A good interior designer does much more than match a curtain to a sofa - interior design: Shlomit Glicks, graduate of Barbara Barzin's School of Design (Photo: Oded Smeder)
"After years when interior design suffered from particularly bad public relations and a large percentage of the population did not understand what the hell interior designers do, in the last three years our profession has experienced a renaissance"
After years of rising apartment prices, the peak of which was registered last year - when prices jumped at a cumulative rate of almost 19% - the beginning of the year 2023 marks a change in trend.
The unrestrained rampage on the part of developers, contractors and apartment sellers, and on the other hand the rising inflation that leads to a sharp increase in the monthly mortgage repayment, cause many to give up (at least at this stage) on the dream.
It already seems that the volume of transactions is dropping dramatically and as of this writing, the housing market is at a low point that has not been seen for close to two decades.
What did these processes do to the field of interior design, which is so close to real estate?
"The slowdown in the real estate market only strengthens and intensifies a blessed process that began during the Corona period: after years interior design suffered from particularly bad public relations and a large percentage of the population did not understand what for God's sake Interior designers do, in the last three years our profession has experienced a renaissance," says Barbara Berzin, an interior designer and owner of a long-time interior design school.
According to officials in the real estate industry, the trend will only increase and intensify in the coming year and may be a turning point that will change the face of things in the years to come; it already seems that housing developers, who plan to move to a new or more spacious apartment, compromise and demand a much more realistic price for their current apartment. Others, Those who planned to move, choose for now to sit on the fence and wait for an even more significant decrease, and there are also those who, in light of the upheavals, give up the pleasure in advance and choose to adapt their current residence exactly to their needs - the big winners are the interior designers who help them with this.
Interior design is no longer seen as a luxury.
Barbara Barzin (Photo: Yair Daniel)
Redesigning the existing space saves a lot of costs compared to buying a new apartment.
Interior design: Shlomit Glicks, a graduate of Barbara Barzin's School of Design (Photo: Oded Smeder)
"The Israelis finally understand that not everyone who lives in a house knows how to design one, just as not everyone who drives a car also knows how to design vehicles, and not everyone who has a womb is automatically a mother. Bad planning and design are poison to the soul and have the same effect as junk food bad for the body"
"If until recently many believed that in the equation of interior design - aesthetics vs. practice, the aesthetics take precedence, planning the existing living space and adapting it to the changing needs, tastes and desires, is the key to dramatically improving the quality of life without entering into a financial adventure that is not clear how it will end. Interior design already We are not seen as a luxury, but as a tool to create spaces that, now that we are in the midst of an economic crisis, the general public already understands that they affect the energy of the members of the household, the mindset of each and every one of them, the work and the output, and also their interaction with the environment."
And how do they do it?
According to Barzin, "Until recently, Israelis were sure that only the rich and philandering used the services of interior designers because 'what are they already doing? Adjusting the curtains to the sofa?!'
Today they realize that the responsibility placed on their shoulders is much greater than they thought. A good interior designer is a professional with a deep understanding of advanced systems and human engineering. He is measured by his ability to read, analyze and understand spaces and locate the strengths that exist in old apartments and houses, such that a person from the settlement would simply consider To destroy. The economic situation leads many to adapt the existing one to the changing needs and to redesign the existing home space instead of buying a new apartment - a decision that significantly reduces costs."
"Meanwhile, the Israelis finally understand that not everyone who lives in a house knows how to design one, just as not everyone who drives a car also knows how to design vehicles, and not everyone who has a womb is automatically a mother. From more than 40 years of experience, I can To say unequivocally that bad planning and design are poison to the soul and have a very similar effect to what junk food does to the body."
For more articles about smart renovations and second lives:
The renovated one from Kfar Azar: how do you add rooms to a house without changing its area?
