Mexican-Style Desert House | Echo Design

The house was designed for a family of 5 with 3 cats and two dogs.
The house was built on a 2.5 dunam farm land, meaning we had no design limitations.
The house has 3 children’s bedrooms, a family room, guest bathroom, master bedroom, living room, a kitchen and a laundry room.

The architectural influences of the house came from Mexican architecture, characterized by muted colors inspired by the desert.
The house was also designed, with the same mindset, to be environmentally conscious – The openings are directed to the North-West to allow air and sunlight to flow freely around the house. The walls come in various diameters of thickness - 25, 40 and 60 cm, and all rooms were fitted with parquet floors. This allowed for insulation and gave the house a cozy feel. The verandas feature various sizes and shades of stones for a natural look.

The original plans were a bit more standard, but during every meeting, our client drew huge circles on the plans for every space. After repeating it multiple times, we offered a change of plans that would use “roundness” as the leading concept.

The house is 180 square meters, with a 25 square meters patio as the entryway and a 30 square meters veranda. Additionally, there’s an open patio in front of the entrance with a decorative fish pond. Every house owner’s dream.

Building with radiuses, arched windows, electrical upper windows, arched doorways – Many of the walls were built to be 60 cm thick to create deep niches, complex elements of wall perforation and intricate mosaic flooring. We made a strategic decision to downsize the house to maintain a reasonable budget. We let go of the typical dining room area and made the kitchen bigger. This idea actually suited the owners of the house – they favor a more laid back style of hosting (which they do often) and usually cook as they go. The kitchen was connected to the main exit from the house to the garden. An additional exit connects the bedrooms and the central communal space of the house.

Another decision we made was to design the master bedroom with the residential secure space built in as a walk-in closet, which we nicknamed “the war unit” (since the house is located on the Gaza envelope, an often unstable area). The kids can sleep in the secure space and feel safe right next to their parents, while the space itself doesn’t go to waste and serves a daily function as a closet.

The rounded entryway combines wood, glass and iron. The doors inside the house are arched. The kitchen is colorful, both rustic and retro with personal touches, such as custom hand-crafted ceramics.
The sinks were also custom built – The guest bathroom sink was conceived using folded paper and sent to a ceramic artist. The theme of the bathroom was the ocean – So we fully embraced the concept.
Another unique detail is the perforated, thick niche wall – The initial inspiration was a “womb”, the second - spirituality and positive energies that radiate to all members of the house.