Houzz Tours
My Houzz: Art and Lucky Finds Fill an Airy New House
Bicycle wheels, wire hangers, IV drips ... anything can become furniture in this artistic family's home
Marie and Gil Hanan were staging spaces long before they moved into their new home. The artistic couple — she’s a film director; he’s a set designer — met in film school 20 years ago. “I see each space I design as a frame,” says Marie.
Working closely with their former neighbor, architect Sharon Eiger, the couple devised an airy, L-shaped house for their family of five; it offers views of agricultural fields from every room. “We wanted a big, open space with high ceilings,” says Marie. “It was important for us to have the view continue to the outdoors.” The interior is filled with secondhand finds collected over the years, and each tells a story of its own.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Gil and Marie Hanan; their children, Yanay (age 15), Tahel (12) and Adam (5); dogs Diesel and Lola; cats Shimshon and Sophia; and parrot Clara
Location: Bnei Atarot, Israel
Size: 180 square meters (1,938 square feet); 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a home office and an outdoor workshop
Year built: 2012
Working closely with their former neighbor, architect Sharon Eiger, the couple devised an airy, L-shaped house for their family of five; it offers views of agricultural fields from every room. “We wanted a big, open space with high ceilings,” says Marie. “It was important for us to have the view continue to the outdoors.” The interior is filled with secondhand finds collected over the years, and each tells a story of its own.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Gil and Marie Hanan; their children, Yanay (age 15), Tahel (12) and Adam (5); dogs Diesel and Lola; cats Shimshon and Sophia; and parrot Clara
Location: Bnei Atarot, Israel
Size: 180 square meters (1,938 square feet); 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a home office and an outdoor workshop
Year built: 2012
The Hanans did a number of Ikea hacks in their kitchen, adding vintage elements and their own creative touches to the store-bought cabinets.
The island is made of Ikea kitchen cabinets covered with large pieces of stainless steel. Gil added a bar on top using a piece of reclaimed wood. “Everything we find has potential,” Marie says.
The overhead light is another Ikea hack, made of a Foto Pendant Lamp and a bicycle wheel. The base of the round glass table is a vintage Singer sewing treadle.
Antique Sewing Machines: Tailor Made for Nostalgic Decor
The island is made of Ikea kitchen cabinets covered with large pieces of stainless steel. Gil added a bar on top using a piece of reclaimed wood. “Everything we find has potential,” Marie says.
The overhead light is another Ikea hack, made of a Foto Pendant Lamp and a bicycle wheel. The base of the round glass table is a vintage Singer sewing treadle.
Antique Sewing Machines: Tailor Made for Nostalgic Decor
Marie hung a salvaged cupboard on the wall instead of upper cabinets. She painted it a soft blue and replaced the metal netting with a new pane of glass.
Gil fashioned a key holder out of a car mechanic’s magnetic tool catcher; he keeps it on the stainless steel island.
Gil fashioned a key holder out of a car mechanic’s magnetic tool catcher; he keeps it on the stainless steel island.
Architect Eiger gave the family an unused carpenter’s table that had been in her backyard. Gil stripped off the old paint and refinished it. Then he shortened the legs and added wheels, turning it into a coffee table. “We add wheels to everything,” says Marie, who says she’s constantly changing around their pieces and designing new ones (like the media table) for Gil to make.
Many of the paintings on display are by Gil’s grandmother, Lea Nikel, an abstract painter who won many awards during her lifetime, including the Israeli Prize. Gil’s sister, an art curator, helped arrange the pieces on their wall.
The rocking chair, by Danish designer Lena Larsson, is another lucky curbside find.
Many of the paintings on display are by Gil’s grandmother, Lea Nikel, an abstract painter who won many awards during her lifetime, including the Israeli Prize. Gil’s sister, an art curator, helped arrange the pieces on their wall.
The rocking chair, by Danish designer Lena Larsson, is another lucky curbside find.
A family friend gave the Hanans their oversize living room couch. Marie found the 1950s Ercol sofa in terrible condition online, at a fraction of its value. She cleaned up the wood and reupholstered the cushion, and is very proud of the results.
