Folkart Nefes Villa

Folkart Nefes İstanbul is a 96-villa development set in 123,000 m² of landscaped grounds in Büyükçekmece, on Istanbul's western edge. Sit Design furnished one of its Royal villas — the largest of the four types, a six-bedroom duplex — supplying the furniture throughout, designed in 3D and handcrafted in our own Istanbul workshop.

A detached villa asks for something different from an apartment. There are two full floors to hold together and a garden pressing in at every window, so the scheme is built on a darker, warmer palette than our seaside work: walnut, black textured stone, tan leather and marble, set against oak floors.

The entrance makes the argument straight away — a long walnut console beneath a wall of bronzed mirror, flanked by a pair of sculptural sconces, with a rough stone pier holding the edge.

In the living room a low cream sectional runs the length of the glazing, its leather chaise picking up the tan of two swivel armchairs opposite. Behind them the wall turns to vertical walnut panelling with slim recessed handles, and a black stone chimney breast carries the fireplace and separates the seating from the library shelving. The dining room reads as a quieter version of the same idea: an oval marble table on a walnut pedestal, taupe leather chairs, a long sideboard set against a mirrored screen.

Upstairs the bedrooms drop the contrast. Cream tufted headboards, fluted dressing units, a velvet chair at the vanity — the darker timber stays underfoot and in the joinery, leaving the upholstered pieces to carry the rooms.