Between the hemp shives and mud walls, the secondhand refurbished doors and furniture, and the fully involved family - the biggest star, was the view..
Located on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, the house's interior design expresses a vision of nature, a deep scenery connection, and the individual and authentic expression of the household members. This unique project is a strong collaboration between interior designer Merav Zohar, architect Kfir Wax, and the clients Noa&Ynon, who together formed a localized creation that tells the story of an Israeli family - rooted and value driven, creative, modest and highly talented.
The house was entirely based on “green building”. Although the frame is standard, the thick walls were cast from hemp shives and mud, and covered in earth plaster. The “heavy” substance forced the designer to create a series of tailored elements that created balance and harmony, as well as integrating the view and outside surroundings in a smart and balanced way.
In this way, for example, industrial tiles meet a path of natural slabs of basalt stone that are also in the vicinity of the house and connect the living quarters with the outside. In the bathrooms and toilets, Tadelakt plaster was used to replace ceramic tiles. All the secondhand doors were cleaned and fitted to the openings of the house. The windows were made new from wood with a natural finish.
The walls were plastered with natural mineral based plaster, the custom designed elements around the house were also a combination of old elements that were given a new purpose - such as the room doors, front door, kitchen table, towel hangers in the bathroom, hanger in the playroom, picture in the living room - all creations of the family members with guidance from the designer.
The view from the house was one of the dominant factors in designing the space, and the objective of the designer to create alongside it, without stealing the show.
The designer guided the couple in choosing a calm color palette, that would balance the cold color tones of the walls, the floor and the view. Together they chose simple furniture, mainly used, that were bought in second hand stores. Combining their ideas and actions, the three created a range of improvisational solutions, that give the sense of a dynamic house, dipped in the joy of creation.
A good example is the open kitchen, the heart of the house, where the bottom cupboards are made of stainless steel, and give the feeling of vintage office style furniture, and alongside them a wall cupboard made of plywood with a natural finish, with hanging wall shelves built by the homeowner out of old wooden pallets. There’s also the dining table made from combining a sewing machine stand that was found in the storage, and a simple wooden top, surrounded by old colorful plastic chairs that were also bought secondhand.
The aluminum kitchen was also chosen as a balancing element against the mudwalls, and completes in its color the view of the house. The kitchen is designed with a smile and a wink, and is very functional. The bathroom walls were covered in tadelakt plaster, which is meant for wet rooms and so replaces the standard bathroom ceramic tiles.
The house doesn’t have any brand name elements of any kind, and the family says that they had a lot of fun and deep satisfaction in being involved and seeing their creations take form and come to life.
The exterior of the house suggests simplicity and local roots, and blends in well with the backdrop of the Golan Heights mountain range.
There’s something emotionally uplifting and exciting in the house, because it’s evident and clear that everyone involved enjoyed the process while taking it very seriously, from the collection of ideas all the way to creation. Also all those who built the house didn’t regard the esthetic choices as final, and even the family didn’t that they’ll leave there for ever.
Everything flows.
