We invest a lot of time, energy and thought in choosing our living environment, the place where we will settle and build (or renovate) our home. In some cases, we will want to bring the environment into the house, at least conceptually, and create a design language that looks outward and draws inspiration from the textures, shapes, atmosphere and style outside. The path to implementation will of course differ from project to project, from apartment to house, and from a bustling urban environment to a quiet rural environment. But to demonstrate to you how this can be expressed, we will present a house built in a moshav in the north of the country and designed by Ron Sheinkin Studio. The two-level house integrates with the environment on several levels, from its placement on the lot and its orientation towards the landscape to the choice of colors and textures. A significant connection is created here between the interior and the exterior, and it is probably a house that could not be recreated anywhere else.

Ofri Paz | Stanley Home

Pitch data

The first encounter between the house and its surroundings is the lot itself, its data and boundaries. These, of course, largely dictate the division of the lot, the location of the house, its general shape, the location of the windows, and many other considerations.

If the plot has particularly interesting data or a less conventional character, you can use it to your advantage in planning the house and thus create a structure that integrates well with its external environment. In this case, the house stands on a mountainside in the Carmel Range.

The terrain is sloping and challenging, with a height difference of 10 meters between its upper and lower parts. Therefore, access to the house was planned from two streets, an upper and a lower one.

Both lead to a covered entrance with an antique door restored by a master carpenter.

Enhancing the landscape

In cases where the landscape or external environment is not particularly attractive, a house surrounded by a high fence will be seen, and its connection to the outside will usually end at the edges of the lot.

But in this case, the gorgeous view dictated the entire design, with the goal of exposing it as much as possible from the public space. “We chose to start with the design of the pool.

“We planned exactly where it would stand and what view would be reflected in the background,” says Ron. The pool faces the view and the public space was designed parallel to it.

This way, the view and the pool are exposed from every corner of the public space. Floor-to-ceiling display windows along the entire length of the facade and a pergola pointing toward the view further enhance the effect.

Story in materials

In architecture and design, building materials and finishes tell a story. And if the story we want to tell focuses on the exterior of the home, then it’s worth drawing inspiration from the landscape, nature, and surrounding streets.

Look, for example, at the locally sourced stone that covers the living room walls. It is also used for some of the facades and continues the materiality of the mountainside on which the house is built.

Materials such as Vega plaster, which covers the ceiling of the house, and microtopping chosen for the bathroom, add a subtle, cloudy texture and maintain the calm atmosphere that the planners and clients wanted to create.

Large windows

Who needs pictures on the wall, when there’s a beautiful, rugged mountainside right outside the window? A thorough examination of the house’s orientation and planning the openings accordingly allows for the creation of interesting views,

Beautiful and even exciting, they become an integral part of the design and atmosphere of the house. Here, at the back of the lot stands a carved mountain, and next to it it was decided to place the master bedroom.

Two large display cases were placed on the west and north facades and bring the mountain inside. The view of the mountain, revealed through the large windows, creates the most authentic decoration one could ask for.

Color palette

The colors that characterize the environment can serve as the basis for formulating the color palette of the apartment or house. In this case, the color scheme echoes the earth tones that are reflected through the windows and characterize the area.

A pleasant, calm, and warm color scheme was chosen, based on shades of wood and stone. Even the contrast here is achieved without the use of black, but rather with a deep brown shade, as can be seen, for example, in the window profiles.

Planning and design: Ron Sheinkin

Link to Instagram profile:https://www.instagram.com/ronshenkin/?hl=en

Link to Stanell’s profile::https://stannelmarketplace.com/index.php/profile-1240/

Project photography: Amit Gosher