Light and bright

The modern and fresh style of this apartment suits its owner well as she dislikes clutter and appreciates simplicity.

By GLORIA DEUTSCH
SMALL patio off the lounge 370 (photo credit: URIEL MESSA)
SMALL patio off the lounge 370
(photo credit: URIEL MESSA)
‘I’m so thankful I’m here,” says Joy Collins of her home in Protea Retirement Village near Netanya. “You step outside the door and you are immediately greeted by friends.”
Collins came here only a year and a half ago from England together with her husband, Gerald, but sadly he died recently. However, a year ago he was able to celebrate his second bar mitzva, when the couple traveled back to England for a family gettogether.
They decided to settle in Israel and went straight to Protea Village, where some friends were already happily ensconced. Collins is adamant that they didn’t come because of the children, as they have their four sons scattered all over the globe.
“The reason we came to Israel is the growing atmosphere of anti-Semitism on the streets of London,” she says. “It’s got to the stage where you’re frightened to go out of the house, a man can’t wear a kippa outside – and we said we’d get out while the going was good.”
Gerald had retired from his work as a psychotherapist.
He’d qualified as a pharmacist and realized that a lot of patients were being prescribed medication that they would have to take for the rest of their lives.
He felt there had to be a better way, and working with doctors, aimed to cut down on the pills and instead treat the patients with psychotherapy. Collins used to do the accounting for the pharmacy, and after her husband changed directions she worked in a private health clinic.
“I did all the accounts and because of my years of experience in the pharmacy, I could read the prescriptions,” she says, smiling.
They came to Israel a month before their aliya to celebrate a grandson’s bar mitzva and went shopping in a large furniture store in Jerusalem, buying everything they would need for their new apartment.
“I’ve never seen so much choice – there were three floors with a fantastic selection,” says Collins.
The style suited her – very modern, fresh and bright.
“I’ve never liked clutter,” she says. “In England we moved quite a lot and each time I bought new furniture.
Here, especially in a hot climate, I wanted everything light and bright.” From England they brought a piano, computer and dishwasher.
“We got our priorities right, you see,” she says with a smile.
Within half an hour in the furniture store they had acquired the sofa and easy chairs, dining table and chairs, two beds and various occasional tables. The glass display cabinet was later purchased at Ikea.
In the lounge, accents of color are provided by the pictures on the walls and the red cushions on the white sofa.
“I love color,” says Collins. “The pictures aren’t expensive but they have a certain appeal.” Several well-tended and healthy plants add to the decor.
A large niche at the entrance to the apartment used to be their music corner, and this was where the piano stood. On the walls are prints with musical themes.
“I took the piano away the day he died,” says Collins. “Too many memories.” In its place stands the bridge table and chairs, which get plenty of use as she plays four times a week.
The bedroom is very pretty, with fuchsia, flowery bedspreads she got in Supersol.
“The picture above the bed has fuchsia as its main color, so I built the color scheme around that and got all the linen to tone with the picture,” she says.
She likes the simplicity of the room and the fact that it has a feeling of light and space.
There is plenty of wardrobe space, bedside tables and even a shoe storage unit.
The corner glass cabinet is full of mementos and ornaments.
“I know a lot of people buy for investment and acquire things of value, but we just bought things because we liked the look of them,” she says.
The small patio off the lounge gets plenty of use and as it faces east, Collins can sit out there until the midday sun gets too high and hot for comfort.
“I always have my breakfast out there,” she says.
The small, light wood kitchen provides plenty of storage space for two sets of everything, and a dining area next to it has brown leather chairs and a glass-topped table that can be opened when visitors come.
Collins feels she made the move at the right time in her life.
“In England, we had a large social circle and were busy all the time,” she says. “But as you get older you need to make a transition and here it’s a natural one, and I meet many people in the same situation as me.”