Our starting point was “true life experience” when we started to design Yeniköy Eski Adet, which is located in a masonry building adjacent to an ancient Armenian church in Yeniköy. In an age where everything new is acceptable, we wanted to remind the value of the narrative of the old, and instead of buying, we chose to “collect” patiently and perseveringly. Everything in the place is old except technical equipment. We have visited dozens of antiques in Istanbul and Anatolia; We have gathered everything -from chair to carpet, from service equipment to lighting- that has a soul, has the tendency to talk to us, has a story to tell and we put them all together.
We have imagined how people would sit in the garden of an old house in Yeniköy years ago and what would happen around them; We have made our furniture selections accordingly. We have attached an antique wooden console next to the iron chairs; We have created a place that belongs to the past, the neighborhood and the city. We wanted it to be as if it was always there, and its door was opened years later and it started living again.
While converting the logo designed by our team into a sign, we have used an old and defunct cabinet door. We have placed the logo on the door by cutting the antique mirrors, we have aimed to make the old carvings on the edges make the guests feel the place before they enter the door.
When we started to design the Yeniköy Eski Âdet, we stopped and listened to the walls; so we purified them from the paints on them, we revealed their essences. Rather than a shiny image, we wanted to remind you of the value of an image that will glorify life and its traces.
This wall, which is one of the first places that attract attention when you enter the place; taking into account both the identity of the district and the church located next to it, was filled with candles all along. We love the peace that candles emit with those flickering lights – but most of all we love how they gracefully tell us that we are mortal with their short lives. The candles on this wall are burning every day, this wall is covered with flowing waxes. After a while, it will turn into a wall that has witnessed the story of everyone passing through this place, lived, transformed as it lived. Every time you face, you will be shown another face, and told other stories.
