Interior designer Gila Korach captures Tel Aviv’s Eclectic Style

By SARAH NADAV
Updated: JULY 22, 2015 15:35

 

Tel Aviv has gone through an evolution in style from being at the height of the Bauhaus movement, and then years of decline to a new wave of restoration.  The current style blends the original European streamlined sensibilities with Mediterranean elements and pops of graphic art and color.
 Designer Gila Korach epitomizes this design trend in her newly completed vacation apartment which is in a renovated Bauhaus building on Allenby (available for vacation rental via Airbnb).  Walking into the apartment you are greeted by a Banksy decal on the wall which artfully transforms and otherwise tight hallway into mural.

 

Tel Aviv is indeed the “White City” and the trend is using white walls like an art gallery and curating the content on the walls.  Korach sourced every item in the apartment with a mix of high & low, flea market and boutique.  On one wall hangs 12 graphic, colorful images which actually came from a calendar of Tel Aviv’s most famous buildings done in a graffiti style.

 

The wall art is a custom made decal which she designed of Migdal Hashalom- a building which has a lot of sentimental value for Korach.  Her mother came to Israel from Europe as a child and grew up in Tel Aviv.  

Later the family moved away but Korach used to come back with her mother to visit.  At the time, Migdal Shalom was the tallest and most modern building in the city.  It even had a small amusement park on the roof.  The building is now dwarfed by high rises and hotels but she wanted to pay homage to those visits and bring her own history into the design.

 

Tel Aviv is a city which feels forever young but is really ageless.  The art and style here aren’t defined by a young “creative class” who recently moved to the city.  It is an evolution of artists, musicians, and academics of every age coming from every culture all over the world. Korach herself became a designer as her second career in life when she went back to school after her children were grown.  She studied for two years at Mercaz HaBnia Hayisraeli and then immediately became an in demand designer.

Her design reflects her age in the best possible way. The colors are young and fresh, but the design aesthetic is mature. “I design for people,” Korach says “I want people to enjoy the space that they are in, and I also want them to feel comfortable.”  About the confines of designing for Tel Aviv’s relatively small apartments she says “I use some techniques which help a small space to feel more expansive, like clear chairs, lots of light and choosing smaller pieces of furniture.”

 

Korach also wisely uses the latest trend of graphic wallpaper to create the feeling of a room within a room.  Wallpaper is seeing a surge of popularity in Israel and throughout the world.  Bold designs which are used on just one wall are becoming a stylish alternative to accent walls.

  

Tel Aviv is a city which is modern, clean, bright and eclectic.  Gila Korach captures the exciting feeling of the city and transforms it into a space which simultaneously part of the city and a respite from it.

 

You can reach Gila through her company- Gila-la gilalak@gmail.com 054-584-1715 and you can visit her apartment by booking a stay through Airbnb.

 

Follow our family travel adventures all summer long staying at Airbnb on the beach in Tel Aviv- surfing the waves and exploring the city for family fun and high tech adventures.  @sarahnadav on twitter and @dayinthelife on Instagram