Selling Houses Australia – Lord Karl and Lady Bess’ Medieval Mess

The LifeStyle Channel’s Selling Houses Australia Episode 4 Season 8

The Story: Lord Karl and Lady Bess are mad for everything medieval. They live, eat, breathe the days gone by, leaving little time for the real world. Their house, in the Sydney suburb of St Marys, is packed to the gunnels with medieval mess and unfinished renovations. They desperately need to sell and thought advertising on social media would do the job. Luckily, they have Sir Winter and his trusty knights to save the day.

 The Problem: The median price in St. Marys is $300,000 less than the greater Sydney area. This means that it is actually a fantastic place for investors. Houses seem to be snapped up very quickly in the area, except for Karl and Bess’ home. This home has been a dumping ground for the busy parents who work from home. The house was full of clutter, without any functional living space, and the kitchen, a half-finished job. The outside of the home was a complete buyer let down, where the backyard has an ugly landscape. 

The Solution: Transform the home from tip, to tip-top. A massive de-clutter, and functional storage was created throughout the home. The drab looking fabric curtains inside the home were replaced with Luxaflex® Wood Essence Venetians and Roller Blinds (Waratah fabric in the colour Bounty). 

Wood Essence Venetians provide the look of real wood combined with the quality and durability of advanced technology that is resistant to discolouration and warping. They are perfect for high humidity areas, where regular timber venetians would be unsuitable – perfect for the Australian climate. Whether you want privacy or to allow filtered light through, Wood Essence Venetians give you complete control over the amount of light you let into the room.

The old run-down window awning of the home was replaced with the Luxaflex® Canopy Awning. The Canopy Awning were placed over the windows, and are a great way of providing weather protection to the home, but also gives your window a sense of identity and decoration. Luxaflex® Canopy Awnings are made from rust-free extruded and die-cast aluminium, and the plastic components contain ultraviolet radiation stabilised polymers, therefore are long lasting and low maintenance.

All Luxaflex® Window Coverings were supplied and installed by Luxaflex® Gallery dealer Image Carpets & Blinds in Emu Plains, NSW.

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

Selling Houses Australia – The 7 Siblings Who Inherited a Haberfield Home

The LifeStyle Channel’s Selling Houses Australia Episode 3 Season 8

The Story: Selling a house with two vendors can be hard enough, but how about selling with seven squabbling siblings? The trouble began when the Chols inherited a run-down renovator from their late mother. They wanted to sell, but couldn’t decide on a price or how to present the place. Months of discussions became years, while the house sat untouched and unsold. 

The Problem: This federation property was once a loved family home, but the beauty of the home had long faded away – something that often happens to a deceased estate. Buyers just passed by the home, and with time, rot and decay settled in. From the neglected exteriors, to the outdated interiors, every room in the home was wearing away, where the kitchen was in need of an extensive transformation. The front and backyard were also looking old and stale, and because the home is listed in a heritage conservation area, there are limits to what sorts of renovations can be taken outside the home.

The Solution: Transform the neglected exterior and outdated interior to give the home a near $2 million price tag. The Haberfield home was given some landscaping love, and the inside of the home was given a modern touch. From a new bathroom to a renovated open kitchen area, the home was given contemporary touches, but also keeping with the heritage of the home. 

The Luxaflex team installed Roller Blinds (Temple fabric in the colour Cotton White) and Roman Shades (Prague fabric in the colour Cottontail) throughout the home. Roman Shades are simple, functional, beautiful and full of versatility and have the ability to adjust light in any room whilst beautifying a window at the same time. Roman Shades in this Haberfield home compliments the heritage of the home whilst adding a contemporary look and feel.

The use of Roller Blinds creates a simple, yet aesthetically attractive choice for the Haberfield home. Because of the simplicity of Roller Blinds, it fits closely to the window, and so blends in well with the décor of the home.

All Luxaflex® Window Coverings were supplied and installed by Luxaflex® Gallery dealer A Style of Shade in Double Bay, NSW.

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

DESIGN TRENDS FOR 2015

A new year brings with it the opportunity to refresh the interiors of our homes. Looking to emerging design trends is a smart way to ensure your interior has longevity and makes the most of the products that are becoming available on the market.

But what are the fresh design trends for 2015? We’ve discovered three that are going to give your home a new lease on life this year.

Earthy Botanic

Both Dulux and Paint Place revealed deep greens as the major players in their colour trend forecasts for the coming year, with Dulux in particular giving a generous nod to the desire to have greenery in both our homes and workspaces.

While Paint Place’s Forge Ahead trend had a muddier and moodier colour palette at play, the general consensus in the marketplace is that a desire to get back to nature is a strong one for 2015.

Look for green feature walls and emerald homewares to become prominent, indoor plants (and pots) to grow in popularity and vertical gardens to dominate balconies and courtyards.

