Home Innovations Display Centre

Fact Sheets

Outdoor Living Rooms

A few tips and tricks to turn your backyard into an Outdoor living area

Buying Blinds - What blinds are right for you?

Things to consider when purchasing blinds

Tips for your next Spring clean.

A spring clean can be as satisfying as a holiday, but where do you start?

Interior Design Made Easy

It is often difficult to decide where to begin and finally where to stop. It is a good idea to prepare and plan ahead by choosing the right colours & materials within your budget.

Heating your home: things to consider

When you are looking at new heating ideas, there are a couple of questions you may be considering: what type of heating is suitable for me? What functions do I want my heating system to have? Will I buy a new system or convert my existing unit? Alternatively, will I install particular shutters or blinds instead of a heater?

Home Energy Ratings

What can you do about giving your home an energy rating???

Designer Splashbacks

Splashbacks can be used anywhere in your home where a tile is required. They're stylish, low maintenance and not only for decorative purposes but functional. With their clean cut, contemporary appeal and the options of simple colour to photographic splashbacks, theyre undeniably the smartest choice for your home.

Alfresco Kitchen Tips

Design Outside the Box: A cleverly designed outdoor kitchen can dramatically increase a home's available entertaining space, AND its resale price...

Why Renovate a Pool?

Renovating a pool can sometimes be a daughnting task, weather is getting cold, the leaves are changing color and the warm memories of summertime fun are fading away. This is not usually the time of year that people like to think about their swimming pools, but this is really the most important time of the year to pay attention to the pool to avoid unnecessary problems and costly repairs come Springtime.

Design Tips for an Outdoor Room

Creating a truly functional and relaxing room for outdoor living is now much the same of planning your indoor rooms, it requires careful planning & yes that means doing your homework. You will need to consider architectural style, colour harmony, traffic flow, space requirements and comfort while not forgetting about privacy and creating shelter from the sun, rain and wind.

Alternative Heating & Cooling

Even for existing homes there are many ways to reduce energy bills, improve comfort and help the environment. Gone are the days of just your old gas wall heater or an open fire place, heating and cooling has become much more advanced now with everything more sustainable in todays building technology.

BUYING A NEW KITCHEN - How to Avoid Costly Mistakes

Questions to help you build your profile as a kitchen buyer, Avoid costly mistakes. Also 10 designer tips for your new kitchen.

What is Essa Stone?

Essa™ stone defines contemporary yet timeless style. Essa™ stone is classically beautiful, remarkably durable and virtually maintenance free.

“What is grid connect solar power”

Grid connect photovoltaic solar power systems are the most cost effective way of using solar energy to power your home, school, office or commercial facility. Why you ask?

10 Pre Kitchen Renovation Questions

What's the recipe for a successful kitchen reno? The way you live, the way you cook, the way you entertain all help determine what you want out of your kitchen renovation project. You then need to get an idea of what fits your style, functional needs and budget.

Kitchen Design Options

There are 3 key zones to a kitchen which professional kitchen designers aim to link together by creating the work triangle.

Tips on Small Kitchen Design

The kitchen is often the focal point of any house, as well as a place for cooking and eating it is often a meeting place where the whole family gather. Therefore it is important to have a kitchen that is both functional and pleasant to be in.

Synthetic Turf vs Lawn

Tired of wasting precious time mowing lawns instead of relaxing with family & friends? Synthetic grass is extremely durable & designed to replicate the look & feel of real grass, with low maintenance & will compliment any garden, around the pool or outdoor area

Selecting a Shower Screen

Shower Screens can be the most important component in any bathroom, so which one is the best for your bathroom? This Fact Sheet will help you find the answer.

Space Planning

If you are renovating or building - or just looking for a new look - you will need to solve important space issues.

Why Renovate?

Renovating can change your outlook towards your home for the better! Renovations enable an outdated, limited or dreary home to become reanimated with style, ergonomics, creativity, value and enjoyment. But before you launch into any tasks you may be interested in, take time to carefully plan and research your project to ensure the best possible outcome for your home and family.

Boost Your Home Resale Value

Hold that hammer. Before you put your home on the market, consider these quick and easy tips to boost your home's resale value. What did you notice when you first saw your house from the outside?

Bushfire Precaution Checklist

The recent events throughout country Victoria have been tragic and there is no longer a time when residents in fire prone areas can lower their guard. There are many things that you can do around the home to make your castle less susceptible to bushfire danger. Regular maintenance and inspections using this checklist will provide a good guide for ongoing awareness of the ever present dangers of the Australian Summer.

Furnishing Your Dining Room

Whether you have a separate dining room, a kitchen dining area or even a small dining table in the lounge room, it can be daunting trying to find the right furniture for you...

Top 10 Bathroom Renovation Tips

Todays bathrooms are no longer the smallest room in the house. People are also looking for relaxation and pampering. Here are some important tips to consider when redesigning your bathroom.....

Lighting Tips

Before designing a room, you need to consider two types of lighting: natural and electric. Make the right choice and you can turn a dull, soulless room into a vibrant space. Choose something more versatile than a single bulb hanging from the centre of the ceiling. Use multi or directional lights on a track, which can be used to highlight your favourite painting or mirror.

Create a Lighting Plan

In an ideal world, you'd start with a completely clean slate and no existing cabling or sockets to restrict you......

