Selling Houses Australia – The House by the Sea

The LifeStyle Channel’s Selling Houses Australia Episode 13 Season 8

The Story: Angela Service always dreamed of a little holiday house by the sea. So when she saw a pint-sized ex motel unit at the bargain price $79,000, she snapped it up. For a while she made great use of the place, then life got in the way. Now she’s desperate to sell, but in 2 years hasn’t had a single offer. Can Charlie and Shaynna think outside the box and turn tiny into terrific?

The Problem:  The Batehaven home was a tiny home, full of little challenges. The entrance led straight into the lounge room, where the lounge room was enough to send buyers away because it was small, had no character and connected to the kitchen and dining room. The blue wall and cupboards just gave the room a tacky and run-down look.

The bathroom was literally a hole in the wall, where the water tank was smack bang right next to the sink, and not to mention the horrible bright blue walls. The outside of the home was not any better. It lacked character, was small and very bare. And then there was the very tiny courtyard screaming out for a transformation.

The Solution: For the interior, a lot had to be fitted into the tiny space. Smart hidden storage space was created throughout the home, as to not take up anymore room. Space efficient appliances were installed and a brand new coat of paint, and new floor boards in the lounge and kitchen area created that whole new difference to the lounge room. Grey, navy and cream tones were used in the lounge and kitchen area to give the room a sophisticated look. Complimented with Roller Blinds in the fabric Havana Blockout and colour Fog, the grey tones of the Roller Blinds was the perfect match for the navy wall, and the boat feel of the room.

The bathrooms were given new fittings to add a bit of bling, where cupboards were added for extra storage along with the Luxaflex® Roller Blinds to compliment the white-toned bathroom.

The master bedroom was given a brand new bed with under compartments of storage – perfect for a small space, which added great functionality. The bare sliding door window was given a revamp and replaced with Luxaflex® Roller Blinds.

The fabric Soltec and Silpcast Blockout in the colours White and Versailles were used throughout all the bedrooms and were the perfect match for the décor and colour tones, working with the white and neutral tones of the bedrooms, but also adding a pop of colour.

All Luxaflex® Window Coverings were supplied and installed by Luxaflex® Gallery dealer Platinum Blinds and Awnings.  

Watch Selling Houses Australia every Wednesday, 8.30pm AEDT on The LifeStyle Channel, only on Foxtel. 

Selling Houses Australia – Great Bones and Character, But That’s About It

The LifeStyle Channel’s Selling Houses Australia Episode 12 Season 8

The Story: Divorce can lead to some odd living arrangements, as Cherie and Bryce found out. The couple bought an old Queenslander as their family home and for time they were very happy. When Cherie and Bryce split, Cherie and her new partner bought Bryce out. But Bryce didn’t move out, he stayed put as the tenant and moved his new partner in! This complex plan was to keep a stable base for the kids, but now they’ve grown up its time to sever ties. But there’s one big problem, the place is in such a state, nobody wants to buy.

The Problem:  This house had plenty of space, great bones and character. But the main thing that kept buyers away was its lack of curb appeal. The exterior of the home looked awful. All the paint on the exterior of the house and on the fence was beyond pealing. It looked as if it had gone to hell and back. The concrete path was ugly and overgrown with weed and grass.

The entrance into the home led directly into a bedroom, which was completely off-putting for buyers and the lay-out of the home needed a lot of rejigging. The bathroom was too small for the size of the house, and placement of rooms throughout the home did not make sense.

The Solution: The home was automatically given street appeal with a new coat of paint on the house and fence – and what a huge difference that made. The grey tones of the house matched with the white fence brought life back into the home. It gave it a modern touch, and made it pop against all the other houses on the street.

A wall was created in the entrance bedroom to create two useable rooms so that buyers would not be walking straight into a bedroom, but instead a foyer. The wall meant that a functional foyer and functional bedroom were created.

At the back of the house, doors were blocked up and new doorways created and walls knocked down or moved. The old bathroom was transformed into something spectacular. It was bigger, better and even had a bath tub. 89mm NEWSTYLE® Polyresin Shutters in the colour White were installed in the bathroom, the perfect complement for the white and grey tones of the room. NEWSTYLE® Polyresin Shutters are perfect for bathrooms because they will never blister, peel, flake, corrode or fade, even under intense sunlight or exposure to water due to the technologically advanced Polyresin compound.

Two of the old bedrooms were transformed into a fabulous master bedroom with a walk-in ensuite – something which property buyers really value today. Again, NEWSTYLE® Polyresin Shutters were installed in the bathroom to create an elegant look with the soft, matte lustre look of fresh paint.

