House Rules
With all of the home renovations now complete and the teams now enjoying their renovated homes, we revisit some of the best design decisions made by teams to meet the House Rules.
As part of a home renovation, fitting out a kitchen and bathroom with tiles and tapware can be overwhelming at first, but as the House Rules contestants found, working to a set of rules helps to hone choices to meet a design brief and simplify decision making.
As choices in tapware and tiles can make or break an overall scheme, inspiration can be drawn from the makeover of these hard working rooms in each of the House Rules renovations. Whilst ultimately competing for design points, teams still needed to make each space functional and beautiful for the homeowners.
Look to specialty stores with experts to help with consideration of colour, texture, size and pattern to meet your own set of design rules. The end result will reflect choices from copper, chrome, brass or black fixtures in tapware and myriad options for tiles on splashback, walls and floors. Careful planning and consideration can ultimately lead to some outstanding results.
Here are a few of our favourite executions by the House Rules teams:
Art Deco design detail – Team QLD bathroom in their Charity unit
The charity unit bathroom created by Aaron and Daniella to meet Wendy’s rule of “Bring back the best of Art deco” wowed all of the judges.
What they did: chose classic tiles to reflect the art deco style, including a design feature detail in the shower, paired with gold tapware
Why it worked: A simple colour scheme used with classic deco design detailing
Get the look: “Manhattan” bevel tiles in White gloss with the addition of a narrow black line of ‘Listello’ pencil and capping tiles, all from Beaumont Tiles
Mother of Pearl mosaics – Team SA kitchen splashback in Charity unit
Kate and Harry picked up on Laurence’s rule to introduce mother-of-pearl into the palette of the charity unit in the semi final. Judges all loved the subtle pearlescent shimmer of the tiles in the tiny kitchen space.
What they did: Chose chrome door knobs and tapware and covered the kitchen splashback with small glass mosaic tiles in an elegant, restrained white, beneath pale blue cabinetry and topped with a marble benchtop.
Why it worked: with a rule of Neoclassical design set by Laurence, Kate and Harry kept the colours simple to allow a little bling to go a long way
How to get the look: Try ‘Hexa’ mosaic glass tiles in White from Beaumont Tiles. Cabinetry doors from Polytec in White Satin with Dulux ‘Preschool’ paint Finish.
Colour block feature wall – Team SA bathroom makeover
With their whole home decorated in a more contemporary style to suit their taste, Kate and Harry asked for touches of teal in the renovation of their South Australian home.
What they did: Team NSW Troy and Bec opted for chrome tapware and a bold panel of coloured brick tiles on one wall in the shower recess in an otherwise monochromatic colour scheme. Towels and accessories provided tonal colour accents.
Why it worked: Keeping the coloured tiles plain and limited to a small shower wall, placing them above the patterned floor tiles meant rather than compete for attention, one surface led with bold colour, the other with bold pattern in simple black and white.
How to get the look: ‘Devonshire Gloss’ tiles in Aquamarine on the shower wall and ‘Ottimo’ patterned floor tiles, both from Beaumont Tiles.