If you’re looking to channel this vibe in your own home, connect with nature by opting for

LUXAFLEX Pirouette® Shadings, which will allow you to see your garden from inside your home, let in light but still retain a sense of privacy.

Baroque Revival

Love Game of Thrones? You’re set to revel in the medieval interior revival that’s been inspired by this TV genre. Leading UK-based trend forecaster Victoria Renshaw who presented at Australia’s Décor + Design Show says that people are looking to history for inspiration, with sumptuous fabrics like velvet, damask patterns on walls and brass decor making a comeback. Expect to see vintage store finds with a baroque quality returning, too. A sense of opulence is strong in this trend.

Pantone’s colour of the year for 2015, Marsala, is a rich red that further proves the baroque interior aesthetic is set to return. Its deep, romantic qualities will give your home a soulful and seductive edge, so expect to see more of it pop up across homewares and fabrics.

If you want to play to this alluring interior aesthetic, look to the introduction of the latest Silhouette Shadings Designer Series fabrics. The colours French Linen, Myst, Brio, Mystere, Monaco, Chateau and Nouveau all evoke classical elegance in a contemporary and striking way.

Future Industrial

Industrial design is going to be pushed further in 2015, with darker and moodier colour stories at play. Expect to see charcoal grey, dirty blue and muddy purple paints making their presence known, while raw textures like weathered woods and beaten metals will be prominent.

Both Colourways (a leader in local trend forecasting) and Victoria Renshaw seem to agree on this, with Victoria pointing out that the metals we’ll see won’t resemble the shiny varieties that were big last year, but materials that are beaten, stamped and chiselled to look as though they’ve been through something.

A more masculine interior trend with a lot of hardness at play, you can elevate this look in your own home with a set of LUXAFLEX® Newstyle Polyresin Shutters, which will further enhance the rawness of the Future Industrial look

Selling Houses Australia – The 7 person Kongwak Cottage

The LifeStyle Channel’s Selling Houses Australia Episode 2 of Season 8

The Story: You’ve heard of the old lady who lived in a shoe? This is the story of 7 people, in a cramped cottage with one wardrobe! The Soumilas family bought their cottage as a fixer upper, with plans to sell and trade up. But 18 months later, they’re still waiting for a buyer. With 4 kids crammed in one bedroom and a single bathroom for the whole family, a sale can’t come soon enough.

The Problem: The Kongwak home is actually a lovely little place in a rural location, which is only a short 20 minute drive to the Victorian coastline. The problem is who would buy this home? The home has continuously failed to attract buyers, where one of the biggest issues was the rickety asbestos shed. The backyard also had no personality, and was looking a little rundown, and buyers expect so much more from a backyard and garden these days. There was also the issue of lack of storage, which made the interior of the house look cluttered and a lot smaller than what they really were. The cottage just needed an overall revamp. 

The Solution: Make the home appeal to as many markets as possible. The Kongwak home was given a complete make-over, inside and out.

Brock from Invisage Interiors & Quality Window Furnishings installed Roller Blinds and Roman Shades in Temple fabric in the colour Linen into the Bedrooms and Living Room. The colour Linen was a perfect match for the dramatic blue wall paint, where the beauty of the fabric can be seen through the use of the finest metallic threads that project through the surface, adding lustre and interest.


The Temple range is treated with DURAGUARD® Fabric Protector and SANITIZED® Antimicrobial Protection and includes 9 matching translucent and blockout alternatives, allowing seamless co-ordination throughout the home.

All Luxaflex Window Coverings were supplied and installed by Authorised Luxaflex Dealer Invisage Interiors & Quality Window Furnishings in Inverloch, Victoria.

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

Selling Houses Australia - The Dapto Home

The LifeStyle Channel's Selling Houses Australia Episode 1 of Season 8 aired last night.

The Story: Sharon and Brad are facing financial disaster. They thought they had the perfect business opportunity, but when their investor pulled out, they were left with a mountain of debts. The only escape is to sell their Dapto home for the best price possible. 

The Problem: Sharon and Brad's house was a sizeable property, just two decades out of date, where all the signs of wear and tear were showing. The other problem was that property buyers could get a brand new house and land package for the same price as this two decade old home. And there's also the fact that there is a railway line right behind their home. 

The Solution: The Dapto home was given a complete interior revamp, where a sleek window transformation was created with Luxaflex Roller Blinds in the rumpus room, formal lounge and master bedroom. Moorea fabric in the colour White was mainly used, with Harper in Glacier and Ultraweave Plus in Midnight making their notable appearance. Ultraweave Plus provides a level of day time privacy without compromising your view with a 6% openness factor. 

All Luxaflex Window Coverings were supplied and installed by Luxaflex Window Fashions Gallery Kiama Window Fashions in Kiama, New South Wales. 

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