standing there and pondering and just zoning out.”

Their last home at Middle Park was right on the beach. The beautiful Italianate mansion was supposed to be their forever home. “We outgrew it, so we bought this ugly duckling, the house that no one wanted to touch. It had been sitting on the market for nearly six months,” he explains.

This home is the 14th property the pair, who met when they were teenagers, have renovated. Their first, a one-bedroom apartment in St Kilda, was “as big as the master bedroom in this house”.