Soft & Minimal: Calm Terrazzo Living in a Refined Urban Apartment
Soft & Minimal refines a 130 sqm apartment in Ramat HaSharon, Israel with a quiet, monochrome palette. Designed by Shira Lavi BD, the home strips away partitions to form an open, balanced interior where terrazzo, brushed aluminum, and oak veneer anchor daily life. Calm furniture arrangements and carefully placed art keep the rooms light on visual noise while still feeling tailored and livable.
Soft morning light washes across dark terrazzo as it meets the low, quilted sofa, softening every edge. A thin curtain wall glows along one side, turning the living area into a muted, luminous core.
This apartment, Soft & Minimal, is a 130 sqm home in Ramat HaSharon, Israel by Shira Lavi BD. The project rethinks a standard apartment layout, removing extra walls so living, cooking, and lounging read as one flowing interior. The throughline is clear: a controlled palette and carefully tuned furnishings create calm while still answering the demands of everyday urban life.
Opening The Plan
From the kitchen island, the eye travels without interruption across the sofa to the black aluminum library that holds the television and books. That slender structure functions as a partial room divider, giving a sense of depth without closing the view. Boundaries are suggested rather than built, so movement between cooking, dining, and resting stays natural. The result is a single, generous volume where each zone has a clear role yet shares the same restrained mood.
Monochrome As Calm
Material choices keep the apartment visually quiet. Dark polished terrazzo flooring grounds the rooms, its fine aggregate catching light in a subtle way. Against it, the long kitchen unit pairs brushed aluminum with oak veneer, setting up a cool–warm dialogue that repeats in the living area tables and stools. Upholstery stays in soft grays, from the tufted modular sofa to the dining chairs, with color limited to art inspired by the Dead Sea shores.
Light, Curtains, And Texture
Along the exterior wall, sheer curtains hang from ceiling to floor, diffusing daylight into an even wash. Behind them, windows remain legible, yet glare and hard reflections are toned down. Track lighting and simple pendants pick up where the sun leaves off, throwing gentle cones over the island and the seating group. A woven rug under the sofa layers in additional texture, marking the lounge without resorting to strong color.
Bedroom With Hidden Technology
In the bedroom, oak carpentry wraps the bed and a low cabinet that doubles as a media unit. A concealed lift raises a television from this cabinet when needed, keeping the room clean when it is switched off. Pale wood flooring, a white quilt, and full-height drapery repeat the apartment’s gentle rhythm. A single slender floor lamp brings a touch of warm color while remaining firmly in the background.
Soft Boundaries In Daily Use
Behind sliding glass panels with a lightly rippled finish, another room waits in soft focus. The partition blurs activity beyond while sharing light between areas, reinforcing the project’s preference for filtration over hard separation. Storage is integrated into walls and volumes, from tall wardrobes to the black library unit, so clutter stays out of sight. Every move prioritizes calm surfaces and clear routes, making the apartment feel generous despite its compact footprint.
By evening, terrazzo floors deepen in tone and the glow from pendant globes reflects lightly on brushed metal. The apartment settles into a steady, quiet register. Through the repeated materials and measured furnishings, Soft & Minimal maintains its name, giving everyday routines a calm, precise backdrop.
Photography courtesy of Shira Lavi BD
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