- Design: Sarit Ziv Alon
- Photography: Oren Amos
- Appliances: Gorenje
To cope with the crowding and discomfort the family felt in their previous four-room apartment, the right solution was to upgrade to a more spacious apartment with a new interior layout. The move to a five-room apartment, spanning 120 square meters with a balcony, allowed them to tailor the home to the evolving needs of their growing family. With the help of interior designer Sarit Ziv Alon, they optimized the space and added extra storage, choosing a clean, inviting Nordic design. The solution included redesigning the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms, transforming the space into a functional and pleasant home for the entire family.
In their first meeting with the designer, the couple emphasized the need to maximize space, create a pleasant environment suitable for their needs, and adhere to a defined budget. One of the central moves in the new design was changing the room locations to maximize the space and make it pleasant to stay in. In the existing state, the kitchen and service balcony were to the left of the entrance door, with a teenager's unit and storage room to the right. The significant change in the design was opening the door to a spacious entrance with warm, light tones, while hiding entrances to rooms and storage behind carpentry and frames in the chosen color and material palette.
The new kitchen was designed as an open, large space with a clean look. It includes two rows of cabinets: a long row along a wall with a window and a shorter row with an integrated door to a storage room that also serves as a laundry room. The surfaces extend to the ceiling, providing plenty of storage. In the center of the kitchen stands a 2-meter-long marble island with an oven, stove, and two seating places. Next to it, a black dining table with six additional seats. The homeowner requested a minimalist and clean look, with enough storage so that there wouldn't be any appliances or items on the counter when not needed.
Ziv Alon incorporated smooth and grooved fronts in the kitchen, with open shelves in a bleached wood finish at both ends. The work area is entirely clad in a white surface that rises on the wall and surrounds the window. The old kitchen was divided into a workspace and a playroom, which is planned to serve as a children's room. The doors to both rooms are integrated into a row that includes storage spaces, drawers, open shelves, and a dedicated place for bags and keys beneath a mirror.
The new workspace is closed with an acoustic glass door and black aluminum frames. It includes carpentry with ceiling-high cabinets and open shelves, with a work table for multiple people to sit together. In the playroom, a large closet was installed on the inner wall, and a gypsum niche with a work table beneath the window.
The living room, located near the balcony, was redesigned with a large TV screen on a column and a wall covered in a polymer finish that mimics concrete. The living room has a gray corner sofa and a mocha-colored leather armchair, with a cluster of round tables in the center. Above the sofa, there is a narrow niche for decorative items, and the wall is clad in grooved panels with wooden separators.
The corridor leading to the bedrooms houses the main bathroom and separate guest toilet, designed at the residents' request. The master bedroom remained in its original location, but the walk-in closet was replaced with an expanded bathroom. A corner wardrobe with a niche for a TV accompanies the wall opposite the bed and folds accordingly.
Although the family emphasized in the initial meeting that they rarely use the balcony, the designer chose to invest in it as well, designing it as a complementary lounge area with a corner sofa, a large armchair, a table, and a bench placed on a dedicated rug. The balcony continues the living room's design line and serves as a complementary hosting space.
The project was swift and pleasant, with detailed renderings approved in advance providing a broad preliminary picture, and all choices of materials, furniture, and lighting fixtures made in advance.
In conclusion, the apartment in Kiryat Ono was redesigned and planned to suit the family's needs, creating an inviting, pleasant, and functional space. The Nordic design style, emphasis on hidden storage, and interior planning changes resulted in an impressive and personalized outcome.