After weeks of blood, sweat and tears, shopping for cushions, wallpaper and carpet and countless nights of painting, House Rules finally has it’s winner for 2014.

While it’s no surprise that Victoria’s Adam and Lisa took out the top prize (Carole and Russ’s run-in with Candy and Ryan over the Barnardos Beach House all but sealed their loss) it seems there were more than a few fans a bit miffed (myself included) about the lack of advertising and push for public voting for the winner of House Rules 2014.

Many viewers were surprised to hear host Joh Griggs announce that voting had closed and the votes were being tallied…

So while the finale was live (the reveal of the secret rooms and winner) the voting was apparently open during the week leading up via Yahoo!7 or via text message.

The final score was made up of 50% judges scores and 50% public vote.

House Rules this season earned a nice boost in ratings with dynamic casting which brought some memorable characters (Bomber and Mel anyone?) and some nasty actions (Brooke and Carole) but this season was not without it’s downfalls, namely the backlash from fans after Maddi and Lloyds exit from the show.

Most were wanting to know why interior decorators and show judges Joe Snell and Wendy Moore were judging and critiquing work done on the landscaping and exteriors – judging that ultimately saw favorites Maddi and Lloyd leave the show and why someone more appropriate to the area wasn’t brought in to judge.

With Candy and Ryan’s exit from the show just before the finale, it all but sealed Adam and Lisa’s victory for the win.

House Rules will be back in 2015!