Shutter House by State of Kin

The public and private spheres are often something that need to be carefully considered when designing a home. How do you connect with the surrounds while maintaining privacy for tranquil rest and contemplation?

With its clever design, the Shutter House designed by State of Kin expertly manages this balance. Locally-sourced timber has been used to create a distinctive battened skin that wraps around the home, with a mechanical system that allows the timber façade to open or close - creating a sense of enclosure and intimacy when you need it, whilst still allowing unobstructed views to the adjacent Lake Monger.

Beyond its distinctive street presence, which has become somewhat an attraction on Perth’s busy Lake Monger Drive, Shutter House has also been fastidiously designed when it comes to the interiors.

This approach is central to State of Kin’s design philosophy as a small studio with a very close and collaborative approach between the architectural and interior departments. “From the inception of this project, we wanted to create a material palette championing raw, expressive materials and make an enduring design statement, which would become a flagship project for us,” explains State of Kin’s co-director Alessandra French.

“The house is expressive and playful in nature but also has an underlying sense of elegance, a balance which needed to be emanated with the furniture selections.”

This philosophy, in which the architecture and interiors are considered as intertwined elements from the early stages, extended to the soft furnishings, which ultimately became a key ingredient in the overall finish of the home.

“The furnishings sit perfectly with our architecture and interior finishes. We were very fortunate to work with Mobilia’s Sam Fazzari from the early stages of the project. He was able to curate pieces from some of the world’s leading design brands, which together allowed us to coordinate materiality and colour within the soft furnishings,” says Alessandra. The result was a cohesive home that was finished to the highest standard.

Some of the prominent designers procured by Mobilia include prolific Spanish architect and designer Patricia Urquiola, Cypriot-born London-designer Michael Anastassiades and Italian lighting design master Gino Sarfatti.

With many of the pieces selected used in projects all around the world, it was an exciting opportunity for Mobilia’s founding director Sam Fazzari to furnish the home in its entirety, complementing the tasteful architecture and hard finishes. “It was important to select furniture that would complement and enhance the architecture,” said Sam. “The house is expressive and playful in nature but it also has an underlying sense of elegance, a balance which needed to be emanated with the furniture selections.” Sam was also able to coordinate with the brands and State of Kin team to deliver furniture pieces for Shutter House which had never been seen before in the Australian market, coming direct from Europe following their recent product launches.

One such space is the gallery area, which cleverly uses furniture and form to divide the master bedroom from the other areas on the first floor. The multi-directional use of the via-à-vis Tender sofa by Patricia Urquiola for Moroso means residents can face out to the light-filled courtyard or look back at the artwork on the opposing wall by local West Australian artist Sophie Pearce. The space can be used as a place of reflection and pause, while doubling as a void to ensure the master bedroom has privacy.

The bathrooms throughout make a statement with a clever use of graphic tiling, vibrant colour and the fascinating and magical Shimmer mirror designed by Patricia Urquiola for Glas Italia, which creates dancing shadows of colour on the tiling behind. Designed in 2015, these magical and ethereal mirrors create a focal point within a space and have continued to spearhead the trend towards coloured glass.

As you wander through Shutter House, there are moments where the architecture, materiality and soft furnishings come together in perfect harmony.