Hotel House by Splinter Society

Reframing the traditional calm and comfort of a residential environment, Splinter Society produces a space that offers all the striking elements of a boutique stay.

Hotel House is a striking diversion from the typical rituals of habituation. And while this was Splinter Society’s main intention, the lingering impact of Hotel House is something unexpected – something so intangible yet so effortlessly captured by space and immediately felt by the people lucky enough to call it home.
Designed as a city residence for a retired couple who spend most of their time on the Mornington Peninsula, Hotel House is tailored for sporadic stays. “The couple wanted something that wasn’t too big, where they could entertain and could just come and go,” says Chris Stanley, director at Splinter Society. “So, we came up with the idea of a house that is like a boutique hotel.”

The house blends into the eclectic locale with subtle, intricate detailing hinting at its underlying sophistication.

Emulating the street presence of the best examples of considered accommodation, Hotel House doesn’t reveal much at first glance, discreetly nestled as it is in a South Yarra back street. “We almost didn’t photograph the facade because it was never about the facade,” notes Stanley. The house blends into the eclectic locale with subtle, intricate detailing hinting at its underlying sophistication. “Lots of hotels are unceremoniously squashed down laneways all around the world. It’s about the internal experience.”

The exterior is expressed as two simple contrasting volumes – a smooth, light-rendered form floating above a textured, dark timber structure. “It is a bit like 3D Tetris,” says Stanley. The two interlock, creating a ground-level internal courtyard and a smaller courtyard off the upstairs bedroom and informing the internal spatial experience with dramatic double-height spaces and voids.

Stepping inside the two-bedroom home, the relaxation and anticipation of a night away is immediately apparent with the hotel experience concept beautifully realised.

Stepping inside the two-bedroom home, the relaxation and anticipation of a night away is immediately apparent with the hotel experience concept beautifully realised. One enters via a curved tunnel-like corridor and passes a bag drop into the drinks lounge before reaching a double-height volume containing the dining room and kitchen. Off that is a mezzanine study that overlooks the void and a series of large sliding doors that lead to a small music and reading room, while the upstairs level features two lushly fitted-out bedrooms and bathrooms.

Echoing the way the expansive windows in the lounge perfectly frame a modern high-rise that sits across the road, the variation of tall proportions, low ceilings and voids give Hotel House a distinct luxe-warehouse feel that connects it to the urban environment. “There is this constant feeling of compression and expansion, which really gives Hotel House a bit of drama and playfulness,” says Stanley. “This makes it feel experiential and as if there is a lot more going on than there actually is.”

The materials are grounded in a rich palette that balances vivid tones, light with dark and texture with refinement.

Despite the home’s urban setting, the courtyards and various sources of lighting subtly connect the home to its natural surroundings. “It’s a tight inner-city site, so top lighting allows privacy and adds this kind of drama to the spaces that change throughout the day as light moves through the space.”

Such theatrics are especially important, given the tight editing of furnishings. “It is very minimally decorated – it doesn’t feel like a house that a family lives in.” There are not many shelves for storage or displays of objects. “It, in itself, is the personality,” notes Stanley of the home’s refined aesthetic. In contrast, the materials are grounded in a rich palette that balances vivid tones, light with dark and texture with refinement. This sense of tactile play adds a tangible moodiness to the home, manifesting something not only sophisticated and considered but deeply intimate and almost ethereal.

Stanley affirms that the experience of Hotel House is grounded in simplicity.

Green and red stones are used in the kitchen and bathroom respectively, complemented by glass, perforated metals and brass to give both translucency and depth. Hand-worked plaster walls capture slivers of light that cut through the skylights, while raw timbers are painted to add another subtle texture to the mix. This is offset against the cleaner finishes like stone and metal detailing, while leather accents emphasise Hotel House’s experiential approach to style.

Despite this layering of materials, Stanley affirms that the experience of Hotel House is grounded in simplicity. “There are not many layers of narrative within the home other than trying to give it enough personality that was reflective of the clients, so they didn’t have to fill it with objects and give it that reduced sophisticated hotel feel.”

“It was never about creating a house that feels calm, but it was the first thing the clients said to us when they moved into the house.”

The seemingly simple ways that light, materiality and volume work together create something a little more complex though: a carefully cultivated and heightened experience. This atmosphere is defined by Hotel House’s innate sense of intimacy and peace that remains connected to the buzz of urban life that exists just beyond. “It was never about creating a house that feels calm, but it was the first thing the clients said to us when they moved into the house,” says the architect. “Life’s not easy a lot of the time and to feel a sense of peace and calm in your own house, I think, is a win, especially because it is such a subjective and intangible thing.”

Architecture and interior design by Splinter Society. Build by Buildtech. Furniture supplied by Domo.