Like yours, only more beautiful: a 4.5m apartment renovated in Nes Ziona
"The house no longer meets the needs, but there is no money for a new apartment"
The architect Irit Mandelovich Sitbon also recognizes the change in the trend: "More and more property owners realize that the right thing for them right now is to improve and adapt the existing one to their needs. Old apartments, for example, have the advantage that their area is significantly larger than that of apartments in new projects. Many choose to direct the sums of A copy of what they would pay in a new project, while giving up considerable space, in favor of renovating and adapting the existing space to current needs. This is a more cost-effective procedure. We plan a different composition and add important functions such as a bedroom or office, or, alternatively, enlarging the public wing."
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The children didn't want to leave the nest, so she created her own apartment inside the house
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"There is no real harm in private construction at this stage."
A private house in new and smart construction, planning and architecture: Irit Mandelovich Sitbon (Photo: Shay Epstein)
"As an architect, I meet quite a few private homeowners whose children have grown up; the house no longer meets their needs and, on the other hand, they do not have the required amount to help their son or daughter purchase their own apartment. We take the existing building and, in accordance with the law, divide it differently, or alternatively, enlarge it and create a unit A separate residence for a young couple that will serve them faithfully for the first few years before leaving for independence. There are also those who take advantage of this option to generate passive income and rent out the housing units."
According to Mandelovich-Sitbon, the construction market is experiencing a real upheaval: "There is a real crisis created by the constant rise in prices, not only of the raw materials but also of the wages of the workers, which just keeps soaring. In the reality of 2023, a contractor or renovator is required to pay almost 40% more in relation to the salary the average of the workers from two or three years ago. The contractors' fees have also increased by nearly 20% as well as the prices of the "white" material, which means the finishing materials. For example, if a year ago they charged NIS 80 for a running meter of porcelain granite, today the price The Amir is already NIS 120. The cost of living is rising, the professionals involved in the project have to make a living and those who pay the price, literally, are the buyers and the renovators."
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Before the renovation, this house was a collection of housing units.
What does he look like now?
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"I meet quite a few private homeowners whose children have grown up; the house no longer meets the needs and on the other hand they do not have the required amount to help their son or daughter purchase their own apartment."
Architect Irit Mandelovich-Sitbon (Photo: Judith Hoffman)
"More and more property owners realize that the right thing for them right now is to improve and adapt the existing one to their needs."
A house in Kibbutz Huldah, architect Irit Mandelovich Sitbon (Photo: Judith Hoffman)
"I often reduce the scope of the work, think again with the clients about what is important to do and what is less. In the end, it's all a derivative of money and our job as architects and designers is to minimize the damage without harming the quality of life, even at the cost of finding compromises."
"In order to stay within the budget we have to be creative and constantly keep our hand on the pulse, I often reduce the scope of the work, think again with the clients about what is important to do and what is less. In the end everything is a derivative of money and our job as architects and designers is to minimize the damage without impairing their quality of life, even at the cost of finding compromises. If the Corona period made us look at home inwardly and led to making far-reaching changes in the living environment, then today a growing percentage avoids renovating the entire house and is content with upgrading certain areas. There are quite a few projects that I choose to move For interior designers. As a professional, my ambition is to enable property owners to improve their quality of life, otherwise I am failing in my duties. One of the most important things in our profession is also to understand the scope of the work. When it is right to carry out and when not to do it."
"At the same time, the architects' fees have increased significantly and this is mainly related to the delay in obtaining building permits," she explains.
"A large part of the authorities are adding more and more requirements as they go, and this is rolling on the customer's back. We are dealing with complex and slow systems and unfortunately this also has a price. However, while a significant slowdown has indeed been recorded in the apartment sector, there is no real damage to private construction at this stage. The Israeli dream remains a house with a white picket fence. What's more, construction techniques are changing - people are switching to advanced construction that lowers costs. The new constructions allow us to produce many more alternatives, the concrete walls and blocks are giving way to construction with bars, steel frames and cement-based panels, which undergo processes and are used to cover the facades. Inside the house, the division is made by plaster walls, all of which lower the costs and significantly speed up the pace of construction."
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