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.