capsule | Studio Erez Hyatt

An apartment in Ramat Gan 

Curiosity. This is the word that describes the entrance to the apartment designed by Erez Hyatt in Ramat Gan, during which an amazing space is discovered with an urban landscape and open sky decor. In this project, the designer got a free hand when the client stated that she wanted to arrive at the end of the renovation with suitcases only.

The size of the apartment was a challenge: 80 sq.m. built and 12 sq. Ft. Balcony where it was important to produce storage places and practical kitchen.

The challenge has created an interesting architecture that combines minimalist lines with luxury, without giving up the feeling of home warmth.

The entrance is a surprise and is set in front of a foyer built of gray carpentry in a trendy look. Longitudinal and asymmetrical carvings were drawn, which their size takes into account the actual size of the space.

It is used for storage and a coats closet, creating an intimate entrance with a hint at the dominating materials and colors. This carpentry actually starts to tell the story of the house already at the door, a story that progresses with every step in the house. Adjacent to it is the kitchen, and as a derivative of the size of the house, it was designed on one wall without an island. It is built of elegant wooden fronts with integral handles, and a noticeable granite worktop in a bold example that climbs and covers up the wall.

Above it, there's a sunken ceiling lighting strip that highlights its longevity from the entrance to the window and is combined with two small stripes that are a testament to the designer's love of making ceiling lighting games.

The wired lighting cluster also returns in the power wall, but as bold and black objects, just like a cluster of circular objects in the center of the living room that produces an aura at night and illuminates the white table as the centerpiece of the living room.

The kitchen floor is a shade of gray-brown parquet that continues to the entire public space, with a large, dark carpet in the living room, which defines that space while providing a contrast to the bright furniture.

A luxurious couch with a huge presence was placed in the center and against it there was a pair of black and white tables, with their contrasting colors creating a balance. Their circular and rectangular shapes intersect with the lighting forms above, contributing to the airiness just like a pair of compact armchairs that create an open space.

Opposite the sofa there was the power wall, which is the designer's fingerprint in every project. Because the house was surrounded by "screen walls", it was tricky to find a wall will be dedicated to it, so it was built in the core of the house as an independent unit in proportion to the space.

Inside the spectacular carpentry, a niche was carved into the same granite of the kitchen surface. This repetition creates a strong eye connection between the two adjacent functions, while at the same time creating a "Game of Depth" between the different materials.

Eye contact is also created thanks to the pillar next to the sofa which was covered by wood as in the kitchen, which has a lighting fixture that goes up to the ceiling and draws interest. The wood cladding is also applied to the pillar in the dining area and to the walls of the "Apartment protected space", creating a perimeter casing for the gray power wall.

In the public space, the designer chose to combine 2 types of curtains: The window on the back of the sofa received a white Venetian curtain that corresponded with the floor in both the material and the horizontal lines. The showcase that is located in the exit to the balcony is covered with a brown pleated curtain, which softens the space and paints it with a suitable shade. The curtain also contributes to the flow towards the dining area, which has in its center a table with a black wooden slab which stands-out by the floor shades and surrounded by black plastic chairs. Nature is very carefully picked and therefore present in it, thanks to a flowerpot planted in a planter specially made as the pattern of the power wall. This is a very special nature's appearance that coincides with the small balcony next to it. It is paved with the kitchen granite, a material that will also return in the bathrooms and on the back of the master beds. An airy, thatch-made armchair was chosen for her, with a longitudinal stripes pattern that simulates the power wall. Beside it there was a planter, built specifically for the project in a rusty look, thus introducing natural material into the space, just like the bottles that were placed next to it may have.

To the master-suite, we enter through a black door leading to the hallway which has on one side a cabinet with transparent doors and on the other side a bathroom with long-striped glass. The bathroom lighting is submerged and longitudinal, creating a clean, hotel-like feeling, literally.

It felt like the public space enters the private space: the bathroom floor repeats the granite from the public space, and the sink cabinet repeats the pattern of the power wall. The same pattern also repeats in the closet, which has the TV planted inside and is opposite to the bed, creating a rhythm of perfect harmony.

In front of the closet, there is a spacious bed that rests on a wall that has the same granite cladding niche. Hidden lighting was planted at the top of the bed is responsible for the night-time atmosphere, and wall spotlights are responsible for non-standard reading lighting.

The room is surrounded by a brown pleated curtain, which softly frames the view from the high floor window.