Play House

An inventive transformation of a 1970 – 80s-era suburban coastal home, Play House is a street-enhancing design statement that offers both the site and owner a new lease on life.

Play House was originally a brown brick, terracotta tile home typical of Perth’s north­ern beach suburb of Marmion, where the combination of proximity to the ocean, a slow pace of life and spaciousness is attracting renewal. When the client bought the home, they approach­ed State of Kin with an open brief to create something bold, key require­ments being to improve shade and privacy.
A 1970s-80s-era brown brick, terra­cotta tile home has been trans­formed to create an impactful street pres­ence while offering additional shade and privacy to its occupants.
The home’s white washed brick exterior enhances the visual impact of our bespoke red mesh screening system, creating an effective contrast that adds dimension and depth.
The home had solid bones, so our approach retained the existing building. The exterior is lifted by an ochre-red perforated steel struc­ture that envelopes the facade, im­part­ing a striking yet cohesive appear­ance, serving as a privacy screen and offering dyn­amic sunlight filtration. Fresh white paint over the original brick exterior updates the aesthetic, while the retention of curved elements and the breeze­blocking in the front wall are reminders of the past.
While the focus for the exterior was reinven­tion, inside, the home is entirely reconfig­ured. The entry leads into an open plan space connecting a large living and dining area with the kitchen and study. The ground floor houses the master bedroom and ensuite, while the top floor has two bedrooms and a rumpus room. Where the original floor­plan was cramped — despite the home’s relatively large footprint — Play House now offers flexibility, enjoyment and ease.
The varied materiality, colour and pattern of the home is unified through the install of custom furnishings, such as a powder-coated steel dining table with tubular legs, which is reflected back in bespoke bedroom and bathroom details.
The clients embraced an expressive use of colour and pattern; the kitchen alone employs speckled terrazzo, pale eucalyptus and rich terracotta, while the rest of the home features hints of both dusty and vivid red, surfmist, sunshine yellow, blush pink and peach.
The home’s interiors flow on from the indivi­duality of the exterior, combining colours, materials, patterns and shapes to create a sense of joy and warmth befitting of the ’Play House’ title. Each room has its own character, but all share a common design language, brought together by cork and terrazzo floor­ing and a dusty, nature-inspired palette running throughout. Archways are utilised to create portals that facilitate seamless tran­sition between each space, creating dialogue and flow.
The cork floors are a nod to the home’s original 70s feel, while also a sustainable solution that is gorgeous underfoot.
Play House is a fresh and highly visible exam­ple of suburb­an renewal, with our reinven­tion of existing archi­tecture producing an adap­table, functional, and indivi­dual­istic home in which a growing family can make the most of their surroundings.
The home’s interiors create a sense of joy and warmth befitting of its ‘Play House’ title.