{{ propApi.closeIcon }}
Our industry
Our industry $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Housing industry insights Economics Insights Data & forecasts Tailored research and analysis Advocacy & policy Advocacy Policy priorities Position statements Submissions News and inspiration Industry news Member alerts Media releases HOUSING Online
Business support
Business support $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
For your business Contracts Online Safety systems & solutions HIA Tradepass Advertise jobs Member perks Toyota vehicles The Good Guys Commercial Ampol fuel savings See all Industry insurance HIA Insurance Services Construction works insurance Home warranty insurance Tradies & tool insurance Apprentices Why host a HIA apprentice? Hire an apprentice Support & guidance Contracts & compliance support Building & planning services
Resources & advice
Resources & advice $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Building it right Building codes Australian standards Getting it right on site See all Building materials & products Concrete, bricks & walls Getting products approved Use the right products for the job See all Managing your business Dealing with contracts Handling disputes Managing your employees See all Managing your safety Safety rules Working with silica See all Building your business Growing your business Maintaining your business See all Other subjects Getting approval to build Sustainable homes See all
Careers & learning
Careers & learning $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
A rewarding career Become an apprentice Apprenticeships on offer How do I apply? Frequently asked questions Study with us Find a course to suit you Qualification courses Learning on demand Professional development courses A job in the industry Get your builder's licence Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Further your career Find jobs
HIA community
HIA community $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Join HIA Sign me up How do I become a member? What's in it for me? Mates rates Get involved Become an award judge Join a committee Partner with us Our initiatives HIA Building Women GreenSmart Kitchen, bathroom and design hub Get to know us Our members Our people Our partners Support for you Charitable Foundation Mental health program
Awards & events
Awards & events $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Awards Awards program People & Business Awards GreenSmart Australian Housing Awards Awards winners Regional Award winners Australian Housing Award winners 2024 Australian Home of the Year Enter online Industry events Events in the next month Economic outlook National Conference Events calendar
HIA shop
HIA shop $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Most popular products National Construction Code Vol 1 & 2 Waterproofing wet areas AS 3740:2021 HIA Guide to Waterproofing HIA Guide to NCC Livable Housing Provisions Top categories Building codes & standards Contracts & documents Guides & manuals Safety products Signage For your business Contracts Online Digital Australian Standards Digital Resource Library Forecasts & data
About Contact Newsroom
$vuetify.icons.faTimes
$vuetify.icons.faMapMarker Set my location Use the field below to update your location
Address
Change location
{{propApi.title}}
{{propApi.text}} {{region}} Change location
{{propApi.title}}
{{propApi.successMessage}} {{region}} Change location

$vuetify.icons.faPhone1300 650 620

On Trend - Spring 2023

Pebbles sustainable surface from Caesarstone

On Trend - Spring 2023

Pebbles sustainable surface from Caesarstone
{{ tag.label }} {{ tag.label }} $vuetify.icons.faTimes
Housing’s top pick of innovative building products for spring 2023

Kerryn Ramsey

Senior Content Coordinator
A mood board from COLORBOND steel's Southerly collection

The colours of Australia

For more than 50 years, COLORBOND® steel has been producing innovative coated and pre-painted steel products. Its current colour range for roofing and walling is distinctly neutral.

Dover White™ offers a sense of calmness – this subtle tone allows attention to focus on form, surface finish or scale. Reminiscent of distant hills and the coastal shoreline, Southerly® is a light grey that mimics the neutrality of concrete. It offers both elegance and functionality when used in any application.

Embracing morning mists and shades of mountain gum trees, Bluegum® is a relaxed blue-grey with a calming mid-tone. Its depth and neutrality suit the current build styles, especially modern homesteads and coastal-style homes.

On the safe side

Ideal for single and multiple dwellings or multi-residential projects, Häfele’s Genesis DL8800 keyless digital smart lock is fire-tested to Australian standards to meet the requirements for high-rise apartments. For added convenience, it retrofits all Australian standard mortice locks, making it possible to upgrade existing locks to a digital and remote management platform with real convenience.

Genesis DL8800 can be switched between automatic and manual locking modes. It also offers automatic locking after 10 seconds when unlocked but the door is still in the closing position. Other features include RFID cards and a pin code. As the user can utilise their fingerprint and mobile phone through Häfele’s Smart Living app, it’s possible to open a door remotely from anywhere in the world.

