Evening in Istanbul

Evening in Istanbul is a richly textured exploration of materiality and individuality, celebrating curved elements, colour, and collaboration. Inherently inspired by the architectural legacy of Morocco and Turkey, the home embraces key forms such as arched thresholds and organic lines, softening transitions and imbedding character. A muted base materiality serves as a foundation for bold accents elements - artworks, ceramics, and objects – layering personality throughout. Moving beyond the conventional white box, the residence celebrates curves, colour, and texture, shaped by a design-impassioned client and their own vision for a home that would feel both eclectic, yet authentic to them.

Tactile surfaces - from plaster finishes to custom joinery - intensify the sensory experience. Natural light and ventilation both animate the interior throughout the day, while skylights and large openings foster an intentionally effortless connection between inside and out. Cross-ventilation naturally tempers each of the spaces, while a sculptural staircase ties the levels together, echoing the arched motifs and blending traditional artisanal detailing amongst more contemporary gestures. As an eclectic haven, the home balances both unconventional living and a timeless liveability. The result is a dynamic and creative retreat - a reflection of the owners' own vision and passion for design.

A bold departure from the increasingly present white box approach, Evening in Istanbul is a home that celebrates experimentation, creativity, and playful materiality. Designed in close collaboration with an impassioned client, the home embraces a distinctive tonal palette, combining tactile surfaces and expressive forms with the aim to create a series of spaces that also feel energetic and eclectic, with an underlying authenticity that connects to place and those living within.

Inspired by the architecture of Morocco and Turkey, the home derives geometric nods and patterning from an openly lived liveability, with the insertion of archways softening transitions between inside and out, framing portals in the process. In what evolved as a rejection of conventionally square and linear forms, a combination of restraint and a reductionist approach explores a combining of softness and character. The use of arched openings , evident throughout, were born from a client brief seeking something different—a space defined by fluidity and warmth rather than rigidity.

The home’s materiality strikes a careful balance between bold and also being grounded in restraint. A muted base palette anchors the foundation of the design, allowing the client’s love of colour, art, and ceramics objects to remain a highlight. This approach blends elevated detailing with an intention to remain timeless and connect the older and newer spaces together. Wanting to ensure a vibrancy remained, moments of the subtleness in texture create tactile pauses amongst the other more generous and flowing planning. The selection and application of each surface tells its own unique story—showcasing the owner’s own passion for crafted and artisanal design.

Natural light and ventilation then act to animate the interior, with the large openings connecting and encouraging movement between inside and out. Skylights above also bring light from above to bathe spaces in natural light, with clear lines of passage cooling the home naturally with cross-ventilation. A sculptural staircase connects the levels while also connecting through curved gestures to the archways as its own point of interest and signalling the bringing together of older, traditional methods within a contemporary framework that reflects how we live today.

It was also important that Evening in Istanbul reflected an unconventional approach to living and felt uniquely reflective of the owners. Throughout, joinery helps to define spaces and zones, while also maintaining movement and a sense of connection as a key driving principle. Through a mix of boldness and a consideration of remaining enduring over time, the home is the result of collaboration, expression and creativity.