• Home and design
• exterior design

Good people in the middle of the road: Renovation of an apartment for a lone soldier

Following a post on Facebook, the designer Miri Belbul arrived at the neglected apartment of 3 brothers who immigrated alone from Morocco, one of them a combat soldier in Givati. She raised donations and professionals and together they renovated the apartment and gave it a new, colorful and happy look.

• renovation
• Home Styling

Walla! Home and design

This project, which is all about love for others and harnessing for the other, started at all from a Facebook post where a lone soldier was looking for a bed. Luckily the right eyes read the words, and also what was beyond them. The result is a touching and playful project, in which the rented apartment of a combat soldier from Givati ​​and his two sisters, who live together in Jerusalem, were renovated after immigrating from Casablanca, Morocco, for Zionist motives. Confusion came to the apartment in one of the old neighborhoods in Jerusalem following a post in the bustling Facebook group "Good People for Lonely Soldiers" founded by Noam Avital - a lone soldier in the past.

More on Walla! NEWS

The camp is over: the perfect guide to designing a nursery

To the full article

"The post was short and concise but aroused special interest in me: 'A lone combat soldier who immigrated from Morocco with his two sisters is asking for a bed,' it reads," Recalls Confusion. "After a few phone calls and inquiries, we had to go to Jerusalem to understand what it was all about. We met three charming young men: two sisters aged 22 and 20 and their 18-year-old brother who immigrated from Morocco alone, leaving behind their parents and other brothers. "Electrical problems and severe dampness, old and dirty tiles and piles of furniture collected in donations or from the street. The beds were broken and some of the clothes were folded and laid on the floor, simply because there were no closets," she says.

Because this is a complex upgrade that is far beyond cosmetic, Confusion turned to good people who contributed wholeheartedly and made the complex project a success: "It's hard to explain in words but this project is a bright and blessed project," she says enthusiastically. "The amount of companies that came to help was amazing - a furniture and equipment company and a high-tech company that donated a large sum of money that allowed us to hire the services of professionals and take care of the dilapidated infrastructure."

Within a few weeks, the three-room apartment underwent a real makeover: "The initial thought was to create a combat room for the combat soldier and create a common room for the two sisters, but since he comes once every two weeks we decided to create a private room for one of the nurses and another room. "We created separation by double-sided closets. In this way, we created for the brother and sister two private sleeping kits that were designed and dressed in different styles and allow them complete privacy."

Confusion shares in its social projects the students of the styling school she owns - Scola. For the dedicated team of students who dressed up the project it was important to incorporate touches that would remind the three of the house, but in a modern and contemporary interpretation. For example, the nurse's bedroom kit incorporated elements that corresponded with the Moroccan style: hamsa, a colorful picture, the back of a bed with its west, a Moroccan rug and even a light fixture that created a DIY arched wooden plate and clay - one of the most common building materials in Morocco. In the soldier's room they chose to combine more masculine touches in shades of navy blue, camel touches and leather elements such as the shelves for example that are anchored to the wall by leather straps.

The room of the nurse who won a private room was inspired by a Moroccan Riyadh in Marrakech with striking touches of Scandinavian design. "The textile is the one that gives the touch of Morocco and the wooden accessories, straw and rattan give the Scandinavian touches. On the wall we hung an impressive display of the artist Nova Avni, originally from New Zealand, a Maori native of the tribe whose works are all inspired by tribalism." Adds confusion.

The old tiles in the toilets and bathrooms posed a real challenge. "Because such a project does not have a budget to replace tiles, we found a way to upgrade existing ones quickly and easily with a water-based silicone material called Tamglass, which is used for sealing and painting," explains Belbul. "With its help we sealed cracks in the bathroom and renewed its color, as well as the claddings themselves. The silicone mass of the material obscured the gun connections and the old texture of the tiles and created a uniform, continuous and aesthetic surface. The tiles. "

The public space has been painted and refurnished with furniture and accessories in an elegant and clean line. The highlight is a luxury dining area by designer Philip Stark that was donated two years ago by a bereaved family who specifically requested that it be moved to the home of a lone soldier in need. "For two years I waited for the right project in terms of space proportions and number of diners and this specific project fit like a glove. The fact that the table and chairs are transparent allows the small space to remain open and airy," explains Confusion.

The condition of the original kitchen was relatively good and yet, it was decided to upgrade it by additions of paint. The designers combined a bar table with mustard chairs - a shade that also appears as color spots in the picture that was hung and the color of the wall that blends well with the gray shade.

In recent years, Miri Belbul, one of the pioneers of home styling in Israel, has been leading dozens of volunteer projects for the community within the framework of Skola - the school for home styling studies. She and her students breathe new life into the homes of those who need it and create for them a respectful and stylish living environment.