Untangling a rabbit warren in Loftus, NSW on Selling Houses Australia
Some homes feel like a warm hug the moment you walk through the door, and others feel like they’re trying to turn you around and push you straight back out – like this Loftus home on episode 4 of Selling Houses Australia Season 18
Photography Selling Houses Australia/Lifestyle
Kathy and Eugene’s Loftus home definitely fell into the second category. After 33 years, four boys, five bedrooms and one “just add another room” approach to extensions, their house had become a lovable but confusing maze – with a lot of walls put up!.
They needed to sell so Eugene could finally ease up after decades of physically demanding work, but after a whole year on the market… nothing. Not one offer. Even the possum‑print tiles weren’t tempting anyone (yes, they were a choice).
So I stepped in to help them untangle the layout, open the spaces, brighten the rooms and give buyers something they could actually understand. And yes — I did knock down the odd wall. Or three.
A much‑needed kitchen rethink in Loftus
The kitchen felt like it had been squeezed in during one of the home’s many enthusiastic expansions – dark, cramped and completely disconnected from the dining and living zones. To fix that, I opened up the floor plan by removing the internal office room and shifting the kitchen into a more functional, central position.
We used Kaboodle cabinetry with doors and panels from Tesrol in Deep Blue Superclean front panels paired with Genuine Oak accents to add warmth and a mid‑century nod that fitted the home’s bones. The island received matching deep blue panels with oak tops and shadowlines to give it a custom feel on a DIY‑friendly budget.
A warm, practical stone benchtop from Caesarstone (in Rosa Nova) set the tone for the space, complemented by the Marrakech Biscuit Matt tile splashback from National Tiles – subtle texture, soft colour and just enough personality to keep the kitchen feeling handcrafted.
Light, flow and cohesion inside
One of the biggest issues was the home’s ‘rabbit warren’ layout. You walked straight into a living room with no foyer, then into a strange middle room that didn’t seem to know what it wanted to be. We removed the redundant internal walls, opened the line of sight from the front door to the back garden, and brought the house into one coherent story.
We laid new laminate flooring (Merseyside Vista Modesta Blackbutt from Flooring Xtra) over the mismatched tiles to unify the whole ground floor. On the walls, I used a calm palette of Taubmans Cloudburst, Abstract Half and Squadron, depending on the room - warm neutrals that brightened the space without feeling stark.
Heavy mismatched curtains were replaced with Veneta honeycomb blinds and S‑fold curtains in light-filtering fabrics to soften the light and modernise the feel, and I introduced warm bronze and black accents throughout, including Miller 6‑light pendants and Sienna pendants from Beacon Lighting. These added gentle warmth and helped replace the gloomy, uneven lighting. The result was a home that finally flowed.
Refreshing the bathrooms in Loftus, Selling Houses
The bathrooms didn’t need full structural renovations, but they absolutely needed a fresh pair of eyes. Outdated tiling, inconsistent colour stories and heavy fixtures were pulling the spaces down. A cosmetic refresh brought everything into alignment with the new interior.
Updating the bedrooms on Selling Houses Loftus
In the bedrooms, we installed Rustic Manor Mushroom carpet from Flooring Xtra for warmth and comfort, paired with crisp window furnishings and gentle colour palettes. Each bedroom finally felt inviting and move‑in ready, not like an afterthought from one of the home’s many renovations.
The sales history of Selling Houses Loftus
Before the renovation, Kathy and Eugene’s house had been listed for a year without a single offer. Buyers struggled with the dark interior, confusing floor plan, and the amount of work required to make the home functional for a modern family.
After the makeover, everything changed. The opening weekend brought strong interest, and buyers praised the sense of space, flow and the bright new kitchen. The home ultimately sold at $1.75 million, with five registered bidders competing to secure it, giving Kathy and Eugene the financial freedom they needed to downsize and finally take a breath after decades of hard work.
Who pays for the renovations on Selling Houses Australia?
Just like every season, the homeowners contribute what they can. For Loftus, Kathy and Eugene could put in $70,000, which we stretched across the outdoors, flooring, paint, kitchen, lighting, window furnishings and styling – with a lot of DIY muscle from their very handy sons!
The Selling Houses Australia team covers design, labour from our trades and all the magic that comes from knowing exactly where to spend (and where not to). It’s always a partnership – and when it works, it transforms lives as much as it transforms homes.
