Some houses reveal their potential immediately, even when the way they are organised no longer reflects the lives unfolding within them. This 300 square metre residence in Ramat Gan was one of them.

Set on a corner plot in an established neighbourhood, the house was originally built around 15 years ago for an older couple. When a family in their forties with three children moved in, the architecture was still compelling, but the way the interiors functioned belonged to a very different chapter of life.

Interior designer Tuvia Panfil, founder of Studio PANFIL, was invited to rethink the house around the rhythms of a young family, creating a home that could move easily between everyday life and entertaining without losing the architectural character that made it interesting in the first place.

Ofri Paz | STANNEL

The original plan was relatively fragmented. The kitchen occupied a remote position facing the parking area, the public spaces were divided, and despite the generous garden surrounding the house, the relationship between indoors and outdoors remained surprisingly limited.

The existing structure, however, was fundamentally sound. Rather than pursuing dramatic architectural intervention, Panfil concentrated on reorganising the interior and establishing a clearer hierarchy between spaces.

This proved to be the real challenge.

There are few continuous walls in the house. Instead, the architecture is defined by large openings, abundant natural light and an unusual geometry of diagonal lines, sharp corners and ceilings that shift in angle and height.

Rather than concealing these irregularities, Panfil allowed them to become part of the new design language.

“The goal was to create a modern, calm and precise home,” he explains. “One that does not depend on passing trends, but on quality materials, considered proportions and functional planning.”

At the centre of the transformation is a newly continuous public space connecting the living room, kitchen and dining area. The kitchen was reconsidered as an integral part of family life, generous enough for daily routines yet equally suited to entertaining. Storage was incorporated throughout, but deliberately kept as discreet as possible, allowing the architecture and the sense of space to remain visually uninterrupted.

Just as important was the relationship with the garden. By strengthening the connection between the main living areas and the exterior, the landscape becomes part of everyday life rather than something observed from inside.

The result is quieter than the complexity of the original architecture might suggest. Lines are clearer, movement through the house feels intuitive and the different functions settle naturally into place.

Panfil did not attempt to erase the peculiarities of the existing house. Instead, he gave them order.

And in doing so, transformed a house designed for another life into one that finally reflects the family living there today.

The main move in the project was to create a large and significant architectural element at the heart of the entrance floor: a kind of large carpentry cube, which organizes the public space around it. Instead of dividing the floor with new partitions, this element became an anchor that defines the different areas of the house, while still maintaining a sense of openness. “This cube faces three different directions, and each side of it has a different function,” explains the designer.On one side it serves as the living room’s TV wall, on the other it defines the kitchen area, and on the third side it creates a neat foyer for the entrance area of the house.”

A dark finish was chosen for the carpentry, and it serves as a clear visual anchor within a bright and open envelope. A restrained color palette was built around it, including shades of gray, smoky black, warm wood, and measured touches of deep color. The existing beams were significantly reduced, choosing to leave them only in places where they have a clear architectural justification – on the columns. In this way, they emphasize the constructive elements and contribute material depth without overloading the space. They are joined by the ceiling beams, which were preserved as part of the original character of the house and integrate into the new language, while touches of color in deep shades of blue, green, and brown add interest, warmth, and a layer of depth to the restrained language.

 The public space was designed as an open, flowing, and connected space, where the living room, kitchen, and dining area maintain a continuous dialogue, while also having a direct and continuous connection to the outdoor spaces. The kitchen, which was relatively small in the original design and, as mentioned, faced the parking lot, was moved as part of the renovation to the back of the house, the one facing the garden and the large openings.

This change made a fundamental difference in the way the house functions: instead of a side and detached kitchen, a large, bright, and comfortable kitchen for daily use was created, which naturally connects to the guest areas, the yard, and the entire course of life. In its center stands an island whose shape continues the angles of the existing structure, and thus it functions as an integral part of the overall planning language. The living room is located in the center of the floor, between the kitchen and the dining area, and the atmosphere in it is relaxed and intimate thanks to the choice of furniture with rounded lines, which soften the sharp geometry of the shell.

The dining area is located next to large display windows facing the garden, so that the entertainment naturally expands to the outdoors, which was also designed as a direct continuation of the public space, with seating and entertainment areas that reinforce the sense of continuity between the interior of the house and the garden.

On the upper floor, the atmosphere changes noticeably – from the open and dynamic hospitality space to a calm, intimate and softer space, dedicated entirely to silence and privacy. This transition is not only functional, but also sensory: the lighting softens, the materials become warmer, and the architectural rhythm slows down to an enveloping and inclusive experience.

The master suite is one of the most prominent and precise spaces on this floor, and it was designed around one central and particularly significant item – an adjustable AUPING Essential bed. The bed, designed and engineered by the Berlin-based design duo Köhler and Wilms, has won prestigious international design awards, including the Red Dot Design Award, Good Industrial Design and the iF Product Design Award. Already in the early stages of the planning, it was clear that this was not a complementary item, but a conceptual and design anchor around which the entire space would be shaped.

The choice of a deep blue for the bed led the material and color language of the entire suite. The same precise blue recurs in the carpentry details, the cabinet fronts, and other complementary elements, creating a harmonious dialogue between the various items. Color is not used here merely as an aesthetic medium, but as a connecting tool that creates continuity, depth, and a sense of wholeness.

Alongside this, the rest of the room’s elements were carefully chosen to balance the dominant presence of blue – natural tones, soft textures and materials that are pleasant to the touch complement the bed and emphasize the quiet elegance of the space. The result is a suite with a clear, deep and refined identity, which manages to combine a precise design statement with a sense of everyday comfort and relaxation.

The bed itself occupies a very central place in the experience of the room, not only physically but also visually. It gives the entire unit a colorful and material anchor, and manages to be dominant without being overwhelming. The choice of a deep blue, unconventional but precise, introduces a sense of depth and softness into the space at the same time, and distinguishes the master unit from the restrained language of the rest of the house, without cutting it off from it.“Another homage to this color also appears in the public space: the bar stools in the kitchen were given exactly the same shade. This way, those passing through the spaces can recognize the context and experience the house as one complete system, rather than as a collection of disconnected rooms,” explains Panfil.

Planning and design |Tuvia Panfil, Studio PANFILPhotography |Shiran Carmel

About the firm | Studio PANFILStudio PANFIL, founded by interior designer Tuvia Panfil and operating for about 16 years, specializes in designing private homes and residential apartments. Over the years, the firm has developed a design approach that combines precise functionality with a rich and meticulous aesthetic language, with customized carpentry and storage solutions forming an integral part of the architecture itself. As in this project, the studio’s other works also show the search for a balance between a clear design statement and a home that feels natural, right, and comfortable to live in over time.

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