Contemporary opulence.

Having already wowed visitors with Lascelles, their three luxe residences in the heart of Victoria’s third-largest city, they knew that Lyon House could be converted into an equally luxurious, sleek and comfortable “home away from home”.

In fact, they did such a good job that Lyon House featured in the latest season of Channel Nine’s The Block with contestants Ronnie and Georgia declaring it as “sensational” and full of “inspo galore”.

But, back to 2016. Although the house was in good structural condition, it needed significant updating, a job that David and Martin patiently undertook over three years.

“Lyon House was built in the 1880s as a boom Victorian terrace. Like Ballarat, it has seen many changes of fortunes,” explains David.

“In the 1920s, Lyon House was significantly modified to reflect the arts-style that was popular at the time and in the 1950s the house became a boarding house with walls and dividers added which further hid the Victorian roots,” he says.

David and Martin’s intention was to return the grand old house to its Victorian and arts and crafts-style origins by peeling back some of the less complimentary additions and adding a contemporary edge.

As well as updating the three bathrooms and building a minimal modern extension to house a new kitchen, dining and entertaining area – with an impressive 14-seater table – the property’s three bedrooms and two living areas have been given a dramatic makeover.

“The design intent was to contrast the detailed heritage nature of the home with a more modern and relaxed interior and styling,” explains David. “The house has definitely played a part in determining its look.”

“We have peeled some sections back to the Victorian origin and with other areas embraced the craft look with textured walls and rich, deep colour tones. Other more modern areas, we kept light to provide a complementary contrast,” he adds.

David turned to dollar curtains + blinds to install window furnishings that would enhance the house’s glamorous makeover.

“We chose dollar curtains + blinds for three reasons. Firstly, they had a great range of fashionable and quality products, secondly, they were able to provide expert support and advice and thirdly, the pricing represented great value for money,” says David.

“The team at dollar curtains + blinds were able to interpret the design brief and come up with a shortlist of possibilities which made the selection process even easier,” he adds.

Wave Fold Blockout Curtains were the pick for the living area and two of the bedrooms. After looking through dollar curtains + blinds’ extensive curtain fabric range, Monterey fabric in the Peyote colourway was chosen because of its rich texture.

“The interiors of Lyon House have a lot of stucco and panelling and I find the Monterey fabric’s textural weave is very complimentary to the tactile nature of the finishes in the house,” explains David.

The Blockout Curtains – which offer superior light control, privacy and thermal and noise insulation – were designed to puddle on the floor for an opulent look in keeping with the house’s luxurious interior.

“My favourite aspect of the Curtains is the way they have additional length which creates greater volume and softens some of the harder edges of the structural interiors,” says David. “As a luxury accommodation retreat, I felt that the additional volume of the puddle Curtains added to the drama and opulence of the interior.”

Lyon House has recently been sold to new owners and David and Martin are working on two new boutique hotel projects – the Hotel Vera in Ballarat and the Gallery Hotel Bendigo.

Again, dollar curtains + blinds are working with David and Martin on the projects, helping to bring their vision of one-of-a-kind luxury accommodation to life.