The idea for our home began somewhere outside of it — while I was sitting on my surfboard in the water off the western shore of Jaffa.
From the sea, the contrast between the two cities becomes particularly striking. Looking south, the ancient city of Jaffa unfolds through its limestone buildings, rough textures, and architecture shaped over centuries. Looking north, Tel Aviv reveals a different architectural landscape, where modern glass towers stand alongside Bauhaus buildings with their white facades, clean lines, and rounded balconies.
This encounter between old and new, solid and transparent, rough and smooth, became the starting point for the design of our home.
The 110-square-meter apartment, with two balconies totaling an additional 14 square meters, was originally planned with 3 and a half bedrooms. It was reconfigured into a 2 bedrooms home, creating more generous spaces better suited to our family's way of living. The main living area was expanded to approximately 50 square meters, alongside a spacious primary suite and a separate private wing for our teenage daughter.
The architectural contrast between Jaffa and Tel Aviv is expressed through two opposing walls that define the main living space.
On one side, a textured cement-based wall, reminiscent of limestone, begins on the balcony, continues through the living room, and extends into the kitchen, blurring the boundary between indoors and outdoors. Its rough, solid materiality references the ancient buildings of Jaffa.
Opposite it, a long storage wall with sliding mirrored doors reflects light and its surroundings, constantly changing with the viewer's perspective. It introduces the lighter, more transparent architectural language of modern Tel Aviv.
The mirrored surface is interrupted by curved white walls inspired by the rounded balconies of Tel Aviv's Bauhaus architecture. These curves provide a backdrop for two custom-designed sculptural elements: a bookshelf and a display pedestal crafted from charred wood by designer Shmuel Linski. The material was inspired by the burned tree trunks left on the beach after a bonfire — another memory of the sea translated into the interior.
The kitchen continues the architectural language of the living space, centered around a four-meter-long island combining a generous work surface with a custom-designed wooden element.
The curved motif extends into the hallway, where a rounded wooden ceiling element draws inspiration from the minaret of the mosque standing directly opposite our balcony. Rather than reproducing its original form, the design translates its geometry into a contemporary architectural gesture.
In the primary bathroom, wall tiles designed by Patricia Urquiola for Mutina introduce ornamental motifs that reference the layered cultural identity of Jaffa through a contemporary interpretation.
Beyond the architecture, our home reflects the personal and professional world my wife, Carmit, and I have built together as the owners of Prat Living, a furniture and home design business in Tel Aviv.
The furniture and objects throughout the apartment form a collection assembled over many years. Most came from Prat Living, though not all. Some are no longer in production, and many have moved with us from one home to another, finding their place in different surroundings along the way.
We believe a home should evolve over time, bringing together objects from different periods rather than starting over with every move. For us, good design is not necessarily about what is new today, but about what we will continue to appreciate years from now.
The intention was never to recreate the architecture of Jaffa or Tel Aviv, but to translate elements of the surrounding environment into a contemporary architectural language.
What began as a view from my surfboard became a home shaped by two cities — a place where architecture, materials, and personal memories come together.
photographer: Oren Amos
