Amsterdam to Tel Aviv: Cultural fusion in a 130 m2 apartment

Design: Tal Tager, Studio XS

Photo: Ariel Medina

The family, a couple with two small children, returned to Israel after ten years in Amsterdam and brought with them a preference for a clean style that would express the aesthetics they were used to when they lived in the Netherlands. They wanted to design a pleasant and comfortable house for them that would serve all the family members in the best possible way.

Tal Tejer, from the design team of XS.ME, and a graduate of the training program for designers of Studio XS, designed the project in a new apartment in a building that underwent a construction clearance in the center of Tel Aviv. Although the apartment with 5 rooms and 3 bathrooms was well planned, it did not exactly fit the needs of the family, therefore partial planning was required along with carpentry and dressing planning for the whole house.

In the first stage, it was decided that there is no need for guest toilets, since the general bathroom and the additional bathroom in the parents' room are sufficient for the members of the house. The given space is divided into a variety of functions required by the family. A double-sided and multi-purpose cabinet was designed, on the one hand it stores the family's large suitcases, and on the other hand it is used as general storage for objects such as work tools and cleaning tools for the house.

The entrance area was designed in a comfortable and functional way that will allow the family members to take off their shoes at the entrance to the house, store all the shoes and comfortably organize themselves for leaving the house. To meet this need, a cabinet was designed on a bench and below it a place for baskets to store shoes, racks for bags and coats and open shelves to store other items required in the exit area. Further down the wall and on the other side of the hallway, carpentry was designed to match the wall and the objects that the family wanted to display - a favorite turntable, a collection of records, collectibles from around the world, a collection of books, as well as the television and the various media systems.

The kitchen was designed in detail to fit the family's cooking habits and a special place was dedicated to the professional coffee machine they chose to integrate in the center of the kitchen, around spacious work surfaces overlooking the city view from the windows. In the center of the kitchen, an island for work and sitting has been integrated, and next to it, a dining area opens for family meals to make it more comfortable for the children.

From the beginning of the joint work, the family defined the need to create a play area in the public space that would provide the children with a pleasant and accessible corner where all their toys could be conveniently stored. To meet this need, the sitting area in the living room is divided in such a way that the sofa and the adult area face the television and the central carpentry items, and behind the sofa and towards the balcony is a game chest with a cozy rug.

It was decided to define the office as a home office where the couple could work when necessary, access to it is through a hidden door located next to the entryway furniture, in this area a large mirror was also planned that hides the home's electrical and communication cabinets. The bedrooms were divided so that the small room became the bedroom of The two children and the large room as a playroom. After a pleasant surprise appeared during the work, it was necessary to redesign the room as a baby's room.

Large and spacious storage cupboards were designed in every room of the house, from floor to ceiling and in every possible corner in a pleasant and hidden way so that there is a place for every item.