design et al are delighted to announce that NG-Interior Design have been shortlisted for Interior Design Scheme – Global Award within The International Design and Architecture Awards 2018.
This project involved the renovation of a ground floor duplex apartment situated within a conservation building in an old neighbourhood of Jerusalem. The apartment was designed for a family with four children, who came to live in Israel from South Africa. The apartment combines functional modernity with the historic spirit of the Jerusalem building, the previous world of the family, and its new world in the apartment.
The design incorporates classical and traditional characteristics that tie in with the local surroundings, as well as eclectic objects brought by the family from Africa. The apartment has been adapted to suit lively family life, as well as hosting family and friends on extended visits, for whom there is a separate guest unit. The kitchen is open to the living room and a large dining area, from which there are exits to the courtyard surrounding the apartment. The connection with history is emphasized by the inclusion of decorated tiles in the kitchen floor and in the patio, and by the arched element that is repeated in the exits to the courtyard and in the washroom mirrors.
The combination of old and new is achieved by the incorporation of natural materials – the wooden floor of the apartment interior, the local stone paving and window sills of the exterior, and the metal fittings. The apartment is painted in a rich shade of white, forming a backdrop to the wealth of elements in the different spaces. The lighting that has been chosen adds to the combination of old and new, with concealed LED lighting making room for hand-made metal and glass lighting elements.
The interior design relates sensitively to the tradition and values of the homeowners and the objects they brought with them from their former homeland in Africa. The design process included careful selection of the items and objects brought for incorporation in the new apartment, and the choice of new furniture and accessories to suit the family’s fresh, modern life in their new country. The design is the result of a close collaboration and connection between the designer and the occupants, a connection that started with a meeting at the building site, and continued for a year online until the family’s arrival in Jerusalem, and a further year until the apartment was completed and they moved in. The family was open to ideas and innovations, while at the same time the design respected their past and the past of the building.