Bridge For Design Summer 2014 Bridge For Design Summer 2014 Issue | Page 149

oday’s visitor to Istanbul discovers a city of contrasts: a
mix of East meets West, ancient versus modern, a place
where urban energy collides with the slow march of
time as the sun rises and sets over the Bosphorus. The
interior decorator Hakan Ezer, known for his sophisticated fusion of
Asian and European styles, is adept at harnessing contrasts. In his own
home, he says, “I have blended the Eastern and Western philosophies,
cultures and lifestyles.”
Hakan Ezer’s interior design showroom is located in Cukurcuma,
with its traditional winding streets and antique shops, but Hakan has
deliberately chosen to live in the historic and dynamic Galata quarter.
This ancient section of the city is dominated by the Galata tower,
which was built by the Genoese in 1348. After a period of decline in
the twentieth century, the area now shares the avant-garde spirit of
Le Marais in Paris and is a focus for up and coming designers. It is,

T

façade.
As a designer Hakan has worked on worldwide projects. He works
LEFT: Above the sofa, custom-made by Hakan Ezer, hangs a painting by
contemporary artist Canan Tolon. The statue is “Two Sisters” by Kai Nielsen
The coffee table is from Afghanistan and the chandelier is early twentieth
century from Belgium. On the living room table sits a bronze statue of a snake
charmer by the nineteenth century French artist Arthur Bourgeois. Next to it sits an
Ottoman incense burner, and shell-shaped nineteenth century porcelain

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