So many of us understand the depth and breadth of the importance of the challenge set by House Rules to renovate Sydney's Bezzina House, which is "a lifeline for patients and their families who come from country areas and stay here when they're receiving treatment for cancer at a nearby hospital".

"They can stay here for weeks, often months at a time so these apartments are actually like their home away from home when they're going through an incredibly tough time," said host Joh Griggs.

Those patients, as Bezzina House manager Denise explained, come for specialised treatment, including radiation therapy, and sometimes accompanied by children.

"Right at the moment I have family members dealing with the same thing," said a visibly shaken Aaron.

Yet to House Rules judge Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen this was instead the time to test the contestants, based on not what the client potentially wants (which, as an interior designer, he should know better) but what the competition (and the TV cameras, for that matter) need. And that included having stuffed, dead animals.

"It is specifically designed to deconstruct where they are at the moment. I'm really, really keen to get these guys out of their comfort zone," he told his fellow judges.

"I think it is really important that as designers, they demonstrate what they can do when they are doing something that they've never done before.

"It's me saying you have got to absolutely apply yourself to this one."

To me that is, to use an LLB term, "unforgivable".

To set a team, in this case Kate and Harry, a rule that requires the neoclassical designed apartment to "indulge his love of taxidermy" is, at best, in poor taste.

"I really want them to throw this back in your face," said judge Wendy Moore, but not in horror over what he has asked of them, more within the competition task itself.

"If we can find a team who can do this properly, it will be astonishing," said LLB.

Exactly.

Who wants to stare into the vacant eyes of cold, dead creatures when loved ones' lives are under threat? Who wishes for a reminder of what awaits us all, especially at such a tender time?

Only the well-heeled, over indulged Brit whose egocentrism has clearly come up this insensitive rule.

My only consoling thought was that Bezzina House would likely remove any offending carcass before a patient had to see it.

"It's not even funny ... like, it's seriously gross," complained Harry, with Kate agreeing since in every case "it's a dead animal".

"I think it's bullshit, it's disgusting, seriously disgusting," a perplexed Harry concluded. "This is the shittest rule I have ever seen."

Even so, it did occur to me that one area of taxidermy that did not require such a peacock move, and whose eyes were far too small to pose a problem, were that of mounted butterflies. And as long as you didn't take a philosophical view over the fleetingness of life, then, and only then, could you possibly conceive of taxidermy in hospital out-patient living facilities.

But I doubt LLB put that much thought into it.