The Apartment That Came Together in a Month

This is a new building project called Agripas 6.

Have you ever had to work under pressure? This project was nothing short of a miracle. It was done in a month.

My delightful clients from Cleveland were so enthusiastic about their apartment that they booked tickets for their family to come for Pesach. However, you might know how things work in Israel: overpromise, underdeliver. Key handover was later than expected — we only got the keys around Purim. You do the maths.

I'm still undecided whether it was a Purim miracle or a Pesach miracle.

How many walls should you wallpaper?

We love wallpaper at CID Design. We're always recommending it because we know its game-changing nature. Paint is nice and all, but it's just not going to give you the layers of warmth and interest that wallpaper will.

Clients ask me all the time: how many walls in a room should we wallpaper? The answer really comes down to how bold or graphic the wallpaper is.

Rule of thumb: a bold wallpaper is best applied to one accent wall. If you have your eye on a calmer wallpaper that feels less visually intense, you're good to wrap the entire room in it. Often that approach feels more intentional and resolves the space, giving you more of an enveloping, cocoon feel.

In a bedroom, a more in-your-face design that commands attention is best applied to one wall behind the bed. In a living room, the dominant wall is best behind the couch. That way you get an eye-catching wow moment as you enter.

I love the contrast of the free-spirited marble wallpaper against the backdrop of the neat three-dimensional wallpapered wall. It's the unexpected that makes it so fab.

Working around a kitchen someone else chose

This kitchen was installed by the project, ahead of my decision-making. I had to base other decisions in the open-plan room around the beautiful but dominant design in the kitchen counter.

Too little design and pattern in a room makes for a boring space; too much is overload. So I kept the chair fabric, tabletop and console top in solid colours, implementing pattern only on the wall, since we already had pattern in the existing counter.

A word about colour

Are you a tad fearful of colour, like many people I know? Maybe it has to do with the fact that half of our society dresses in black and white, so that's already a 50% elimination of colour.

In any case, because this apartment is open to the public as an Airbnb, these alluring pops of colour make for an exciting, almost fun atmosphere for guests during their stay. So I went all out.

If you want to create a cohesive look across your entire home, it's a good idea to have a common thread colour. Here, because the floor tile had a grey vein, I used grey in each room as the base, then accented each room with additional forceful colours for interest and character. This backdrop was created with a wall stencil painted in a bold blue.

Every room needs a focal point

I bang on about this all the time, I know. But it's pretty crucial that each space has a visual high that your eye is drawn to, with the other elements supporting it rather than competing.

That's how the wall-to-wall headboard takes the show in this master bedroom, with all the other detailed elements enhancing it. Notice the floating drawer unit with under-wall lighting for drama. And if you have a good eye, you'd have noticed how the throw pillows coordinate with the upholstered closet door.

A room that sleeps five

Family M challenged me by asking for a kids' room that could sleep their five children. Two bunk beds sleep four, with one having a trundle as the fifth.

I wanted to walk away from the standard, boring-looking bunk bed, so I upholstered the sides to match the sliding closet door in an attractive ochre and grey geometric fabric. I continued the ochre strip above the steps, which double as drawers for extra storage. Not to mention the individual ochre squared lights and the recessed LED strips behind the top bed for that magical glow.

Stylish and chic.

Credits

Window treatments and living room pillows: Home D Design · Furniture and pillows: Twin Concept · Console table: Kibbutz HaShlosha · Mouldings and wall stencil: Best Decor · Wallpapers: Miller · Photography: Cheved Kleinbart, Vingette Photography