Ready-to-work from Isuzu

The Isuzu Trucks Ready-to-Work range is a fully featured series of trucks with application targeted bodies, from trays to tippers, field service and freight. These are ready to go to work straight from the dealership. This range is from Australia’s number-one selling truck brand, which has been running for the past 35 years.

Importantly, a significant number of these trade-ready workhorses can be driven on a car driver’s licence and can also tow up to 4500kg – great for maximising both payload and productivity onsite.

Even more reassuring for the hard-working trade business is the standard six-year factory warranty, six-year roadside assist and three-year warranty on the body, plus its industry benchmark Isuzu Care aftersales support and Australia’s most extensive dealer network.

Magnificent seven

James Hardie’s Modern Homes Forecast 2024 reveals seven home styles that help homeowners articulate what they want and support trades to deliver their clients’ dream homes. The seven styles are: 

• Modern Farmhouse: Traditional design and contemporary elements with a focus on clean lines and open spaces.
• Modern Heritage: This style elevates traditional homes through sensitive restoration and bold renovation.
• Box Modern: Characterised by large blocks or cube shapes that are stacked or arranged to form contemporary residences.
• Japandi: Merging Scandinavian and Japanese minimalism.
• Barn: Takes inspiration from Nordic minimalism, boasting craftsmanship and an affinity with nature.
• Modern Coastal: Inspired by relaxed Australian beach heritage.
• Mid-Century Modern: Balancing contemporary minimalism with modernist architecture.

Timeless elegance

Designed and engineered in Australia, the Caroma Contura Collection sets a new benchmark in contemporary design and high performance. This collection draws inspiration from nature, with organic and sculptural design complemented by subtle details.

Its new finishes – matte white and matte clay ceramics – add elegance to its basins and toilet suites, while its new brushed bronze metal finish makes a strong statement in tapware and accessories. The collection offers personalisation, so colours and finishes can mix and match.

Its VJet®-powered Contura shower range delivers a luxurious shower experience that puts users in control. In addition, the Contura Toilet Suite range delivers superior hygiene, as well as water-saving, high-performance CleanFlush reliability.

Where nature and innovation meet

Sensa by Cosentino® is an extensive collection of granite and quartzite with special stain-resistant protection to provide spaces with visual and functional advantages. Cosentino subjects the natural stones to an invisible, long-lasting treatment capable of chemically integrating into the material and allowing it to breathe.

This technology increases its powerful natural properties and prolongs its life. The process alters the surface tension of the stone, thus causing the material itself to prevent liquids such as water, coffee or oil from penetrating. Sensa by Cosentino offers distinct advantages such as endless looks, minimal maintenance, high performance and quality with the 15-year Cosentino guarantee and high resistance to stains.

Sustainable hardwood made by robots

Crafted Hardwoods uses a world-first Australian innovation in nano-science and engineering to turn abundant juvenile pulp resources into appearance-grade hardwood with the properties of 100-year-old trees – in just one day.

Offering security in both supply and cost, Crafted Hardwoods has entered the market to support the Australian building industry by providing quality, sustainable, toxin-free timber without the traditional market volatility that comes with specifying and purchasing timber.

Quotes are valid for 12 months, and lead times are less than four weeks. Blackbutt, spotted gum and Tasmanian oak species are available, just to name a few.

Keep it concealed

Blindspace is a unique plaster-in-blind concealment solution to conceal blinds in plaster ceilings and skylight shafts. Access is easy, with an internal cover that simply clicks out and snaps shut, leaving a discreet slot for blind movement.

The Blindspace design creates a seamless concealment detail that finishes flush with the user’s plasterwork. These extrusion boxes are provided as a supply-only product. Builders can purchase and install Blindspace extrusion boxes during the construction phase. If installation assistance is needed, contact the Blindspace team.

Its concealment box system is available from Shade Factor and dealers throughout Australia, starting at $240 a linear metre.

Bathing beauty

The iSteamX shower control by Mr Steam has been honoured with a coveted 2023 Good Design Award from the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design. This shower touchscreen, part of Mr Steam’s steam bathing system, uses wi-fi-connectivity to add audio such as a favourite playlist or podcast, chromotherapy lighting or aromatic infusions.

The sleek design of the waterproof touchscreen display has been carefully crafted from high-quality materials and is designed to blend with any shower space. It’s available in eight trim finishes, including polished chrome, matte black, polished brass, brushed nickel, brushed bronze, oil-rubbed bronze and polished nickel.

In a good light

With a 15-year collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and art centres, Koskela has released a new range of floor lamps. It’s an original Koskela design with First Nations woven pendants set on a saltbush grey powder-coated base. This new range is part of Koskela’s long-term collections of pendant lighting, floor lamps and wall lights that showcase the intricacy and diversity of Indigenous weavings. 

These works provide a platform for weavers to earn income and introduce artistic products into modern interiors. Each piece is meticulously handwoven with locally sourced materials, reflecting a profound connection to the land and traditional techniques.

Floor of the future

AcryliCon Unique Resin Floors revolutionises residential spaces with durability and quick installation. Achieving full strength in just two hours reduces downtime, allowing for overnight work and quick follow-up by other trades.

Its robust design prevents degradation and maintains a pristine appearance for decades while ensuring seamless integration across surfaces without risk of delamination. AcryliCon’s slip-resistant feature is another plus. With a 20-year warranty, it promises not just superior performance but peace of mind, making it a time- and cost-efficient flooring solution.

High-performance fan

The Fanco Hybrid Series is a range of bathroom exhaust fans that offers the performance of a centrifugal inline fan with the convenience of a ceiling-mounted fan. Its European motor is extremely quiet at 36 dB(A) while providing high levels of extraction.

The fan comes with a built-in backdraft shutter. Fanco Hybrid is engineered to perform well with longer than standard lengths of ducting. Easy to install or retrofit, the unit comes with a lead and plug and requires a 300mm-diameter hole size. It features a matte finish low-profile fascia in a range of design and colour options.

Mastering moisture management

Enviroseal™, a high-performance wall wrap from Bradford Insulation, offers an effective solution for moisture management in Australian construction. Tailored to meet our country’s diverse climatic challenges, this vapour-permeable membrane efficiently balances shielding against external moisture while allowing internal moisture to escape. Ideal for a range of climates, Enviroseal enhances building health and energy efficiency.

It bolsters insulation effectiveness, contributing to sustainable construction practices. Bradford Insulation, including Enviroseal, is endorsed by the National Asthma Council Australia’s Sensitive Choice Program. Enviroseal is a crucial tool for builders and architects, ensuring the longevity and comfort of Australian homes.

Getting a handle

Designed and produced by Southern Design Group and the Banskston + Edition Office collaboration, the new Casts hardware range comprises two sculptural door levers, four door-pulls, a hook and a snib. The organic surface and pitting are a response to the fluid nature of metal when cast.

‘Door hardware is connected to some of the key moments of interaction within a space,’ explains Kim Bridgland, Edition Office co-founder with Aaron Roberts. ‘We would like these moments to be more tactile and unique yet carry key indicators of function.’ The pieces are available in a raw aluminium, bronze or a patinated bronze finish.