Situated halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide, and nestled in the green foothills of a long-dormant volcano, the peaceful regional town of Mount Gambier is growing in popularity, especially since Covid-19 has driven a lot of buyers into the region.
Despite this, local home owners Wendy and Tony were having trouble selling their incredibly vast, six-bedroom family home. Since their four children had all left home, and their relationship hadn’t worked out, Wendy and Tony were eager to sell and move on.
However, when their colossal home had failed to attract a suitable buyer for over a year, they called the Selling Houses Australia team in for help.
Set on close to 4,000 square metres, and with solid foundations and every amenity and feature imaginable, including a well maintained tennis court, landscaped garden, indoor spa, five-car garage, sewing room and granite-tiled formal dining room, this family home offered enormous potential.
However, the home’s size, and its price tag, were putting people off. Wendy and Tony were hoping to sell their much-loved home for over $850,000+, which is considerably higher than Mount Gambier’s median house price of $270,000.
Also, as the Selling Houses Australia team soon observed, the home’s interiors - while spacious - were rather dated, and its many rooms were somewhat cold and uninviting.
“If I was actually thinking of building a house that’s good for resale, I probably wouldn’t have built it this big,” admitted Wendy.
While a full-scale renovation was impossible due to the scale of this home, Wendy and Tony were happy to put $30,000 towards the interior renovation, and another $10,000 to the outdoors.
One of the key objectives of the partial re-design was to show potential buyers what could be possible with some initial cosmetic and structural improvements.
From an interiors perspective, the Selling Houses Australia team therefore focused on the most obvious areas of the home – the kitchen, lounge and family rooms, formal and casual dining rooms, bedrooms, and the games room. The walls and ceilings were painted in lighter, brighter colours throughout, and the cold, dark granite tiles were replaced with Bingara oak floorboards. A wall that was previously dividing the living and dining areas was also removed to create a more open-plan space. Luxaflex window coverings were also used to create impact and style in several of the newly designed spaces:
While large and filled with natural light, these central rooms of the home lacked warmth and didn’t feel particularly inviting. The team covered the dark, granite tiles with light Bingara Oak floating floorboards, painted the walls and ceilings, installed downlights, and introduced range of soft, attractive furnishings. Previously, these rooms also had dated “swag and tail” curtains – the style of which actually pre-date the home’s 1990s construction.
For interior designer Wendy Moore, replacing these window coverings with Luxaflex blinds and shades was a key priority.
“I know Wendy was attached to the old swags and tails, but they haven’t appealed to buyers in about 30 years. These new blinds will let more light into these dark spaces,” she said.
In both rooms, the team chose Luxaflex® Silhouette® Shadings in Originale fabric and Feather Fantasy colour.
Stylish and innovative, Silhouette® Shadings have unique S-shaped vanes that float between two sheer panels to beautifully diffuse the light into a room. When the vanes are tilted, you can block the outside world's view into your home. The unique design bounces incoming light up onto the ceiling and naturally brightens the space.
Though this large room – complete with a bar, foosball table, pool table, brown couches and range of sporting memorabilia – would be a dream to many, it also had a cold feel, and lacked warmth.
While budget restraints meant much of the room had to remain as is, the team did replace the window coverings in an attempt to soften the interiors – choosing a Luxaflex® LumiShade® in Mist fabric, and in Shell colour.
Offering a contemporary take on a classic window covering, the LumiShade® combines versatility and elegance, and its durability and ease of use makes it a great choice for this casual room of the home.
One of the rooms of the home that received the most attention in this Mount Gambier home was the kitchen. Despite the scale of the original home, the kitchen was previously comparably small and closed in. It also had heavy wood cabinetry that made it seem dark and uninviting.
The team injected some brightness by painting the cabinetry, removing the island bench, and replacing the existing window coverings with Luxaflex® Duette® Shades in translucent Symphony fabric.
As well as looking very modern and stylish, these shades have a unique honeycomb ‘cell’ structure that traps air and acts as an insulation barrier for windows. In fact, these smart air pockets can reduce the heat transfer through a window and reduce the average home’s heating costs by up to 43% in winter1.
The dining spaces of this home were also very much calling out for some attention. Previously these rooms were empty, and the tiled surfaces and dated curtains were in need of a style update.
The team replaced the flooring in both rooms with Bingara Oak floating floorboards, installed some downlights, painted the walls, and included some softer and more modern furnishings.
In the casual dining room, they chose Luxaflex® LumiShade® blinds in Mist Fabric and in Shell colour, and in the formal room, used Luxaflex® Silhouette® Shadings in Originale fabric and Feature Fantasy colour.
While this home has six bedrooms, the team only chose to re-design three – and re-used as much of the original furnishings as possible to save on budget.
In the master bedroom, the existing curtains were replaced with Luxaflex® Curtains in Ashlyn Sheer fabric in Mouse colour – to add a sense of luxury and sophistication.
When Tahlia Gabrielli, from Ray White Mt Gambier, coordinated an open home inspection after the renovation, she was very impressed by buyers’ feedback, and was optimistic that Tony and Wendy would achieve the sale they were looking for.
After five months on the market, the couple accepted a very impressive offer of $800,000.
If you're interested in finding out more about the window coverings used in this renovation,
The products in this episode were proudly supplied and installed by Luxaflex Window Fashions Gallery Dealer, Bridge Carpet Court Curtains & Blinds, SA.
1 Savings are based on the installation of fully-recessed, reveal-mounted Luxaflex® Duette® Architella® Shades with 20mm blockout fabric in an average home in Sydney, compared with the House Energy Rating standard of Holland Blinds from AccuRate, in that home. These calculations have been modelled by an independent third party. Savings will vary based on the window type and installation.
