Good vibes in Batzra

In their moshav home, they have created a haven for themselves and a paradise for their four sons.

By GLORIA DEUTSCH
Kitchen 311 (photo credit: Uriel Messa)
Kitchen 311
(photo credit: Uriel Messa)
"It was important for us to have a connection with what the children were doing when they played or did their homework,” say the owners of this open plan home in Moshav Batzra, which emits good vibes the moment one walks through the front door.
Maybe it’s the slanting roof extending seven or eight meters above the whole area; maybe it’s the child-friendly playroom and family room situated just off the kitchen and the colorful toys and collections of plastic cartoon and fairy-tale characters around the shelves; maybe even the latter-day version of Roman lares and penates watching over the family in the shape of two rows of family photos, some going back to great-grandparents in Polish villages at the turn of the century; but the house exudes a laid-back tranquility and the feeling that it is a child-oriented paradise.
The owners – he’s South African and she’s a Sabra – built the home seven years ago and live there with their four sons ranging in age from three to 13.
Explains the husband, a venture capitalist, “We wanted something very open because with two children at the time and knowing we wanted more, we felt we would have small children for a long time. The plan was to create a nice open feeling with plenty of windows so we could keep an eye on them playing outside, and we wanted a connection between the back and the front.” Having rented in Ra’anana, they decided they didn’t like city life and preferred the quiet of the countryside, so they bought a plot in the moshav just north of Kfar Saba and set about creating the perfect home for themselves.
The wife, a graphic designer, chose her friend Sharon Weizer to be the architect, and they worked together.
“I had a vision of what I wanted,” she says. “And being a designer, I was able to imagine the space inside even before it was built.”
The hub of the home is the airy kitchen, which is decorated in pale blue and was featured in the Orly Robinson coffee-table book of kitchens a few years ago. With its wide window overlooking the back garden and a view of pomelo and litchi trees blooming there, it is one of the most attractive features of the home. Set at a right angle to the oak wood island of the kitchen is a long oak table that serves for family meals and can be pulled out into the remaining space for more formal occasions.
The playroom/family room next to the kitchen has a warm wooden parquet floor, as opposed to the slate-gray stone of the rest of the downstairs, which they felt gave a more cozy feeling. For watching television or for playing, the children can sprawl on colorful blankets rather than sit on chairs, and the room has plenty of storage for toys and games for the times when there’s nothing on the tube.
A mysterious frosted glass door next to the playroom opens to reveal what the husband calls a heder balagan (junk room), a narrow cupboardlike room where the children can come in from the outside or the living area and throw their schoolbags, shoes and anything else that might create a mess if left in the lounge.
“This was my idea, and I think it’s brilliant,” he says proudly.
The lounge is eclectically furnished with several non-matching sofas and chairs picked up here and there. Two of the most interesting are seats from a Victorian English theater that had been dismantled and they found in Camden market in London, where they lived for a while. The sofa is covered in a variety of cushions and, on the display shelves built between the lounge windows, there are some very unusual items to be seen, including a 350-year-old Chinese printing press, peacock feathers in a vase, and their children’s paintings, framed.
On the mahogany pie crust table next to the sofa, a bright turquoise lamp catches the eye. It is made from a recycled jerry can and plastic bottles.
Over the couch hangs a striking picture made by the wife. It is a computer-generated interpretation of one of the pieces from her collection, Walt Disney’s Snow White.
“As a graphic designer, I became very attracted to these figures because I see the small details that make each image unique and instantly recognizable,” she says. “They are all made of plastic, but some are quite rare. I love traveling and looking around market stalls to find pieces to add to my collection.”
She explains that the collection is very disorganized at the moment because she lets the children play with it whenever they want.
“It’s the best game for them,” she says.
Continuing the theme of togetherness, the entire downstairs area is visible from upstairs, and it’s possible for her to be up there hanging washing and check on the children downstairs over the metal barrier stretching across the landing.
The whole house is heated with an old-fashioned kerosene heater, which stays on 24 hours a day in the winter. Outside, in both front and back, are several areas for sitting, lounging and enjoying the quiet of the countryside. A leisurely breakfast on the wooden deck outside the kitchen is something the whole family can enjoy.
Batzra was founded in 1946 by Jewish veterans of the British army who had fought in Iraq during World War II and were stationed in Batzra there. One cannot imagine a greater contrast between the peaceful pastoral village and its original incarnation as a city in Iraq.
Do you feel you own one of Israel’s most beautiful homes? Please e-mail: gloriadeutsch@gmail.com