villa in minimalistic design
Israeli interior designer, Hilit Keresh is unmistakably modern, and stays clear of any “over decoration”. Her simple sophistication can be seen in the homes she designed.
Her office has been running for over ten years and their expertise is designing luxury homes, along with commercial design, and boutique hotels.
Hilits’ designs are minimalistic and follow the “less is more” method. The use of the color white and the sparseness of items in the space bring out its size, design detail, allow there to be colorful focal points, and most importantly emphasizes the natural light and surroundings.
The design of the home, located in a Kibbutz in northern Israel, is fresh and airy, and plays a fascinating game with transparency.
The bright red front door leads to the interior of the home which was designed in a very modern way; simple sophistication, that incorporates transparency, and monochromatic and lucid palettes with splashes of color, which draw attention to focal points in the rooms.
The plan: The owners of the house made clear only two specifications, one being the location of the master bedroom (on the second floor), and the second was the use of modern and contemporary visuals. Other than that the designer was given a free hand for the interior and the surrounding design of the house, including all of the details; colors, furniture, lighting, and accessories.
The 3 principals that guided Hilit in the design of the house were: functionality, neatness, and space. She believes that with a deep understanding of the needs of the clients she can create a personal, functional, aesthetic and fresh design plan especially for them. She is heavily involved in the project throughout the entire process from the planning, direction and supervision all the way to finding the perfect functionality, aesthetics and budget.
In order to keep a spacious, linear and open visual, the attitude towards the planning of the interior was rational and carefully thought out. Any item that was not supposed to be within eyesight is stored comfortably and within reach and the practical furniture was made to follow a clean and modern line aesthetic using a monochromatic color palette. The kitchen design is purely white, with an island in the center and a sitting area; it is made to be the heart and soul of the home. The same design restraint is used in the bathrooms.
The materials used are also based on a minimalistic principal, use the of glass on the banister in the stairway and the all of the openings creates a minimalistic feel because of the lucidity.
Splashs of color…The wallpaper on the wall of the kitchen, a picture photographed by Hilit, was used in order to incorporate color and nature into the home, it also gives the illusion of infinite space.Structure and design of the home: On the ground floor there are the living and entertainment spaces: the den\living room, kitchen and dining area, and also three bedrooms and a full bathroom. Due the size limitations in the house, instead of having a larger upper floor the dining area ‘stretches’ out of the so called boundary. The gallery is located on the second floor, which overlooks the lower level and is utilized at a work space; in addition there is the master suite and a full bathroom.
The design plan had to take both into consideration the needs of the clients and their desire to have a clean look along with the size of the house. Along with the aesthetic storage areas that were designed in order to keep all unwanted items out of eyesight, which follows the plan for a clean, open space, the color palette and the different decorative items chosen give create a minimalistic visual.
The design also establishes a disconnected feeling with the use of hidden light in between the different levels of height in the house. In addition to this the heavy use of transparent glass fuses well with parts of the house that are opaque, creating optical game.
Lower level: The living room has an impressively, high, double ceiling, and in order to draw attention to it there is plaster, covering its entirety. On the second layer of the plaster there is a television incorporated into the wall. Alongside with the plastered elements there is a gallery includes a glass banister, creating a mixed look of clear and opaque. In addition to this there are also double windows that permeate natural light into the space; on the windows there are drapes, to avoid being blinded by the amount of light. In the living area there are elements that connect the entire room to one united visual, and they merge the interior with the surroundings. There is also the countertop that “wraps around” the family next to the white kitchen that gives the feel of a sort-of family tribal council.
There are the children’s rooms on the lower level as well; these rooms were designed in a colorful way, mixing wallpaper, furniture (specifically matched) and a light hard-wood floor.
Upper Level: A stairway with a glass banister leads up to the second level of the house and ends in the gallery that it utilized as a work space. The master suite also has a glass partition leading to the master bath. The purpose of the glass here is to create different paths of natural light throughout, creating an immaculate space.
End result: A home planned in order to attend to the functionality needs of the family using accentuation and a flowing design with glass between the different areas of the house without compromising intimacy and comfort
