Ornament is Not a Crime by Rebecca L Gross
Ornament is Not a Crime, by Rebecca L Gross, celebrates bold colour, dramatic curves and the drama of postmodernism in contemporary interiors. We step into a home in Istanbul from the beautiful new book – Bebek Residence, designed by Merve Kahraman.
Words: Rebecca L Gross I Photography: Ozan Bal
Merve Kahraman custom-designed the dining table, banquette, Gina stools, terrazzo bookshelf and mint-green Ziron chandelier. Photo: Ozan Bal
Merve’s Cassini floor lamp is inspired by the Cassini–Huygens mission – a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Italian Space Agency. Photo: Ozan Bal
The quiet reading nook has blue stucco painted walls and red-and-white striped seating, pillows and faux awning. Photo: Ozan Bal
The dining banquette surrounded by a curated display of artworks from a poster company contributes to the cafe atmosphere of the apartment. Photo: Ozan Bal
When Merve Kahraman, founder of Merve Kahraman Design Studio, designed the first apartment for her client in New York, she used a Scandinavian-inspired palette with natural and neutral tones and materials, based on her client’s request. But for the second apartment, this time in Istanbul, Merve upped the ante with more colours, patterns and custom furnishings to create a lively pied-à-terre that conjures a cafe vibe.
The owner wanted to spend more time in her home country of Turkey when the pandemic hit in 2020. While she initially preferred naturals, pastels and black and white, Merve encouraged her to be more adventurous. ‘I wanted to introduce her to vibrant energetic colours because it was a depressing time. Colour can really help our psychology and create an uplifting environment,’ says Merve.
Bebek Residence faces a large park and has views of lush green trees and clear blue skies. Merve brought these colours inside with a dark-green sofa and pastel blue walls that blend the interior with nature. The original mirrored wall reflects the living room and outdoors to create the illusion of greater light and space. Despite its small size, this multifunctional room offers a variety of areas for the owner to enjoy, including a sofa, dining banquette, reading nook, piano and balcony. ‘The concept was to create diversity by designing multiple spaces in this fresh and cosy apartment.’
She designed nearly all the furniture and lighting for the apartment, or used and adapted items from her product collection. Merve’s approach to furniture mediates art and design, fusing her desire for self-expression and the need to meet a client’s functional requirements. Creating bespoke furniture is also part of Merve’s sustainable approach to design. The idea is that it encourages clients to develop a more personal bond with their belongings and home. ‘It’s nicer to have something you create memories with so that you keep them or pass them to your children,’ she explains.
Merve draws inspiration from a myriad of sources, including Turkish culture, the Italian Radicals, mid- century American design and the desire to create a sense of nostalgia. Her Abide coffee table, with its modern interpretation of the evil eye symbol, holds court in the centre of the living room. ‘It’s like a talisman for the house,’ Merve says. The amorphous-shaped table is made with three different types of marble, and the legs are wrapped with a classic chequered fabric designed by Alexander Girard for Maharam in the 1970s. The same fabric is also on the N-Gene armchair, teamed with leather and cane. The chair is a re-envisioning of one that Merve’s uncle, Engin, designed in the 1970s, and she named it for him.
A dining banquette nestled into the corner of the room is styled like a cafe, with a pastel-pink leather seat and carefully curated artwork and objects adorning the walls and colourful terrazzo bookshelf. In keeping with the black-and-white patterning, the timber dining table has handcrafted black-and-white marble legs, and the custom Gina stools have the same black-and-white chequers and are designed like a mini celestial throne.
Next to the living room is the client’s favourite spot – a quiet reading nook with a bright red-and-white striped daybed and faux awning above. Merve also designed a piano stool upholstered with plush velvet, and a shoe storage credenza made with wood veneer using a traditional marquetry technique. The handcrafted wallpaper in the guest bathroom also has nostalgic cafe vibes, and the two peacocks are strategically placed to reflect in the clear arch of the two-tone mirror, creating an illusion of a bower.
Designed at a time when the world needed uplifting, Bebek Residence is a calm and happy space with fresh, feel-good vibes. It reflects Merve’s love of colour and fondness for nostalgia, and she proudly says that her client now really loves colour too.
This in an edited extract from ‘Ornament is Not a Crime’ by Rebecca L Gross, published by Thames & Hudson. Purchase the book online now here.
In the powder room, the arched mirror has two different tints, and the peacocks on the wallpaper are reflected in the lighter arch. Photo: Ozan Bal
Ornament is Not a Crime is out now, available online and in good bookstores.
“We have many different colours and shapes in nature, so it feels more natural to have many different colours and shapes inside, rather than an all-white or all-neutral space.”
