Features of Israeli Design: Patterned Tiles
Uri Lifshitz Building; Photo: Liat Albling
One of my favorite design elements in a space is a beautiful patterned tile. Patterned tiles appear throughout Spanish, Italian, and Mexican interiors (the three countries I turn to most for global inspiration), and to my delight they are incredibly popular in Israel and also distinctly Israeli. Israeli homes come standard with tiles; they are resilient in the hot climate and, with no local lumber industry, they offer both a more attainable and more functional solution than real hardwood. You can find ancient colorful tiles in centuries-old buildings in Jaffa and Jerusalem, retro orange and brown tiles from the ‘60s and ‘70s in apartments in Tel Aviv, and modern tiles in every shape and color in renovated homes across Israel.
Cafeteria inside HaMiffal at Lorenzo House Cultural Center; Photo: Tzachi Ostrovsky via NYTimes
HaMiffal, Jerusalem; Photo: Mallory Serebrin
Terrazzo tiles, like below, were ubiquitous in Israel and made of concrete with bits of stone throughout. When renovating a home in Israel, people often remove this old terrazzo, even to replace it with a more modern terrazzo tile (which is trending worldwide). On walls you can uncover wonderful vintage tiles, which I would love to salvage and repurpose in a home, instead of completely discard. This particular Italian tile shows up everywhere:
Via Romy Silber Benit, uncovered during a renovation
Via Maya Linenberg, uncovered during a renovation
Via MaDeux, found at the Haifa flea market
These Israeli homes showcase beautifully preserved tiles in renovated spaces designed for the 2020’s:
Design: Meital Mayorchik Sarid; Photo: Shai Epstein
Design: Yael Friedlander; Photo: Nimrod Levy
Design: Emily Shkedi; Photo: Dor Kedmi
Design and Photo: MaDeux
If you have an old apartment covered in old tiles, consider giving them new life instead of throwing them all away.
A Day in Tel Aviv
During the week of Sukkot while my parents were visiting, Jake and I abandoned the kids and spent a day walking and taste testing Tel Aviv. We started with a coffee and pastry at Dallal Bakery in Neve Tzedek and then walked north to have lunch at Port Said in Lev Hair. After wandering around the Yemenite Quarter we got another coffee at Papua Cafe, sat on a bench for an hour to call friends and people watch, and then got malabi and another coffee at Hamalabiya. From there we headed north on King George St., through Meir Park and around Dizengoff Square. After reaching Old North we took a scooter down the beach to get to Florentin for pizza and beer at Teder.
Best coffee: Papua Cafe
Best bite: Port Said
Neve Tzedek
Michal Flowers
Okra salad @ Port Said
Grilled mackerel @ Port Said
Painted shutters on Allenby St.
Dostoevsky Bookstore
My great grandparents’ former home on Mohiliver St.
Original tiles where my grandfather grew up
Papua Cafe
New build in the Yemenite Quarter
Sunset by the beach
Teder.fm
Frill Furniture
I love these wood pieces by Tel Aviv-based furniture designer Gila Babich. After years in the news business, she pivoted to woodworking and started Frill Furniture in 2018.
Romy Silber Benit’s Storage
125 sqm Ramat Hasharon - kitchen storage
Romy Silber Benit is my favorite interior designer in Israel that I’ve come across. She does beautiful gut renovations that transform modest-sized apartments into airy functional homes. There are a lot of Israeli designers doing clean, modern design, but Romy’s spaces have an extra special something — a subtle terrazzo floor that’s unlike any of the trending terrazzo out there, a beautiful vintage (or vintage-inspired) cabinet, luxuriously warm woods that stretch seamlessly across the wall, or a quirky pair of vases. On top of it, she does great storage (and prides herself on it). You can read a few storage tips from her on Walla.
125 sqm Ramat Hasharon - beautiful hall cabinet
125 sqm Ramat Hasharon - custom hallway storage
160 sqm apt in Ramat Gan - gorgeous cabinet in the corner (and those subtle terrazzo floors)
160 sqm apt in Ramat Gan - hallway storage
160 sqm apt in Ramat Gan - kitchen storage in warm blond wood
95 sqm penthouse in Tel Aviv - wall to wall living/dining storage
95 sqm penthouse in Tel Aviv - kitchen and island storage
95 sqm penthouse in Tel Aviv - those gorgeous vases
120 sqm apt in Tel Aviv - hallway storage
120 sqm apt in Tel Aviv - every surface with seamless storage
120 sqm apt in Tel Aviv - bathroom storage
88 sqm in Tel Aviv - beautiful cabinetry detailing in this kids room, plus a trunk and oversized basket
88 sqm in Tel Aviv - stunning black cabinet against great tiles
88 sqm in Tel Aviv - bathroom storage in deep wood and clean white
Around Modiin
My favorite neighborhood in Modiin to walk around in and take photos is Shimshoni. The plant life and facades make for great inspiration.
I want that pot and plant….
Bougainvillea in Shimshoni
And a few from Nofim, where I live (Modiin’s newest neighborhood … for now):
View of Tel Aviv from our balcony, plus one of the new neighborhoods being built across the way.
