When restoring a historic building, one of the most difficult questions is how to furnish its interiors. Add modern furniture and the building becomes a shell; choose imitation antiques and the décor feels false. At Barnathan, we sought an answer in the neighbourhood’s own history — and found a master who once lived in Galata.

A workshop in Galata in the 1890s

Psalty was a renowned furniture designer and manufacturer of the 1890s. Most importantly, he did this work not in another district but in Galata: he lived here and made his furniture here. His residence stood opposite today’s municipal building; Psalty Pasajı, where he produced his furniture, still stands under the same name in today’s Şahkulu Mahallesi.

So, as Barnathan Apartmanları was rising, furniture destined for the apartments in those buildings was being made just a few streets away. It also shows how self-sufficient an ecosystem of production Galata was at the time: a neighbourhood whose architects, marble, ironwork and furniture all came from the same slope.

A search among antique dealers

While planning Barnathan’s furnishings, we traced the original pieces by Psalty. We found several at antique dealers. We were not fortunate enough to purchase them — but we photographed them. What remained with us were the dimensions, proportions, woodwork and details of furniture made in this neighbourhood one hundred and thirty years ago.

Barnathan’s furniture and furnishings today were created with these records as inspiration. They are neither reproductions nor imitations: rather, an interpretation that brings the design language of the same neighbourhood and period together with today’s standards of comfort.

Why did we go to such lengths?

Because a building’s character lives not only in its façade, but also within it. To preserve Barnathan’s unsupported French balconies, rose and acanthus motifs, and 3.40-metre ceilings with care, only to place unrelated furniture in its rooms, would be like saying half a sentence and falling silent.

Now, when you sit in a room, everything around you tells the same story: stone, ceiling, motif and furniture. All from Galata.

Source: Meroddi archive.