A partially conservative renovation led to the creation, within a historic building, of a complete apartment covering a 36 sq m area, spread over two levels

Good things come in small packages and this renovation proves the proverb to be true. We are in southern Tel Aviv, where a historic building, unfortunately in bad condition, is identified as a potential investment and purchased to be converted from a commercial space into a 36 sq m apartment. The main problem is the fact that it is divided into two floors, for a total height of 5.8 meters.

The challenge for interior designer Nitzan Horovitz began when he realized that this project would have been unique, a wonderful adventure, and certainly not a simple one.

First, because of the small space and, second, because of its problematic nature. The important aspect for its owner was, of course,  to have a comfortable place to live in.

As a result, of the old apartment, only the division into floors and the stairs were preserved. The interior walls were destroyed, a supporting column that used to hold the gallery was replaced with a beam, and the functions of the different spaces were transformed.

From the entrance of the building, the door leads to an opening from which two staircases diverge: one leads to the basement, where the bedroom and the bathroom are located, the other, with its four steps, leads to the living room, the kitchen equipped with a dining table and a small bathroom.

The stairs, paved with graphite porcelain stoneware, have an important graphic connotation. The rest of the floor, throughout the whole apartment, is lined with natural oak, while the doors are decorated with a white finish and a thin black stripe.

The central wall units, which are the same for the living and the sleeping area, are the protagonists of this project, being both  a functional storage element and a linking element between the two floors. The wall closet is 60 cm deep and is used as a kitchen cabinet, also hosting a niche with a countertop. The basement hosts a double bed with bedside tables, a washing and drying machine, a shower stall and a small storage room.

“The main intervention consisted in replacing old-fashioned infrastructures – says the interior designer –. The greatest challenge, because of the small size of the apartment, was taking advantage of all the available space without sacrificing any living need. This is not a modular apartment: it is a small apartment equipped with all comforts and functions of a standard house.”

[Text Valentina Dalla Costa – Photo Oded Samer]