Roller Blinds in Blockout Cotton White and External Louvres outside the windows were chosen for the home because they help battle the Queensland heat and harsh sun. Metal Lourve Awnings are extremely effective for providing privacy, light control and air flow because you can control light and privacy by adjusting the awning panels.

All Luxaflex® Window Coverings were supplied and installed by Luxaflex® Gallery dealer CBD Blinds in Milton, QLD.

Watch Selling Houses Australia every Wednesday, 8.30pm AEDT on The LifeStyle Channel, only on Foxtel. 

A Fish Out Of Water

The LifeStyle Channel’s Selling Houses Australia Episode 11 Season 8

The Story: Margarita’s Art Deco home is a fish out of water. Nestled amidst an industrial suburb, it’s hardly your standard offering. The style is quirky, the floor plan crazy and the décor plain outlandish. It’s a sale that would challenge the most seasoned agent, yet Margarita wants to sell the place herself.

The Problem:  The art deco home had a lot of difficult issues, where the art deco design and look of the home polarised buyers. The house lacked street appeal because the garden was messy and the front fence was literally falling apart.

Also, in a million dollar plus home, buyers expect a big kitchen, and the kitchen in this home was far from big. There was also a bedroom that was literally in the middle of the house, which wasn’t very functional, and the home had a very dark and heavy feel.

The Solution: Broaden the appeal of the home without losing the home’s wow factor as the Brookvale house demands a grand approach.

The backyard was given that little special touch – new landscaping, plants and a beautiful pergola. Recycled timber posts were used to enhance the aged and worn in look. The pergola looked formal, yet still keeping with the heritage feel of the home, giving the backyard a whole lot of character.

The wall in between the kitchen and dining room was taken away and the floors were levelled to create a fantastic looking kitchen with more room and an island bench. High end finishes and kitchen appliances along with the dramatic black and white floor tiles added to the big money feel and the prefect compliment for the era of the house.

Traditional and Tiered Modern Roman Shades in the fabric Sheer Linen and colour White Dawn were also installed throughout the home to add a modern, yet classic touch, perfect for the art deco home. The neutral tone of the Modern Roman Shades made it easy to match any tone of colour. 

The non-functional bedroom in the middle of the house was changed into a living room, which made a lot more sense. A feature wall was painted a rich teal colour to add that pop of colour, which was a huge transformation from the old looking shades of brown, cream and maroon. Luxaflex® Duette® Architella® Shades in the fabric Menage and colour Daisy White were installed into the new living room. The neutral colour of the shade was the perfect complement to the colourful teal feature wall. Luxaflex® Duette® Architella® shades feature a patented honeycomb-within-a-honeycomb construction dramatically increasing the product’s ability to insulate in the winter and cool against the summer heart.

Duette Shades in the fabric Sheer Linen were also installed throughout the home. It gave the home a more open and airy feel, as a lot of the rooms throughout the Brookvale home were looking dark and claustrophobic. Duette Shades offer the ideal balance between function and energy efficiency together with versatility and style.

The master bedroom was transformed from uninspiring to inspiring. A new bed, a pop of teal colour and Modern Roman Shades in the fabric Sheer Linen and colour White Dawn were enough to give the master bedroom some selling power and that wow factor it was lacking.

Overall, the house had been transformed, adding a modern feel, yet still being sympathetic to its art deco period. The great mix of old and new will hopefully appeal to a wider range of home buyers.

All Luxaflex® Window Coverings were supplied and installed by Luxaflex® Gallery dealer Stuart Blinds in Manly, NSW. 

Watch Selling Houses Australia every Wednesday, 8.30pm AEDT on The LifeStyle Channel, only on Foxtel. 

Selling Houses Australia – From Liability to Goldmine

The LifeStyle Channel’s Selling Houses Australia Episode 10 Season 8

The Story: If you think an investment property will make you rich, think again. Anne and Garry’s house in Perth’s outer suburbs should have been a goldmine, instead it’s a liability. First the suburb failed to grow, then the house started falling apart. Anne and Garry spend every weekend mending, fixing, pruning, mowing and its draining their energy and resources. They want to cut their losses and sell up, but one look at the house and its clear why no one is buying.

The Problem:  This house was a cross between a new-age church and a Swiss Chalet. The home was okay as a rental, but buyers expected a lot more. The home was full of  little horrors and the actual shape of the house could not be changed. The exterior had horrible brick work and 70s style glasswork, enough to scare any buyer away. Not to mention, that there was an overgrown palm tree in the middle of the garden.

