Rose Quartz and Serenity

For the first time, two shades, Rose Quartz and Serenity have been blended together to create the new PANTONE Colour of the year. It represents a balance between a blushing pink with peach undertones and the cooler tranquil blue. In an ever increasing hectic world, the pairing of the two colours celebrates ideas around balance, tranquility, inner peace and gender equality and so much more. It has been influenced by a desire to disconnect from technology and unwind, helping homeowners to create a space that feels welcoming, peaceful and composed. 

Serenity, a pale blue colour is a calming tone. Blue matches almost any décor so look for ways that you can bring calm and quiet into your space – pictures of the sunset or even the ocean. Find and print an image that you love and place it where you will see it every day, for instance, on your bedside table to be seen as you wake every morning. Let that calm inspire you throughout the year. Get the look with Luxaflex Duette Shades in Symphony Fabric, colour: Colonial Blue. 

Rose Quartz is a fun colour that can inspire warmth. Its delicate pink colour can range from very light (almost white) to medium dark in intensity. Choose various hues of this soothing pink sunset shade to create a playful, romantic and inviting corner in a bedroom, study or living area. Get the look with Luxaflex Silhouette Shadings in Originale Fabric, colour: White Dove. 

Selling Houses Australia - Baulkham Hills

The LifeStyle Channel's Selling Houses Australia Episode 6 Season 9

The Story: Michael is the sole owner of the house in Baulkham Hills, a boom area where properties like his are selling for over a million dollars. With retirement looming, Michael thought that this was his chance to cash in - but not everyone was as keen on his home as he was, and it just languished on the market.

Michael believes the problem is that his house is old and tired and is competing with many new builds. Also, the street number 95F makes people think that the home is on a battle-axe block. So it is time to transform his home from ordinary to extraordinary.

The Problem: Michael had done everything right to try to sell his property. He gave it a new paint job, a new roof, and it was clean and tidy. The main issue was that the house was just ordinary. In a saturated market such as Baulkham Hills, standing out of the crowd is essential - something that his house did not do.

The Solution: Transform ordinary to extraordinary by injecting some style into the house. This forgettable house needed a little floor adjustment to get the most out of it. The office in the master bed dressing area was moved, and turned into a room of its own. One of the doors leading to the garage was blocked off, making the office a room of its own right and not a walk through.
Now that the office was out of the dressing area, there was no need for a second walk-in robe. By demolishing this, the floor space and shape of the family room was increased.

Laminate was used in the kitchen, hall and family room, while all the luxury areas like the lounge and bedrooms were carpeted. This helped the floor plan flow and connected each area of the house together.

The kitchen had good bones, but looked tired. A massive respray brought the kitchen back to life. Luxaflex Duette Shades in LiteRise and Vertiglide operating systems in 20mm Architella Elan Translucent fabric (Daisy White) were installed. The Duette Vertiglide was the ideal solution for the kitchen sliding door. The fabric runs from side to side, vertically suspended from a single track system, therefore is the best solution for sliding doors or as a sliding room divider, whilst also providing superior energy efficiency in heating and cooling.

A modern palette of grey on the walls and bold tones in the bedrooms brought the interior up to date, and Luxaflex Duette Shades in LiteRise operating system in 20mm Architella Elan Translucent fabric (Daisy White) was the perfect neutral match for the bedrooms.

The light-blocking pergola was removed, and replaced with the Luxaflex Garda Folding Arm Awning to allow light into the house on those darker days. The Garda Awning was an ideal solution for sun protection over the expansive entertaining area of the backyard. With an oval design, the Garda awning added an elegant appearance to the Baulkham Hills home.

All Luxaflex® Window Coverings were supplied and installed by Luxaflex® Gallery dealer Master Quality Shades in Castle Hill, Sydney.

Selling Houses Australia – Road kill to riches

The LifeStyle Channel’s Selling Houses Australia Episode 8 aired last night.

