When the owners of this penthouse in north Tel Aviv moved into their gleaming new home, they brought much of their old furniture with them.“I hate it when someone acquires a new place, chucks out all their furniture and brings in everything new,” says the lady of the house. “Some of my friends go to Italy with their architect and come back with huge containers full of brandnew furniture. They’ve thrown out their life in order to start again.”For this owner, all the acquisitions of the last 49 years in which she has been married to her husband, a venture capitalist, are what make her the person she is.“Because it’s not all new, the grandchildren can come and play and not feel intimidated,” she says.A very busy person, she has interests in several non-profits – such as the One in Nine organization to raise awareness of breast cancer – and a position on several boards, including the National Science Museum in Haifa and, until recently, the Docaviv film festival. She has also worked in real estate, and it was in that part of her professional life that she began to take an interest in decorating.For this home she created most of the interior herself.“I did get some help from an architect, Shosh Bornstein, especially with things like the placing of air-conditioning and the different woodwork around the apartment, but much of the décor I did myself, as it’s a hobby of mine,” she says.The couple compromised on the area they chose for their home, which is just at the entrance to Tel Aviv from the north, with incredible views of the sea and coastline.“We both lived most of our lives in Ramat Aviv,” says the owner. “I wanted to move more into the heart of Tel Aviv to be near the theater and opera, but my husband loves to play golf and felt it would be better on the periphery to be able to get away quickly.”They bought what she calls an “envelope” on the 18th floor of the 20-floor building, meaning they have only outside walls.The 50-square-meter balcony stretches the length of the apartment and is home to a flourishing garden of plants and flowers. Here they can sit and enjoy the sea breezes, and a view that stretches to Jaffa further south and Reading to the north. On the other balcony, to the east, they can look out over the Jerusalem hills, which are clearly visible on some days.She labels the style of the interior “eclectic,” a word that comfortably covers antique and new, ornate and simple, European and Far Eastern.She is not averse to mixing a beautiful marquetry sideboard that belonged to her Dutch mother-in-law with an ultra-modern pair of brown leather chairs from Castiel and a Far Eastern decorative trunk.Persian rugs cover the marble floors.“I love them and have quite a collection, but only put out two, as they can be quite dangerous if one trips over them,” she says.The sofas are upholstered in off-white satinized cotton and are placed opposite each other to create a conversation corner around the elegant square glass table. A shelf beneath makes a convenient place to store books and newspapers. Under the long picture windows are several tables from the Far East with a collection of oriental artifacts collected on their travels.Between the living room and the bedrooms, they have managed to fit in a television room with comfortable reclining seats so they can watch in comfort and reserve the lounge for formal entertaining.The top of the dining table is made from bamboo, and she can accommodate extra diners by the simple expedient of adding two tables the same height and width at either end. The cane and mahogany chairs are upholstered in a similar material to the two sofas and are made by the French firm Roche Bobois. Over the scene hangs what she describes as the modern equivalent of the classical chandelier.The kitchen is streamlined with plenty of stainless steel and white woodwork, but an “antique” natural wood storage cabinet at one end provides an interesting contrast.An accordion-fronted cabinet hides all the kitchen appliances aesthetically.At the other side of the kitchen, open shelving holds a glass collection acquired over the years.The cleaner, who also has a penchant for decorating, was the one who decided this would be the perfect place for the collection.“She’s been with me for 35 years and is like one of the family,” explains the owner.“I actually bring a help for the help so she doesn’t have to do any heavy work. I employ someone just to clean the windows and sweep up the balconies.”It’s no wonder the maid has stayed for 35 years.Many well-known Israeli painters figure in this home. There are paintings by Lea Nikel, Yair Garbuz and Michal Neeman in different parts of the house.“In the kitchen I put a lithograph,” says the owner. “I felt in an active kitchen, I shouldn’t put an oil painting, as it might be damaged. All the other art in the apartment is original.”In the master bedroom, the color scheme is brown and cream, dictated by the attractive embroidered bed linen, with small etchings by artist Zadok Ben-David on the walls.At the entrance to the en-suite bathroom are two bright blue abstract paintings by Deganit Berest, which make a striking contrast against the white walls, the white cane chair and filmy drapes.“It’s the only room where we don’t see the sea, hence the blue paintings,” explains the owner.The building is designed inventively as a triangle toward the top so the five penthouses’ balconies are not overhung by other balconies on the floors above.The interior of this couple’s home is both beautiful and comfortable, but the balcony is where they love to sit, gaze out at the sea, and enjoy the north Tel Aviv air many stories above the ground.