Embroidered pillow: Alvine Flora, Ikea
Embroidered pillow: Alvine Flora, Ikea
The local building code requires every house to have a safety room. The Hanans left the concrete walls of their safety room bare instead of covering them up, turning the structure into a striking design element.
A photographic triptych of Gil and his brother, Yoav Hanan, running naked in the sunset, is displayed on the wall. Yoav took the photos.
A photographic triptych of Gil and his brother, Yoav Hanan, running naked in the sunset, is displayed on the wall. Yoav took the photos.
The piano is from Marie’s childhood home. Open hanging shelves are filled with books and a collection of Russian cameras. A secondhand drawer was hung on the wall and repurposed as a display frame.
Stairs lead up to the second floor, which houses Marie's office and the master bedroom.
Marie and Gil took 1940s newspapers from a set he had worked on, layered them in a frame, and poured acrylic on top. The small table is the first prototype of a drawer-turned-side-table that the couple made together.
Marie and Gil took 1940s newspapers from a set he had worked on, layered them in a frame, and poured acrylic on top. The small table is the first prototype of a drawer-turned-side-table that the couple made together.
A hallway to the right of the dining area leads to their daughter’s bedroom, a bathroom and their eldest son’s bedroom. Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass windows fill the inner walls of the L-shaped home, bringing in natural light and opening to a large deck.
Marie is obsessed with owls and had a graphic designer make these custom wall decals for 12-year-old daughter Tahel.
Bed: Ikea
Bed: Ikea
The desk in Tahel's room is another refurbished secondhand find. The curtains are made from a tablecloth handed down from Marie's cousin.
Monetary constraints prevented the Hanans from adding a closet to teenage son Yanay‘s bedroom. They put up a wall instead and covered it with comic strips from a set Gil had worked on. Marie loves that the partition conceals Yanay‘s clutter.
The couple turned a bicycle wheel and the base from a hospital IV drip into a bedside table.
The couple turned a bicycle wheel and the base from a hospital IV drip into a bedside table.
Marie loves the industrial feel of these outdoor concrete tiles, purchased from a nearby Arab village, and used them in the kids’ bathroom.
She couldn’t find a toilet paper holder she liked enough to justify drilling a hole into the bathroom tiles, so she hung a chain over a wall hook and threaded the roll through it.
She couldn’t find a toilet paper holder she liked enough to justify drilling a hole into the bathroom tiles, so she hung a chain over a wall hook and threaded the roll through it.
Five-year-old Adam's bedroom is decorated with many repurposed items, including old kitchen cabinets and cartoon posters from film sets. The hanging frame filled with toy cars was passed down from his older brother.
The upper floor is divided into two rooms: Marie's home office and the master suite. A cozy seating area takes up one corner of her office.
The coffee table was a housewarming gift from Marie's father.
The coffee table was a housewarming gift from Marie's father.
Marie says she wanted their bedroom to be quiet, serene and minimalist. The couple designed the space as a private getaway, separate from the rest of the home.
They made the matching bedside tables using wire hangers and custom-cut pieces of glass.
They made the matching bedside tables using wire hangers and custom-cut pieces of glass.
The concrete tiles repeat in their own bathroom. The countertop is a repurposed window shutter. “The curtain just makes me laugh,” Marie says. “It reminds me not to take life too seriously.”
The living room opens out onto this wooden deck with a view of the neighboring fields. The family spends much of their time outdoors, and recently planted some fruit trees.
Gil, shown here, tinkers with a suitcase-turned-table. The couple built this outdoor workshop to organize their salvaged finds and to work on their creative projects.
The family finds a moment to relax together with their newest addition, Sophia the kitten. Pictured left to right are Adam, Gil, Tahel and Marie.
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See more photos of this creative home | Please show us your house
Browse more homes by style:
Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Eclectic Homes | Modern Homes | Contemporary Homes | Midcentury Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Barn Homes | Townhouses | Apartments | Lofts | Vacation Homes
More: Furnishing Your Home With Repurposed Pieces
The couple found their matching pairs of dining room chairs on two occasions. The first pair was found on the secondhand site Yad Shtayim. To Marie’s delight, the second pair was left on the curb as trash. She brought the chairs home and Gil reupholstered them to match.