The Geometric Home

Nestled in a quiet neighborhood, where all houses built used the same model, homeowners saw the large outdoor space as a potential to bring-in light to the house. It took them 12 years to carefully explore, imagine and plan their dream home, for the couple in their late 40's with their 3 children (19, 12, 12).
Renovation meant the envelope of the house was to be kept as is, while the entire interior was stripped off, including the roof, to open up the space and allow use of the high roof for an attic, serving as a music room for the family.
Inspired by mid-century architecture, homeowners wanted to highlight the natural structure elements, exposing concrete beams, and adding metal and wood as defining room dividers. Geometric tiles create an asymmetric composition, flowing from floor to ceiling, completing the home's colorful palette. Still the house is well balanced between cold elements, like concrete or iron, and warm elements, like wood, textile and greenery.
The entrance is welcoming with playful geometric lines in the staircase and adjacent wood divider. All wood elements, including bathroom cabinets, office desk, children desks, and main staircase were all bespoke and planned by homeowner to serve the family's needs and love of mid-century modern design. Grey granite flooring throughout the main level, separated by a weathered oak flooring in the family room, laid in a fishbone layout, continues the concrete and wood-deck geometry outside, allowing for a natural flow between indoor and outdoor spaces, using the natural light and greenery of the garden as another room in the house.
The large living room divided by floor-to-ceiling windows, created an office space - when open, it continues the open-space of the entire floor, when closed, allows privacy and quiet for work or studies. Renovation completed just before Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, hence high utilization of the space for the parents. An eclectic set of furniture, together with a bespoke large desk with a concrete surface continues the use of concrete-wood-iron that reins the entire design of the house, complimented by original artwork by young Israeli artists collected over the years.

The second level is the family's bedrooms; the roof replaced, and opened up, reaching up to 5 meters in height. The heightened roof added much light and airiness to the bedrooms, while maintaining the warmth of the rooms, by using white-washed wooden planks.
A spacious main bedroom featuring a large window and a massive custom built wardrobe makes for plenty of storage options. A concrete beam that runs throughout the bedrooms level, discovered in the renovation process, was kept raw as an architectural element. Bathroom design continues the geometric use of tiles and flows into the bedroom wood-parquet.

Teenage daughter's bedroom expanded to allow an en-suite room, later to serve as an optional guest-room. Green and grey tiles were used in both en-suite and family bathrooms, with hints of decoration and artwork, even in the bathrooms.
The highlight of the house is the upstairs music room, with a set of drums, electric guitar and an old Accordion, kept over 40 years by homeowner.
"We are continuously curious about modern design, reading about and exploring the work of 20th century architects and designers. With inspiration and pieces collected over the years, from travelling the world and experiencing different cultures from east to west; visiting modern museums and design-expo's, we finally found a place for every piece to highlight the beauty and ingenuity of these collections"

Finally, in the driveway, a collector's Mazda Mx-5, is cared-for in an equipped workshop. It further exemplifies the homeowners' flare for design and precision.

Architect: Irit Bar-Gil
Photography: Sivan Amoyal