green tones and natural oak surfaces adorn apartment interior in tel aviv

in a unique 1930’s social-housing building in the heart of tel aviv, jonathan canetti has refurbished an apartment for a young couple with a great love for music and literature. as in any typical urban flat, where every meter counts, the architects have designed the living space to provide sufficient space for the residents, accommodate their basic needs, but also store their vast collection of books and vinyl records in a creative way. 

all images by ido adan

in order to provide a spacious common area in the apartment, the design by jonathan canetti keeps the private rooms compact. meanwhile, the challenge of displaying over 2500 items in their library became the anchor of the project. a multi-functional library was designed as the main architectural element and it divides the apartment into two sections. on one side, there is the public area with the kitchen, the living room, and the terrace, while on the other side, the three private bedrooms are placed.

apart from the book and records, the 7-meter long library also contains a keyholder right next to the entrance, a DJ stand, and a small liquor cabinet. the library’s wooden top shelf passes over the corridor leading to the bedrooms, changing the proportions of the passage. the structure was made to carry the weight of a metal ladder so one can easily reach the books at the top. the lowest shelf is made of green marble to match the color of the windows and trees of the exterior. this shelf continues perpendicularly into the living room, where it becomes a bench and a TV cabinet.

green, black, and natural oak are chosen as the main colors for the apartment, materializing each space differently. jonathan canetti has covered most of the apartment with a herringbone-patterned wood flooring. meanwhile, light grey terrazzo tiles are used for the kitchen floor, referencing the typical style of old modernist tel-avivian apartments. the master bedroom was planned to be as compact as possible with just enough space for a bed and a large custom-made plywood wardrobe.

for the bathroom, black and white terrazzo is used, paired with a green marble countertop and a green painted ceiling. in addition, a glass door and an upper fixed window were designed to light up the rather tight space. for the kids’ room, a calm shade of green is chosen to compliment the window frames and lush trees outside. a hand made woven swing was placed right between the two rooms for the children to play and relax.

project info:

name: tel aviv apartment 05
architect: jonathan canetti
in collaboration with: sharon bareket
location: tel aviv, israel
area: 90 m2

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom