Design judge Drew Heath knows his House Rules

He’s been in the industry for more than three decades but Drew Heath admits that signing on as a House Rules judge is still taking some getting used to.

The Tasmanian-born, Sydney-based architect has been a judge on the Seven series for the past two seasons and says he is constantly impressed by the contestants’ work.

“I think surprise is never to be under-rated in architecture or interior design,” he says by phone from his home in Avalon. “And the contestants, because they’re amateur, will always try and propose things that are sometimes thought about and sometimes accidents, and that always continues to surprise me and I enjoy that.”

Though he admits to still battling nerves, the 49-year-old father of four says he’s slowly become more comfortable on camera.

There have been some rocky moments on set though, most notably his highly publicised clashes with his flamboyant co-star Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, who along with Pacific Magazines’ Wendy Moore makes up the show’s judging panel.

“I’ve walked off a couple of times,” Heath says.

“Laurence and I come from different design backgrounds. I often like to place myself in a contemporary Australian design background and Laurence can place himself wherever he likes.”

Now in its sixth season the hit series is approaching its 2018 finale, with the three remaining teams set to be whittled down to two in tonight’s episode.

The teams have been tasked with upgrading the Woonoona, NSW, home of young mum Chelsea Dunley, who along with her husband Wayde was short-listed to appear on this season of House Rules before Wayde was killed in a rock-fishing accident.

“It’s fantastic that HR has done what they’ve done,” Heath says of the project, which will be the last renovation for one team.

WA’s Chiara and David Clarson are up against Queensland couple Mel and Dave Willmot, and NSW’s Toad Heffernan and Mandy Stone.

Heath says it’s difficult to pick a winner from the remaining teams.

“I think there’s three different teams: there’s the emotional team, there’s the surprisingly consistent team of Toad and Mandy, and then there’s the competitors,” he says. “So I think that just makes for a good competition.”

House Rules airs on July 24 at 7.30pm on Seven/GWN7.