The interior of the house looked old, stale and stuck in the ages. There was an ugly ladder leading into the attic smack bang in the middle of the living room. Not only did it look out of place, but was also very unsafe.

The walls inside the home were made out of brick, creating a very outdated and cold look throughout the home. The dining room had poor window coverage, where the harsh Western Australia light was coming through and blinding the dining area. The house was calling for a make-over.

The Solution: The exterior of the home was given a new transformation. The horrible brick work was covered with acrylic render and a new pergola added, which took decades off the look of the house. The 70s looking glass was replaced with new glass which improved the outside of the property, but also losing the ugly yellow tint on the inside of the home.

The interior of the home followed a simple modern theme, where decorating was concentrated on high impact areas throughout the home. The interior brick walls of the living room were banished and covered with plastered wood. New carpet was also added to the living room to create a brighter and lighter room, more full of life.

The kitchen cupboards were given a new paint job, which gave it a fresh new look. Roller Blinds in the fabric Temple in the colour Soft Dove were installed, and the perfect window covering for the harsh Western Australia sun. The colour Soft Dove was the perfect match to the brown brick wall in the dining room, as it added a pop of subtle colour against the wall, but also complimented the white cupboards and appliances.

The master bedroom was given a new soft grey carpet and up to date and modern décor and bed. Luxaflex® Duette® Architella® shades were installed in the fabric Elan in the colour Dessert Sand. The Duette® Architella® gave the master bedroom that special something. It finished the new up to date feel, but at the same time, being so versatile in colour.

Luxaflex® Duette® Architella® shades feature a patented honeycomb-within-a-honeycomb construction dramatically increasing the product’s ability to insulate in the winter and cool against the summer heart – perfect for the Western Australian climate.

All Luxaflex® Window Coverings were supplied and installed by Luxaflex® Gallery dealers Sunmaster Canning Vale and Sunmaster Joondalup, both in WA.

Watch Selling Houses Australia every Wednesday, 8.30pm AEDT on The LifeStyle Channel, only on Foxtel. 

Selling Houses Australia – The 70’s Spanish style hacienda

The LifeStyle Channel’s Selling Houses Australia Episode 9 Season 8

The Story: Ross and Margot’s house is the odd one out; A 70’s Spanish style hacienda, nestled into quiet beachside suburbia. The exterior is more Costa del Sol than Aussie coast, but what lies beyond the doors is enough to send buyers running. Truckie Ross would love to retire, but with no buyer on the horizon, he’s stuck behind the wheel.

The Problem:  The interior of the home was full of mismatched furniture and mismatched designs. While Ross and Margot may have been happy to live in the odd architecture and feature designs, potential buyers were not.

The exterior of the home did not have any street appeal, where the pale blue paint looked cold and uninviting. The home did have a pool, a major positive, but the fencing around the pool was in bad shape and in the wrong position, where two small spaces were created from the fence, limiting the backyard entertaining area.

The rooms in the house all had dark coloured feature walls, which made the house look even smaller than what it was, and the colours were all mismatched – no consistency whatsoever.

The Solution: It was time to get rid of all the visual clutter, both inside and outside of the home.
The exterior of the home was given a new coat of paint. A warmer colour was used, but also keeping the Mediterranean feel of the house. The pool fence was also repositioned to create a bigger space in the backyard.

All the eclectic features inside the home were also dealt with. Instead of removing the hideous tiles in the bathroom, which is a major cost, the tiles were instead sprayed over. The new wall along with the new tap-wear helped to bring the bathroom back up to date.

The dark feature walls were replaced with a single colour coat of paint, which helped open up the smaller spaces, but at the same time created a better sense of continuity for the interior of the house. New carpet around the house helped to add a touch of luxury.

A mixture of Roller Blinds and Dual Roller Blinds (in the fabric Mauritius and colour Drizzle) were installed, and framed the windows perfectly, and added great functionality. The neutral tones of the blinds made it a very versatile look for the home, but was also the perfect for the décor and new colour scheme, and added that special modern touch.

Luxaflex® Dual Roller Blinds will allow the new owners of the home to combine the functionality of two different fabrics in the one roller blind system offering flexibility to adjust both light levels and night time privacy in the one application.

All the special touches made this house more modern, and now potential buyers could what a great house it actually was without being distracted by all the eclectic design features.

All Luxaflex® Window Coverings were supplied and installed by Luxaflex® Gallery dealer Mal Glanville & Co, NSW.

Watch Selling Houses Australia every Wednesday, 8.30pm AEDT on The LifeStyle Channel, only on Foxtel.