Häfele’s Genesis DL8800 keyless digital smart lock
Discover Caroma's Luna Collection

Timeless styles

Proudly designed and engineered in Australia, Caroma’s Luna Collection is popular with designers, builders and homeowners alike for good reason. Matching timeless style with practical durability, the collection merges a modern aesthetic with versatility, colour and innovation.

Multiple colour finishes across tapware, showers and accessories complement the curvaceous and classic basins and baths in the range, while the Luna toilet suites feature Caroma’s CleanFlush® rimless technology for a cleaner clean. The extensive product range is made with premium materials to suit any residential bathroom, kitchen or laundry, with up to 20 years’ warranty for peace of mind.

Caroma is a trusted industry brand offering complete bathroom solutions, with collections for all budgets and styles. 

A breakthrough for builders

Whether working with timber or steel frames, the innovative Cavi-BreakTM Strip from Australian Thermal Industries (ATI) is an excellent solution for easily incorporating energy efficiency and moisture management into building projects.

Developed in response to issues faced by the industry when installing thermal breaks and cavity battens, this newly released product is a low conductive and flame-retardant barrier that has been fully tested for Thermal R-value compliance to exceed NCC standards. Its intuitive design makes handling, sizing and installation much simpler for builders.

The lightweight product is supplied in convenient 1200mm strips to suit a typical 2400mm ceiling height. For builders interested in trialling the cost-effective Cavi-Break Strips, call 1300 430 949 or connect with ATI on LinkedIn.

Cavi-Break Strip from Australian Thermal Industries
Manifesto Wall Light from Mondoluce

Light sculpture

If you’re looking for art that illuminates, then look no further than the Manifesto Wall Light. Embracing function and form, the Manifesto light appears as a bas-relief emerging from the wall. When the light is off, the lamp manifests itself as an abstract sculpture affixed to the wall.

When the light is on, it’s surrounded by a luminous halo, enhancing its impact. Designed by Timo Ripatti, these flush-mount ceiling and wall lights are produced by Axolight and are available in Australia from Mondoluce.

‘The project stems from a creative play of shapes, which offers us the opportunity to experiment and develop new paths of light,’ says Timo, the Helsinki-based designer who is revitalising the Axolight brand.

Lounging around 

As the weather warms up, clients are always keen to revitalise their outdoor entertaining area. The Voom Collection, designed by Adam Goodrum for Tait, is a fusion of soft curves, innovative textures and a sophisticated retro-like aesthetic.

It comprises a lounge chair, an ottoman, and coffee and side tables, which can be configured in various ways. Partnering with Mokum to showcase its Sole Boucle and Elba textiles, Voom provides a palette of natural hues.

The range has been made to withstand harsh Australian conditions with a metal base and upholstered, removable covers. Suitable for both outside and inside living, the Voom Collection is a fusion of comfort, versatility and modularity.

The Voom Collection, available from Tait. Photo: Derek Swalwell
Lifesize Plans adds value to the building sector

Early viewing

Announced as the world’s first patented real-scale walkthrough technology, Lifesize Plans adds value to the building sector. ‘The projection of a site’s complete layout on a 1:1 scale allows stakeholders the opportunity to walk through designs,’ says Lifesize Plans CEO James Hickey.

‘This makes it a game-changer for builders, designers and their customers.’ The Lifesize Plans Sydney flagship showroom is complemented by sites in Brisbane and Perth. ‘Design approval based on a life-sized scale experience before building creates greater efficiencies for all parties,’ James says.

Turning the tables 

Caesarstone products have been used predominantly as benchtops in kitchens and bathrooms, but its latest collection has gone in a new direction. The company recently collaborated with interior designer Anna-Carin McNamara to launch its collection of three tables – a dining, coffee and side table – crafted from its new range of sustainable surfaces, Pebbles.

This collection highlights the versatility of these low-silica surfaces in earthy tones. ‘Pebbles adapts like a chameleon to any palette, providing a calming, versatile foundation to our designs,’ says Anna-Carin, whose range features the four Pebbles surfaces – Riverlet, Wyndigo, Raindream and Agger Grey – in this collection of three distinctly different tables.

Pebbles is a new range of sustainable surfaces from Caesarstone
Silent Black BBQ rangehood from Schweigen

Power from above

Featuring silent air extraction, Schweigen’s new Silent Black BBQ rangehood is designed to improve the outdoor dining experience. This 1200mm-wide wall-mount unit swiftly and silently deals with smoke, odours and airborne grease from high-intensity cooking.

Combining German-engineered Isodrive motor technology and high-grade 304 stainless steel makes the rangehood powerful and durable. Silent Black features five extraction speeds, touch- and remote-control options, energy-efficient wide-angle LED lighting and an automatic shut-off function. It has dishwasher-safe stainless-steel baffles and Schweigen SteelFlex safety ducting for easy cleaning.

