Walnut kitchen — Tel Aviv apartment

The brief was straightforward: replace a builder-grade kitchen in a 1960s Tel Aviv apartment without enlarging it. The owners wanted walnut, brass, and a discreet bar that disappeared into a tall unit when guests left.

We started with a full survey of the space — old apartments are rarely square, and this one was off by 14 mm corner-to-corner. Every cabinet was scribed individually rather than relying on a uniform plinth. The countertop is a single bookmatched walnut slab finished with hardwax oil and an ogee edge.

The tall unit on the right hides the bar: the door folds up on a piston-assisted hinge to reveal a backlit bottle rack and a pull-out tray for glassware. Clients tested the door for two weeks at the workshop before we shipped — the open position has to clear the ceiling fan when the kitchen is in use.

Finish: hardwax oil for the cabinet bodies, 2K polyurethane for the countertop perimeter where steam from the kettle hits, brass details from a Tel Aviv supplier we have used on three other projects.