December 13, 2021
אורלי ערן
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You love Tel Aviv and enjoy living there.

You love the beautiful and crowded streets, the proximity to the sea and the park, the dazzling pace and the joy of life in this city.

You also love the city’s old apartments: the feeling that someone has lived there before, the old trees around, sometimes the ancient tiles and high ceilings.

At the same time, most of the apartments in the city are problematic in many ways.

Planning an apartment renovation in Tel Aviv means dealing with outdated interior design:

Old-fashioned layouts (separate kitchen, separate and small toilets, balconies enclosed with plastic shutters)

Narrow and long spaces

Long corridors

Problematic windows (small windows, windows of different sizes in the same space, unattractive urban views)

outdated technical systems – plumbing, electricity, air conditioning.

For all of these reasons, most people who move into an old apartment today find it necessary to renovate it completely.

The new interior design must preserve and enhance everything you love, and at the same time adapt the apartment to the modern lifestyle and taste. How can this be done?

Here are some examples or apartment renovations in Tel Aviv, planned and carried out by our firm.

(the small photos show the apartments before the renovation)

Balconies:

A large part of the apartments in Tel Aviv were built with a balcony. These balconies have been closed over the years with plastic shutters, and have been used as an addition to the living space or for storage.

There is usually no legal or engineering impediment to attaching these balconies to the apartment, and gaining a well-lit and open space:

In this apartment, we got rid of the ugly plastic shutters an added the front porch to the living room:

In a nearby street, another balcony, previously used for storage, was transformed into a small but well lighted and efficient kitchen:

In this balcony, green iron windows replaced the plastic shutters, thus creating a beautiful work and living area.

Long and narrow living rooms:

Such proportions characterize many apartments, especially from the sixties onwards. It is worth considering the possibility of attaching the room next to them to the main space, as here – attaching the kitchen to the living room:

Another example of the same idea: we expanded the living room to the next room to create a colorful seating area, from which the work and kitchen area is visible:

(read more about this apartment here)

And here too – a study was attached to the living room, which opens towards the central space. When you want, you can close it with sliding doors:

The kitchen:

In older apartments the kitchen is usually located in a separate room. In contemporary interior design, it is common to have the kitchen as part of the main living area. Often it is possible to use the old kitchen space as an additional room. Thus we gain another room for the apartment, and an open, ventilated and bright kitchen, which becomes the center of life in the house:

Here is a more modern and elegant version of the same idea:

what can be done when big changes are not possible?

Sometimes while renovating an apartment in Tel Aviv, we discover that there is no need or no possibility to change much in the apartment. Do not despair – even a change in the finishing materials can do wonders, as in this example, which utilizes modern materials in an atmosphere of yesteryear:

Mixing different materials, textures and styles:

This is a beautiful way to maintain the character of old buildings.

In this kitchen we mixed iron windows, brick walls, modern aluminum, stainless steel and glass.

Windows:

The view from the apartment window is very important. What do you do when the view from the window is not pleasing ?

Hide it with the help of plants….

or with pretty semi-transparent curtains ……

A window is not necessarily a small rectangle, commonly found in old apartments.

A better window can improve any room dramatically!

Here are some possibilities for a better window design:

A window that has also become a bench:

French windows, reaching down to the floor:

A protruding window:

What do you do when, as a result of the changes, several sizes of windows are created in the same space?

Curtains from ceiling to floor, from wall to wall:

Roofs:

Sometimes old houses have an unused roof space. You can create wonderful rooms in this space:

(you can read more about this apartment in an article published in the Jerusalem Post)

When the apartment you wish to renovate is particularly small:

You should know a few tricks to make the apartment feel and look a little bigger:

Use large windows,

light and small furniture,

multiple lighting sources, bright materials

do not be afraid to use colors and patterns (yes, yes, they make spaces look larger!)