High above the water

A charming space removed from the city center is complemented by the serenity of the sea.

By GLORIA DEUTSCH
An apartment in Netanya (photo credit: URIEL MESSA)
An apartment in Netanya
(photo credit: URIEL MESSA)
"It’s like being on holiday every day,” say the owners of this apartment on the seafront in Netanya. “We have our breakfast out on the balcony every day, looking at the Mediterranean and enjoying the fresh sea air.”
It certainly makes a change from landlocked Switzerland, where they came from and lived before buying the apartment and moving to Israel. Of course they had the lakes and the mountains, but for these immigrants there is nothing quite like the sea.
Because the balcony is so close to the sea, they decided on rattan furniture which would not get rusty, and painted the metal table white. This is where they love to sit at any time of the day and listen to the water nearby. And if it gets too hot, they can always move the furniture into the lounge and enjoy the view through the triple-glass windows.
The building was constructed about 30 years ago, and the owners decided to do some renovations about five years ago – when they moved here to live, rather than just spending the holidays here.
“We moved walls, made an extra room, added another bathroom and even turned one of the balconies into a separate study,” says the owner, a graphic artist who still has a business interest in the large advertising agency he worked in before making aliya.
Now living in Netanya on a permanent basis, he often volunteers his skills as a graphic artist to the largely Anglo community to which the couple belong.
There are many organizations in Netanya supported by the English-speaking community and the owner has done many posters and booklets for them as well as helping to set up exhibitions, all on a volunteer basis.
On display in the apartment are some of his favorite designs, framed and shown on specially built shelving. The two red armchairs are handy for sitting and browsing, but also convert to beds when family comes to visit.
The lounge is furnished in sandy camel shades, perhaps taking a cue from the beach below.
The two Wassily armchairs were originally in the office in Switzerland, and made aliya with the owners. Named for the artist Wassily Kandinsky, the design was created by German architect Marcel Breuer in 1925 and the chairs look as contemporary as if they were designed today. The owners were able to find fabric for the sofa exactly matching the two armchairs, and the whole look is brightened up with Missoni-like satin cushions picking up the neutral background colors and adding many more.
The coffee table is cleverly constructed to open up and lift to the level of the dining table, making it ideal for adding extra seating when needed.
Over the whole scene hangs a mosaic in similar shades, a reproduction of a floor found in a synagogue in the Galilee.
Other mosaics, done by the owners themselves, hang on the balcony off the lounge.
On the white and cream sideboard in the lounge they keep one of their treasures, a very rare window from an 18th-century succa, which is protected by a gold-edged wooden frame they had made especially for the item. Over this is another glass frame “to protect it from the grandchildren,” says the owner with a smile.
The washing corner is very special, being the place they chose to hang a rare 3D picture which they found in Venice and brought back to Netanya.
It depicts a menorah and Jewish holidays, and they were surprised to discover that the designer of the piece was not himself Jewish.
The kitchen is well-equipped with two dishwashers, two sinks and plenty of storage space. The creamy beige cabinets were chosen to match one of the shades in the matte stone floor, which carries on through the whole apartment.
On the lounge balcony they keep an old French table, which they found years ago in a European flea market.
“It used to be black, but we sanded it right down to its original nutwood color,” says the owner.
When they tire of looking at the sea, they can always look out over the rooftops of Netanya from the back windows of the apartment.
“We really enjoy living far from the busy town center, and get a lot of pleasure from the peace and quiet of our surroundings,” says the owner.


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