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. 

24 Hour Make-Over with Luxaflex, Colin, Justin and Channel Ten's The Living Room

Last Friday night on Channel Ten’s The Living Room, saw interior design gurus Colin and Justin, with the help of the team from Luxaflex transform the Parramatta home – a home still stuck in the ages, into something more chic and modern. Colin and Justin have renovated some of the world’s worst homes in the USA, UK, Spain and Canada, and we got the chance to see their marvelous ideas come to life.

This home had been crying out for a good make-over for decades. From the red patterned carpet, to the red velvet chairs, and the yellow window drapes and the gold velvet couches, this house was still living in the 70s.

The horrible yellow draped window was removed, and instead replaced with LUXAFLEX NEWSTYLE® Polyresin Shutters. Polyresin Shutters were also used as a room divider, to divide the kitchen from the dining and lounge room area, and act as a feature wall – showing how versatile LUXAFLEX® NEWSTYLE® Polyresin Shutters can be. The use of Polyresin Shutters brought an elegant modern touch to the Parramatta home, and was the perfect colour compliment to the fresh yellow walls.

LUXAFLEX NEWSTYLE® Polyresin Shutters also bought a soft elegance into the room. The best part is that it guarantees to not blister, peel, flake, corrode or fade due to the technologically advanced Polyresin compound used in the shutters. It creates a soft, matte lustre finish due to the PolySatin finish of the shutters. 

Here are a few key highlights about LUXAFLEX NEWSTYLE® Polyresin Shutters:

-          Durable: LUXAFLEX NEWSTYLE® Polyresin Shutters are virtually maintenance free, because they are not painted, so will never blister, peel, flake, corrode or fade. They are also unaffected by water or wood-destroying organisms and are UV-stabalised.

-          Child Safe: Because there are no dangling cords, LUXAFLEX NEWSTYLE® Polyresin Shutters are a safe window covering product for children and pets.

-          Australian Made: LUXAFLEX NEWSTYLE® Polyresin Shutters are made in Australia and manufactured with a unique vinyl compound called polyresin to minimise impact upon the environment.

-          Easy to clean: In most cases, soap and water is all it takes to remove unsightly blemishes.

-          Energy Efficient: Their macrocellular construction creates effective dead-air insulation and heat exchange is greatly reduced due to the vinyl’s low conductivity.

-          Sustainable: The efficient design and durability of the shutters means that they will last many times longer than a traditional blind or shade.

-          Non-toxic: The safety of vinyl has been confirmed in more than 50 years of scientific study.

To learn more about LUXAFLEX NEWSTYLE® Polyresin Shutters, visit http://luxaflex.com.au/

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 – Run down family home

The LifeStyle Channel’s Selling Houses Australia Episode 3 aired last night, and from what we saw, a little inspiration is all that’s needed to refresh your home!

The Story: The Ellis’s old Queenslander home was once full of love and laughter, but now it’s just a sad reminder of the past. Originally it was home to Susan, Erroll and their 4 kids. But Susan and Erroll split, the kids grew up and moved out and the only ones left were Erroll and son Peter.  Tragically, Erroll died 2 years ago. The house holds too many bad memories, so the whole family agrees it’s time to sell and for Peter to leave his ghosts behind.

PROBLEM: The house was stuck in a time warp. It was more like walking onto a set from the Sullivans than a stylish Queenslander home. Could this run down family home be transformed into a modern and comfortable family home?

SOLUTION: The windows on the front of the house weren’t very big and didn’t add a lot to the character to the interior. Luxaflex Newstyle Polyresin Shutters in White were installed as the horizontal lines add width to the windows and perfectly suit the Queenslander look.  In the bedrooms Luxaflex Dual Roller Blinds in Ultraweave (a Sunscreen fabric) in colour Midnight and Sunseeker (a Translucent fabric) in the colour Ice, were used to offer flexibility in the rooms to adjust both light levels and night-time privacy in the one application.

All Luxaflex Window Coverings were supplied and installed by Luxaflex Window Fashions Gallery, CBD Blinds in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland.

Selling Houses Australia airs every Wednesday, 8:30pm on The LifeStyle Channel, only on Foxtel.

Selling Houses Australia - Nightmare Investment

The Lifestyle Channel's Selling Houses Australia Episode 4

ERSKINEVILLE - Nightmare Investment

OVERVIEW: When Natasha lived overseas, she thought she would get ahead in the property market by purchasing a 2-bedroom terrace in Sydney's inner western suburb, Erskineville, without inspecting it first. Big mistake. Damp walls, dark, pokey rooms and a dilapidated kitchen were all in need of urgent renovation.

PROBLEM: Natasha's terrace was a wreck with crumbly walls due to rising damp. The home had lost all of its original unique features - except for the windows.

SOLUTION: Luxaflex Newstyle Polyresin Shutters in 'White' were the only solution for the terrace. They were selected to help bring back life to the original windows and were the ideal option to sustain a damp, humid environment.



HOW IT WORKS: Luxaflex Newstyle Polyresin Shutters offer the traditional look of Plantation Style Shutters without the maintenance problems. They are manufactured from a unique Polyresin compound, are water resistant and will not warp, shrink, peel or fade, making them ideal for inside and outside the home - particularly in Natasha's damp terrace.

Selling Houses Australia airs every Wednesday, 8:30pm on The Lifestyle Channel, only on Foxtel.

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