Walgrove Residence by Matteo Montanari Architect

Venice is a neighborhood of Los Angeles which is experiencing a huge transformation where small bungalows are giving way to larger homes that local believe are not in sync with the neighborhood’s character.

Architect: Matteo Montanari Architect
Location: Venice, CA, USA
Year: 2017

From the architect: The challenge of this project was to build a new modern residence with a strong look and personality but at the same time perfectly integrated in the surrounding. I came up with the idea of having a minimalistic façade where the entrance door, windows and garage door are totally hidden by a wood louver so the only two materials and elements you see from the street is the stucco of the building structure and the wood of the façade.

This way, the home is shielded by the noise of street and the traffic and keep his privacy and orientation to the opposite side. The second floor is a volume intentionally shifted to the back of the property to keep the front lower and in line with the other neighborhood residences.

The backyard is all about glass and light, with a huge panoramic door, fully retractable that help integrate the indoor with the outdoor in a seamless way. The outdoor movie theater is open on two sides and follow the same spirit of outdoor lifestyle. A barbecue is also present here allowing to fully entertain guests in the most emblematic area of the residence.

The design of the interiors follows the same “less is more spirit”, the elegance in this project is in the details like the LED strip light hidden in all ceilings. The floors are in Tuscan wood imported exclusively for this project, the kitchen come from a high end Italian Manufacturer. I oversaw the entire process since the first sketches to the choice of the light fixtures. This way I could deliver a personalized project that follow the same aesthetic and spirit in every single aspect.

We selected our kitchen with quality and design in mind, we wanted to have a solid workstation but it needed to fit our overall design concept: an understated elegance. The kitchen is entirely designed and made in Italy by Arredo 3, a company with 30 years of experience in building high quality kitchens, rooted in the North East of Italy. Simple lines and shapes, carefully crafted woods and steel and Italian design are the ingredient that make our kitchen stand out.

The idea behind the lighting system is having two different system in one, we have a beautiful recessed led strip light that follow the perimeter of our spaces, enhancing volumes with a subtle hidden flow of light. This lighting, fully integrated with the architecture, and key element of de interior design. Another level of lighting is the recessed lights, needed when we want to have the house fully illuminated. Those two system are connected to smart switches, giving us full remote control of them from your smart phone and with the Echo/Alexa system by Amazon. The simple and elegant design, the quality of the materials and the integration with the neighborhood make of this project a unique and very distinctive creation in a sea of very similarand uniformed new buildings.

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