Luxury on Netanya’s Waterfront
A rising-floor pool, an 8.5-meter-high patio, a 120 sqm master suite, an almost 360-degree view of the Mediterranean Sea just 300 meters away, and luxury furniture pieces personally imported from Italy with a budget of two million shekels – these are only a small part of what makes up this exceptional penthouse, spanning 700 sqm of lavish design at a standard rarely seen in Israel.
“This is a rare project in the local landscape in every sense, both in terms of execution and scale. The project took about a year, which is record time for a project of this magnitude. It included the import of furniture pieces, stone and marble, as well as custom tailoring of all the textiles in the home – from curtains and bedding to carpets,” says Dudu Cohen, the interior designer selected to design the apartment facing the coastline in Netanya’s Ir Yamim neighborhood.
The interior design process began in coordination with the construction company, which originally intended to deliver the apartment fully designed. During the work, the apartment was purchased for NIS 40 million by a family of six, and the new homeowner joined Cohen throughout the design process. The project was managed by Eyal Simchi.
The designer says he sought to find the balance between aesthetics and practicality. Through his personal interpretation of “luxury design” in Israel, he aimed to create a home with a sense of intimacy and family warmth.
“Based on my experience working with hotels, I think about the years ahead when choosing finishing materials, upholstery fabrics and lighting – with an emphasis on everything being practical and durable,” Cohen explains. “At the end of the day, four children will grow up in this home, and there is also a dog. This is a home meant to be lived in, not a museum-like space intended only for hosting. For example, the glass is resistant to strong sun and sea winds, and throughout the home there are shading and blackout curtains, both to avoid an aquarium-like feeling and to protect the furniture from fading.”
Every View Faces the Sea
On the first floor of the penthouse by BRIGA Real Estate, the layout includes a double kitchen – meat and dairy – a guest room, service and laundry rooms, the dining area, the living room and the patio, where the hidden pool is also located.
The only built wall is the one that accompanies the dining area at the entrance. From the moment the door opens, the view can already be seen through a brass mashrabiya designed by Cohen.
“Instead of placing a large cabinet that would block the view of the sea, I designed the mashrabiya to create movement and maintain a language that sits between resort living and the sea, with a rotating axis. Beneath it is a cabinet made of eucalyptus wood,” he explains.
Along that same wall, the designer planned a custom library and a fixed five-meter-long dining area. “The family loves to host and did not want a table that is opened only on holidays. They wanted the home to look as it is, without having to adapt itself to a specific occasion,” the designer explains.
The remaining exposed facades allow open views of the landscape, which also shaped the thinking around the changing light throughout the day, creating a dramatic and natural setting.
“The height of the first floor is 4.3 meters, and the double-height patio space reaches approximately 8.5 meters, so there was a spatial approach to light. Decorative lighting was selected – lighting that fills the space. Symmetry was important to both me and the client, so every light fixture is centered around a specific focal point, whether it is the view, the space or a particular piece of furniture. This creates visual calm,” Cohen says.
On this floor, lighting fixtures made of onyx marble, purchased from Dori Kimhi, were incorporated.
“This is a rare project in the local landscape in every sense - both in terms of execution and scale.”
Italian Elegance by the Sea
The living room is the central space on the first floor, furnished with pieces that were carefully selected and imported from Italy, alongside several items purchased locally from Tollman’s. The space features low, soft and rounded sofas in cream tones, paired with tables finished in polished marble that reflect the decorative lighting above. The living room opens toward the patio, and from there to the blue horizon.
In the double-height patio stands the highlight of the home – a rising-floor pool, which also determined the entire floor level. The floor was raised by approximately one meter above the original level, allowing it to contain all of the home’s systems. The patio itself features greenery and light, airy furniture.
“The most significant presence in the home is the sea, and the feeling changes throughout the day. Because of the enormous windows, the sun, clouds and waves create a situation in which the home feels different each time. Breathing space was important, so despite the large dimensions, it was not right to overload the space with furniture,” Cohen adds.