Slats of light

While internal venetian blinds have been utilised since the 1700s, a modern approach is placing them externally. Not only does it provide effective shading and privacy, it also reduces the heating effects of solar radiation by up to 90 per cent.

When the light level drops, external venetian blinds can automatically fully retract. Available from Shade Factor, this new range from Warema offers various colours and innovative features, such as silent motors. With a range of controls, it can optimise shading and daylighting effects by tracking the sun and responding to other climate information.

Warema external venetian blinds from Shade Factor
FritsJurgens pivot system from Bellevue Architectural

Open wide

FritsJurgens concealed pivot door systems are fully embedded in the door, not the floor, with the pivot perfectly concealed. This hardware mechanism allows a door to open and close using this system instead of traditional single- or double-action spring hinges.

The FritsJurgens pivot system from Bellevue Architectural creates smooth transitions between spaces, with no unsightly floor box or ceiling unit. An entry door can be made fully weatherproof by adding draft- and moisture-repellent details, making it both functional and visually striking.

On tap

The release of the T-5 built-in filtration tap from Taqua is a real game-changer. The company says it’s the country’s first filtration system that sits inside the tap – no bulky tanks or underneath sink filters are required. Simply turn the knob to change tap water into filtered water.

Clients can change the filtration cartridge themselves in under 10 seconds – there’s no need to hire a plumber. Made in Japan to the highest standards, the T-5 filtration tap has won three major design awards: the Good Design Award, iF Design Award and Red Dot Design Award. T-5 from Taqua, a HIA member, comes in chrome or matte black, and has a self-cleaning functionality to keep cartridges from clogging.

T-5 built-in filtration tap from Taqua

First published on 1 August 2023

  • This content includes both brand promotion and unsponsored editorial content.

You might also like:

Construction Design Floors Products
A better way to build
Wondering whether to go with I-joists or Posi-Struts in your next project? A side-by-side comparative build finally reveals the fastest, most economical flooring construction method.
Sep 24
4 mins
Read full article $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Awards Inspiration Residential Products
Rural Reimagined
Tingle View, a project by The Rural Building Company in Western Australia, is as timelessly elegant as it is inviting. Housing takes a deep dive into 2024’s winning HIA Australian Project Home.
Jul 24
3 mins
Read full article $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Inspiration Design Bathroom Products
On trend winter 2024
Housing’s top pick of innovative building products for winter 2024.
Jul 24
4 mins
Read full article $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Bathroom Lighting Products
On Trend - Autumn 2024
Housing’s top pick of innovative building products for autumn 2024.
Mar 24
5 min
Read full article $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Bathroom Outdoor Lighting Products Doors
On Trend - Spring 2023
Housing’s top pick of innovative building products for spring 2023
Aug 23
5 min
Read full article $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Kitchens Bathroom Products Innovation
Interchangeable tapware creating infinite possibilities
ABI Interiors are known for their dedication to high quality and expertise in plumbing hardware. Now their Infiniti Technology brings brilliant solutions to extended timelines and the age-old problem of change of scope.
Jul 23
5 min
Read full article $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Innovation Inspiration Affordable Products
On Trend - Winter 2023
Housing’s top pick of innovative building products for winter 2023
May 23
5 min
Read full article $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Innovation Masonry Products
Big benefits of natural products
The beauty and strength of natural building products is undeniable. We explore how natural building products can contribute to the look, feel and liveability of the homes you build.
Apr 23
5 min
Read full article $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Planning Innovation Installation Products
On Trend - Autumn 2023 
Housing’s top pick of innovative building products for Autumn 2023
Feb 23
6 min
Read full article $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Bathroom Building developments Development Approval (DA) Products
Nature and Nurture
Find inspiration in the products, materials and colours informing this year’s key trends, which celebrate and reimagine the concepts of nature and nurture.
Feb 23
6 min
Read full article $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Livable Housing National Construction Code (NCC) Bathroom Products
No place like home
A range of different housing types are emerging that are being tailored to meet varying occupant needs – be it livable, accessible or Specialist Disability Accommodation. Housing explores these and product solutions to suit their ...
Nov 22
11 min
Read full article $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight
Bathroom Lighting Doors Products
On Trend - Summer 2022-23
Housing’s top pick of innovative building products for summer 2022-23.
Nov 22
7 min
Read full article $vuetify.icons.faArrowRight