The owner of this Jerusalem apartment spent the first 90 years of his life in England. Two years ago, fulfilling a lifetime dream, he made aliya and happily settled in Rehavia, close to his daughter and her family who had made aliya several years earlier.
"I used to visit Israel several times a year," he told me, "and every time I came I looked around but went home empty-handed." With a son and large extended family also residing here, he came not only for the festivals but for family celebrations.
Finally, two years ago he hit the jackpot.
"I came over on a five-day trip for the brit (circumcision) of a great-grandchild," he recalls, "and my daughter said the [real estate] agents had found something. She didn't think I would even look at it as the whole apartment had been completely gutted. It had no interior walls, no ceiling and no floor - you walked in on sand." None of his relatives believed he would even look at such a place.
"In spite of the state it was in, I saw the potential. No one thought my imagination would stretch that far but I knew it [the property] could be made suitable for my needs."
These were a lounge/dining room that could accommodate the furniture he wanted to bring from England, a working kitchen, two bathrooms and another room for a part-time caregiver. Also on his list of must-haves was a patio to substitute for the garden he had in northwest London, and a synagogue nearby - not too difficult to find in Jerusalem.
The ground-floor apartment is in a building with seven other apartments and is probably of Bauhaus design although our owner does not know for sure. What he does know is that one of his neighbors has lived in the same apartment for over 60 years.
The curved outer wall of the building is reflected in the inside so the entire lounge is circular. This elegant room with its three original tall windows has been improved by the adding of two wall niches in the same dimensions as the windows. These have the dual functions of making the long curved wall more interesting and providing a place for the knick-knacks and memorabilia of a long full life.
According to his daughter, it was very important that her father be surrounded by familiar things. Having left behind a large London home, they were lucky to be able to bring at least a part of the lounge suite, two two-seater sofas and two chairs in a gold and green brocade, and a reproduction Regency dining suite, which fortunately had a small table that fitted in without any trouble.
Because the owner is a short man, the original high ceilings had to be lowered and spotlights were set into the new ceilings in straight lines rather than following the curve of the walls, creating an effective contrast. A circular rug (acquired here) completes the picture.
Since there were no inner walls when the owner began, he could divide the space the way he wanted and decided against an open plan. The neat kitchen can be seen from the salon and blends in with the color scheme of the cream and green wooden cabinets, but it is separated by a glass and plasterboard wall.
Because the owner also wanted a desk, a niche was created in the lounge/dining room with a desk angled slightly so that privacy would be preserved when anyone walked in to the apartment. Around the desk are shelves for books and photos. Conspicuously absent is a computer.
Other storage for books has been created around the apartment with shelves at the entrance and around the bedroom door.
The bedroom is quite roomy with built-in wardrobes and a very relaxing coffee and cream color scheme. It boasts a dumb valet for the dapper owner to keep his trousers nicely pressed.
The bedroom leads to the back patio which is more functional than beautiful, but the front patio, which is reached from the salon, is very pretty, blooming with geraniums and petunias and looking out over what the owner likes to call his "leafy lane." It's the place he loves to sit in the evenings and reflect, enjoying the beauty and peace of Jerusalem on balmy summer nights.
Do you feel you own one of Israel's most beautiful homes? Please e-mail gloriadeutsch@gmail.com.