The second part of the floor includes a staircase leading to the upper level, a more intimate dining area for everyday use, the double kitchen, a guest bedroom and service rooms. Along the kitchen and behind a mirrored wall are the guest restroom and a room that centralizes the home’s smart infrastructure, including shutter mechanisms and audio systems.
In the guest restroom, accessed through a door concealed within the mirrored wall, the designer chose polished natural Patagonia stone. “It is very wild, telling a story of time and movement within the small space. We paired it with a combed eucalyptus wood cabinet to create a three-dimensional feel,” the designer explains.
The Coastline, Brought In
Months of careful thought were dedicated to selecting the cladding and flooring throughout the home, all of which were imported from Europe. For both levels of the penthouse, silver travertine marble flooring was chosen, which, according to the designer, creates a meeting point between sand and water. For some of the interior walls, limestone cladding was selected, evoking the texture of layered sand, while crystal stone was used in the kitchen by Poliform at Habitat.
The second floor, which serves as the residential level and includes the children’s bedrooms and the couple’s master suite, is accessed through a sculptural metal staircase, positioned opposite an elevator. On either side of the staircase are the home office and the daughter’s room. Each bedroom is, in fact, a master suite with its own en-suite bathroom.
The designer and client began by focusing on the children’s rooms, with the goal of giving each one a distinct character. Oak parquet flooring was installed in all the bedrooms, while the wet areas feature marble flooring with a high-quality polish that creates a uniform, almost seamless surface. The children’s bathrooms share a similar design language, combining white marble, bronze-toned hardware and walnut wood cabinetry. For the older son’s bathroom, black marble was selected.
Cohen adds: “There was a special request to plan a library in every room and to keep screens to a minimum. There is one concealed screen in the living room and another hidden in the ceiling of the parents’ suite. Each library was fitted with lighting that adds interest and is intended both for the books themselves and for reading.”
The desire to preserve an open view toward the sea turned transparent glass into a significant material in the spatial concept. “Beyond the three facades of the penthouse, some of the bedrooms also received an additional transparent facade facing into the home. We created a layered view through different layers of design, with careful thought given to the openness of the home and what is seen through each space,” the designer explains.
This can be seen, for example, in the daughter’s bedroom on the second floor, located next to the metal staircase, with one transparent facade facing the interior of the home and another facing outward, toward the sea. The room was designed in pink tones and features a custom carpentry wall by Next Door, as in the rest of the home, with lighting in a wave-like texture. A work desk was positioned against the glass facade, looking toward the staircase and the home office on the other side.
“The sea and coastline are reflected from every angle.”
A Resort-Like Master Suite
The couple’s master suite spans approximately 120 sqm and is divided into four functions: the main sleeping area, an elongated walk-in closet separated by brown-tinted glass, a bathroom enclosed by a sliding partition, and a private terrace with an operable skylight.
The bathroom connects to the terrace and is concealed by a blackout curtain. It is clad in grey Italian marble, which was also used to create the 3.5-meter-long double sink. A black bathtub is placed directly on the floor, while on the opposite side, a double shower is set behind glass doors.
“Every evening at sunset, there is something magical about this room. It was important for me to bring in warm, pleasant materials through the brown bedding, the wave-like wall cladding that echoes the movement of the beach and sand, and the mirror behind the bed, through which the sea and coastline are reflected from every angle,” says Cohen.
The room is designed in warm bronze and walnut tones, which dominate the custom carpentry, alongside powder-toned curtains that provide soft shading. Here too, as throughout the home, the curtains and bedding were made in Israel by Ella Decor and Yurista, and were custom-tailored to the dimensions of the space and the wishes of the homeowners. The rugs were selected from Tzemer Beautiful Rugs.
“It was a very intensive year, and the first project I led as an independent designer. Over the years, I have worked on significant, large-scale hospitality projects as an employee. Today, as an independent designer, I feel I have reached the perfect balance between family and creation,” Cohen shares in conclusion.