The property: a 4-room apartment with an area of about 140 square meters in one of the highest places of a luxury tower in north Tel Aviv.
For: a family of 5 - a pair of parents in their 40s and their three young children.
Planning and interior design: architect Hagar Loshi.
Photography: Shiran Carmel.
Welcome to the apartment of a couple in their 40s who have 3 children. A young family that returned to Israel after years of living in Los Angeles. They know the tower where the apartment is located very well: years before, when the building was still under construction, they bought another apartment in the project which they sold. When they returned to Israel, they planned to settle in one of the cities of Sharon, but it was the philistines and educational institutions in northern Tel Aviv that decided the matter and they bought the apartment when the building was already in advanced stages of occupancy.
"This is an apartment that was built from the beginning to a very high standard and as such it included many wonderful features, but in light of the fact that the family members have become accustomed to the usual standard of living in the US, where apartments and houses are on a much larger scale, they chose to make changes to it in order to create a much more spacious public space and create adjustments Let them fall into their lifestyles," according to the architect and interior designer Hagar Loshi, who is responsible for the planning and design of the project.
"The area of the apartment is 140 square meters, and before the renovation it had 4 bedrooms and a public wing that included a relatively small living room and kitchen. At the first meeting we held in the apartment, they presented the two with a challenge : to finish the planning and renovation in about 4 months so that they can move in and live in it even before the holidays of that year It is clear that in order to open up the public space as much as possible we will have to eliminate one of the rooms and in the process also make adjustments to the bathrooms and indeed, that is how it was - we dismantled and annexed one of the bedrooms to the public space and changed the locations of the functions so that in the new plan the kitchen is located in the area where the room used to be and the living room And the new dining area is located in the area where the kitchen originally stood. This is a family that often cooks (especially on Saturdays and holidays) and while in its previous position the kitchen was windowless, in its new location it enjoys natural ventilation thanks to the window that served until the bedroom was renovated."
"The configuration of the new kitchen has changed drastically, but we chose not to give up the existing one. Like the entire apartment, it was also made to a very high standard. To adapt it exactly to the needs of the family, it was disassembled and transferred directly to the workshop of the carpenter Nati Lahat, who is responsible for the production of most of the carpenter's joinery in the apartment. In the process Complex and ambitious, we were able to combine its original parts with new elements that I designed, and thus the family gained a functional, comfortable and meticulous work environment that is called as one homogenous stone."
"Another change we made in favor of a large, open and airy public space was to reduce the area of one of the bathrooms that actually became a guest toilet. We redesigned the layout of the children's bathroom and today it functions as a much more effective space, as well as the parents' bedroom there. According to the original design, the bed faced the screen walls, which would have prevented the couple from waking up every morning to the impressive view seen through the windows. To this end, we dismantled a low wall that was built in the center of the space, changed the position of the bed so that it faced the openings and installed the TV screen on a pillar. Thus, the new design maintains a completely open space and the view is used as an integral part of the design."
"Together with the carpenter, we created a lot of storage areas, an example of which are the accordion doors in the entrance area of the children's rooms, inside which the washing machine and dryer are hidden, alongside functional compartments that are used for general storage for the rooms and the bathroom.
"Apart from the planning, we put a lot of emphasis on the design, when the goal that stood before our eyes was To combine the modern and classic styles with features borrowed from American design and together we will create a living and dynamic living environment, one that meets the needs of adults and children at the same time. In front of the light and quiet colors of the shell, the smoked oak parquet in the fishbone pattern stands out very much, which has a lot of presence and as such it anchors the space. "In general, I tend to perceive the shell as a kind of neutral canvas and create the rhythm and style by combining elements that allow for play and easy and simple replacement. The same is true in this apartment, where the shell is mostly light and as such it creates a bright and light feeling in the spaces. We worked a lot in different parts of it with mirrors that create Illusion of space, bringing the maddening landscape inside from as many angles as possible, and in addition, the woodwork is also light and we combined touches of black and natural oak, so the resulting total look is harmonious on the one hand and still gives a respectable place to the parquet, which has a lot of character and presence. ".
"On the walls of the public space, we integrated the father's stunning guitars, which for me are art in every way. The speakers and the subwoofer are also an integral part of the design picture. Most of the furniture was custom made especially for the project, while most of the furniture in the living room and dining area was made for us by the Oknin company. These items add a dimension of luxury and at the same time they are made of durable and easy-to-maintain materials suitable for a home where 3 small children are growing up."
"In the living room, we changed the positions of the seating system and the media chest in order to allow the family members an optimal view of the view that will be revealed from the north and west. For the sake of this, we designed a TV chest as low as possible that allows an open view to the outside and is also used at the same time to store the children's games, near the creative corner we planned for them. We used curtains Falling fabric that consists of two layers: an opaque roller layer, just like in home cinema rooms that creates the dark layer, and semi-transparent fabric curtains that create a softened look and allow natural light to penetrate in a controlled and measured manner."
"In the guest bathroom, we left the existing tiles but created a natural stone wall in a match book layout that serves as a focal point and makes this function unique. In the parents' bathroom, we also kept the existing tiles but added carpentry in a dark graphite shade that creates a play of black and white against the light shell The children's bathroom has no window, and in order to create a sense of space, we combined a large mirror and a natural oak bath cabinet, which blend wonderfully with the tight tiles on the back of which light and dark veins are interwoven."