Name

Shutter House

Location

Lake Monger Drive, Wembley

Website/Social Media

stateofkin.com.au // @stateofkin // State Of Kin

The Shutter House is a culmination of customised details that have been conceived and executed in collaboration across all skillsets of the State of Kin team.

Associate & Interior Designer Alessandra Salomone, and Associate & Graduate of Architecture Ara Salomone, went on a mission to source the perfect combination of ‘seed stones’ and oxide for the terrazzo flooring. They then conducted a few experiments to get the ratios and base colour perfected. Once the design team was happy with the test run, the material was taken to site to execute the full-scale formation, including meticulous hand-seeding of the aggregate to ensure the ultimate blend of texture and colour was achieved.

The finished product is a completely custom piece of art, which is full of character and love. It forms the perfect base for the rest of the home.

Builders Donny, Gino, and Steve were exceptional in helping Ara and Ale execute the use of raw steel, brass, stone, and timber in incredible ways throughout the design. The re-imagined version of the ‘old-school’ parquetry floors on the first floor is a good example. The design team really wanted to bring this vision to life but were disappointed in the colour and finish of product they have found ‘off-the- shelf’. So the team made up some sample pieces and played with a variety of oils and stains to achieve the warm, walnut-ish shade- a custom blend that will be protective of the timber substrate and age really well over time.

The team also customised the scale of the pattern so that it’s a little larger than standard to better reflect the scale of the project and the value of the material within the space.

In order to retain and highlight the structural material of the upper floor slabs –the visual connectivity from one floor to another, and highlighting the structural material of the Shutter House’s upper floor slabs was also a focus. The design team worked closely with engineers and electricians, mechanical consultants and lighting specialists to maximise the exposed concrete spans.

This involved strategic placement of dropped ceilings in ‘secondary’ spaces, the specification of lighting canisters to be cast-in to the slab, and some clever wiring solutions. The coordination of these essential, methodological aspects of the concept is smoothly accomplished due to the constant open dialogue between all members of the State of Kin team and the shared understanding of the value of each activity and contribution.

Project Team

Gino Salomone: Director and Builder

Steve Salomone: Director and Builder

Ara Salomone: Associate and Graduate of Architecture

Alessandra Salomone: Associate and Interior Designer

Donny Salomone: Associate and Building Manager

Amy Clark: Interior Designer

Jessie Nguyen: Graduate of Architecture