A Timeless Modern Farmhouse: Light-Filled Rooms For Relaxed Gatherings
A Timeless Modern Farmhouse brings a contemporary farmhouse house to Israel under the direction of Sarah and Nirit Frenkel. The private residence spreads across a generous plot, where tall gabled roofs, stone walls, and long views set the stage for easy everyday living. Inside, the architects lean into warm woods, soft textiles, and daylight to shape a home that balances family practicality with a relaxed, quietly luxurious rhythm.
Morning light pours through tall French doors, catching the grain of pale wood and the soft weave of rugs underfoot. Long sightlines pull the eye from the front entry to the garden beyond.
This private house in Israel, designed in 2025 by Sarah and Nirit Frenkel of Frenkel Architecture & Design, sits on a plot of around 700 sqm with a built area of about 400 sqm. The project leans into the modern farmhouse typology, using generous volumes and tactile finishes to create a home that feels relaxed yet precise. Everything orbits around a calm interior palette and furnishings that anchor family life, entertaining, and future flexibility.
At the heart of the main level, which covers roughly 250 sqm, an expansive living, dining, and kitchen hall sits under a vaulted timber ceiling. Soft neutrals on sofas, rugs, and curtains keep the tall room grounded, while layered patterns on pillows and side stools add a gentle rhythm. A built-in media wall in light wood ties the seating area together and hides storage, so the room stays open for conversation and views to the garden. Large-scale abstract art in muted tones brings a contemporary note without competing with the architecture.
Composing The Great Room
The long dining table runs parallel to the kitchen island, forming a central spine for everyday meals and larger gatherings. Slim black pendants drop from the high ceiling in a measured grid, lining up above both table and island to visually stitch the two zones together. Around them, simple wooden chairs and benches echo the tone of the exposed rafters, giving warmth without visual heaviness. Tall windows on three sides, dressed in sheer curtains, wash the room with daylight and keep the connection to the terrace close.
Layering The Kitchen Palette
In the kitchen, pale cabinetry wraps three sides of the room, framing a deep island with open wicker baskets tucked beneath its plank front. A brushed metallic hood sits above the range as a single bold note, set against softly striated wall cladding and a narrow ledge of everyday spices and wooden boards. Pendant lights with white shades ride a dark horizontal bar, giving an ordered rhythm that counters the height of the ceiling. The effect is calm and practical, with every surface ready for cooking, serving, or casual gathering.
Textured Routes Through The House
From the entry hall, light wood wall paneling, black-framed doors, and a patterned rug guide movement toward the main living hall. A slim console with collected objects and books turns this circulation zone into a quiet gallery, while glimpses of the dining table and garden draw visitors forward. Storage is handled through tall, paneled joinery that reads as architecture rather than furniture, keeping visual order along the route. Every transition holds a small change in texture, from ribbed door panels to art hung over rough plaster.
Private Rooms And Retreats
In the main bedroom, soft textiles and a muted wall covering rise behind the bed, catching the filtered light from high-set windows and glazed doors. Low black bedside tables and wall-mounted reading lights add crisp contrast to the pale headboard and rug underfoot. Elsewhere on the lower level, a dedicated gym pairs full-height storage in a subdued tone with equipment placed on dark mats, so the room stays orderly even in heavy use. Throughout the house, furnishings stay consistent in color and proportion, tying family areas and private retreats into one clear interior story.
Outside, stone walls and timber roofs give the house a grounded presence along the street while trees soften the boundary. Inside, the measured palette of wood, metal, and fabric keeps daily life at ease, whether the family is gathered around the long dining table or quietly reading in the living room. As light moves across the high ceilings and broad floors each day, the modern farmhouse character settles into a steady, enduring calm.
Photography courtesy of Sarah and Nirit Frenkel
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