Colour Wheel

You will need to decide which colours combine well, whether they are toning, harmonious or complementary. By getting to grips with the rules of colour, you can give your room a professional look.....

New Colour Scheme

Creating the right colour scheme for your room is no easy task. Let our expert guides help you make the right decision. A tonal scheme or monochromatic scheme means you use just one colour but in varying tones. If you choose everything in the same tone and colour your scheme will look bland or boring.

Interior Styling Secrets

Discover 15 tricks that can make your home look like it jumped off the pages of a magazine.

Door & Window Selection

The key to selecting the perfect window and door style is to examine the architecture of your home. Replacement windows and doors should suit the architecture and, ideally blend in seamlessly. Or you may wish to create a feature with a complementary style.

Mould & Mildew Problems

Mould & Mildew are Fungi, simple microscopic organisms that grow & thrive anywhere there is a moist environment. These tiny pests can cause many people problems in the wet areas of their home......

Colour Selection

When planning a new colour scheme it is both fun and helpful to create a mood board to give you a direction for your creativity, somewhere to crystallise your thoughts and a way to share your ideas with others......

Removing Wallpaper Guide

Just bought a house? Disheartened by the outdated, flimsy or stubborn wallpaper surrounding you?! Here is a simple guide on how to remove all unwanted wallpaper from your home without causing damage to the existing wall or consuming endless hours.

Furniture Restoration

When it comes to furniture restoration, often the piece of furniture just needs a good clean. Here are some basic tips on how to restore furniture and how to clean it up......

Timber Flooring

Timber flooring in your home is not just an attractive flooring option, but is practical to clean, timeless in appearance and long lasting. Timber Flooring is beautiful; relatively maintenance free & depending on the timber can be virtually indestructible. It holds character which cannot be matched by any other flooring type......

Pet Friendly Homes

More and more people are becoming *Pet Parents*. Gone are the days where the family pooch or cat is restricted to outdoors only. It's not really suprising that people are adapting their homes and lifestyles to accommodate their furry family members.

Handy Storage Solutions

Are you trying to find storage space where there doesn't seem to be any? Smart use of storage space means that you can increase and expand on the space that you already have without paying a lot of money to renovate, extend, or on expensive storage systems. Try these 15 handy hints in your home & you will realise that you can make an attractive feature out of simple storage spaces.

Creative Kid’s Bedrooms

Ask a child what their favourite colour is and they will say green, no blue, no orange, red, yellow and purple! Kids love colour so why not turn their bedroom into a stimulating and fun place to be for them? Create fond memories in a place they can be themselves within. There are endless possibilities when decorating a children's bedroom, but a very important factor is to encourage your child to contribute to the project.

Achieve The Perfect Paint Job

Handy tips on the perfect paint job, from surface preparation to the end result. Surface preparation is a vital part of the painting process, it can make or break a project. Make sure that you fill any holes and remove any old flaky paint and then sand it back to ensure a smooth and even finish.

Choosing a Benchtop Material

Choosing a suitable bench top for your kitchen, bathroom etc can be a hard task. Here is a brief overview on many of the most popular materials with Pros & Cons to make your selection process a bit easier......

Carpet Stain Removal

Most of us at some stage have either caused a carpet stain or had to clean one up. Done the right way, cleaning can remove the stain completely or at least make it less noticeable. Now you don't have to cover up that red wine stain with a rug or a piece of furniture. Here is a simple guide on the different stainsto remove them all.

Choosing the Right Flooring

Choosing the right flooring for your home is an important decision. Make the right choice when selecting flooring for your home. You need to select a type of flooring that fits in with your lifestyle, tastes and one that is comfortable for you.

Decoration Styles

There are many different decorating styles for your home. Sometimes it can become confusing defining design techniques between Modern & Contemporary, French Provincial, Shabby Chic, etc. So here are some basic descriptions of some popular styles to help you decide which best suits your personal tastes.

Living Small Tips

Today the traditional Australian home includes apartments and town houses; therefore we are living with a lot less space for furniture and storage, fewer backyards and more balconies. Here are some simple tips on how to make the most of our limited space.

11 Tips on Finding a Builder

Building a house is a lifetime investment which requires the perfect builder to suit your needs. You don't want to get tangled up with the stressful issues of a builder who wastes your time and money. Use this guide to find a builder who is reliable and can deliver the goods he promises on time.

Balcony Design Tips

Balconies are often forgotten or neglected when in fact they can be one of the most important features of your home be it for entertaining or simply relaxing. Consider these important points before embarking on a balcony or terrace design project.

Kitchen Quiz

For many, the kitchen is the hub of the home. It can be the focal point of a house for sale. Defining your kitchen style can be confusing, intimidating and time consuming. However once you've got a general sense of your preferences you'll have a good starting point for further research, or conversations with designers if you choose. Use this quick quiz to figure out what kitchen style best suits your tastes and lifestyle.

Planning to Decorate

Avoid a home improvement nightmare by following our essential guide to DIY preparation. Follow these easy tips to ensure you achieve the best possible improvements, while saving both time and money.

How to use Colour

When it comes to decorating, pouring over paint charts is undoubtedly one of the most exciting parts of the project and that moment when you first take the lid of that tin of paint is even better. Colour is perhaps the most personal and dramatic statement you can make in your home.