A Tel Aviv family with four children transformed a contractor-built garden apartment into a custom six-room home that feels like a private villa. The 167-square-meter apartment, with about 200 square meters of garden, sits on a quiet street off Kikar Hamedina and was bought from Tzalah Rothschild as part of a large development. It was delivered as an empty shell and redesigned from scratch by interior designer Shimrit Kaufman of SK DESIGNERS.
The home was originally planned as a four-room unit, but was reconfigured to include five usable bedrooms and retain light, openness, and a strong connection to the garden. Kaufman said the owners wanted to combine “the urban energy of New York” with “the materiality and wild nature of Thailand,” so the design uses natural materials, clean lines, and rough but pleasant textures to create a restrained luxury. The renovation took four years and included all internal infrastructure from zero, including electricity, plumbing, and air conditioning, plus custom carpentry, flooring, cladding, furniture, aluminum work, and the garden.
A major challenge was fitting storage and mechanical systems without shrinking the space or lowering the ceiling. The solution was integrated joinery, hidden storage, and direct-air units concealed inside carpentry. Kaufman also advised against using the developer’s standard construction team, saying it is better to take possession of the unit as an empty shell and then bring in private contractors.
The public area opens into a central living room facing the green garden, followed by the dining area and then the kitchen. The kitchen includes a concealed pantry hidden behind a matching carpentry door, and a natural stone countertop that was also used in the living room furniture and at the entry. In the kids’ bathroom, a freestanding tub was built into the shower area, while the parents’ suite includes a walk-in closet and a smart carpentry partition serving as both bed backboard and closet wall. Kaufman said the result is a warm, modern, minimalist space that still feels personal and family-centered.