The Story: Grace and Michael Steven have more in common than just their wedding rings, they are both butchers by trade. Life was good for this couple, their business was growing and they bought their federation house in 2005 with plans to renovate. Shortly after moving in, their lives took a big turn. Grace became pregnant with their first child, quickly followed by their second, third and fourth! Their once successful business has gone belly up, leaving them with a debt of epic proportions. Grace and Michael want top dollar and their home has been on the market for eighteen long months.

The Problem: Grace and Michael’s home is a large federation semi, with many beautiful features but not only is the house is run down, it backs onto a very busy six-lane highway! They needed buyers to see past the busy road, were the Selling Houses team able to transform this home from road kill to riches?

The Solution: Luxaflex Newstyle Polyresin Shutters in white were installed in the casual lounge area to match the existing shutters in the formal lounge. Luxaflex Roman Shades were installed in Kruger fabric in colour Vanilla as they matched the horizontal lines in the shutters and gave more character to the windows. Luxaflex Roller Blinds also in Kruger fabric in colour Vanilla were used in the back room study area as this part of the house didn’t have as many features, but continuity was kept by keeping the same fabric as the Roman Shades.

Front Lounge Room - After

All Luxaflex Window Coverings were supplied and installed by Luxaflex Window Fashions Gallery, Park Shutters & Blinds in Five Dock, New South Wales.


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

Selling Houses Australia – Pets’ Paradise

The LifeStyle Channel’s Selling Houses Australia Episode 7 aired last night; see how the team transformed this pets’ paradise into a stylish family home.

The Story: Taking that first step on the property ladder can be tough, so tough that many young couples can’t do it without help from their Mum and Dad.  Amanda Baxter was lucky enough to have her stepfather Wayne when she and her partner wanted to buy a home for themselves and their children. In fact, they were so lucky Wayne stumped up 50% of the mortgage payments. But when Amanda and her partner split, they could no longer afford the repayments. Wayne now wants to retire, so the whole family needs their money out.

 The Problem: Although the house is located in the respectable Perth suburb of Hamersley, animal lover Amanda treats the home more like it’s a city farm. The dogs have dug up the yard, the chickens roost in the house and the cats roam as they please. Amanda and her children are perfectly happy living in pets’ paradise, buyers on the other hand, find the smell the pets create to be unbearable!

The Solution: The house was very plain with a mix of ‘70s and ‘80s styled architecture. Luxaflex® Reverse Roman Shades were used to add interest to the windows of the home, softening the harshness of the thievery square architecture. 

All Luxaflex Window Coverings were supplied and installed by Luxaflex Window Fashions Gallery, Sola Shade, Osborne Park, Perth.

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

Selling Houses Australia – Thinking outside of the box

The LifeStyle Channel’s Selling Houses Australia Episode 6 aired last night, watch how the team turns the box like home into a modern masterpiece.

The Story: People sell houses for many reasons, Shawnah and Frank want to sell their home to have a baby! The only way this couple can add to their family is through IVF, but without the money from the sale of their Mudgee investment property, their plans must be put on hold. The house is a pint size ex-milk bar. It is the cheapest house in Mudgee, on the market for just $180,000 but still nobody wants it.

*Mudgee Home - Backyard

Problem: One look at the outside of the home tells you why – it’s not a house, it’s a box without a single redeeming feature. The team will really had to think outside the box to fix this one!

Solution: As the house sits right on the footpath, Luxaflex Dual Roller Blinds in Mauritius Blockout fabric in colour Champagne and Proscreen Sunscreen fabric in White were installed to give privacy whilst letting the natural light filter in during the day and to also give privacy during the evening.  Luxaflex Dual Roller Blinds don’t have a lot of ‘bulk’ to them, so they are perfect for small windows and little houses.

Big doors in bedroom one would make the room feel too enclosed, so instead of having a wardrobe door, the team installed a Luxaflex Panel Glide Blind in Mauritius fabric in colour Champagne, to add an element of softness to the room.  

All Luxaflex Window Coverings were supplied and installed by Luxaflex dealer, Material World, Mudgee, New South Wales

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