An Epic Spiral Staircase Anchors This Incredible Seaside Villa
Pay a visit to the ancient city of Bodrum, Turkey, and you’ll inevitably—along with past and present habitués like Beyoncé, Kate Moss, and Mica Ertugun—fall under the spell of its azure waters. This stretch of the Turkish Riviera, after all, has earned the nickname “the turquoise coast.” The epic poet Homer is even said to have described the region as the “land of eternal blue.”
But when interior architect Enis Karavil inspected the site of his most recent project—the renovation of a dated early-aughts villa on the northern tip of the Bodrum peninsula—the most conspicuously blue feature was a heart-shaped swimming pool.
“It was very bad,” he recalls.
Karavil had been tasked with transforming the tired building into an urbane summertime retreat for a well-heeled couple (he, a businessman; she, a prominent jewelry designer), their two children, and their extended family. “They wanted a functional house,” Karavil, cofounder of the interdisciplinary Istanbul-based practice Sanayi313, explains. “Because they travel with kids, they didn’t want so many accessories or fragile things—they wanted to move easily and freely.” The clients also hoped to be able to accommodate hordes of visiting family and friends, all while maintaining the feeling of a private retreat.
The solution? “We approached it like a little boutique hotel,” Karavil says.
Building restrictions in the area made a teardown out of the question. But for Karavil, every preexisting design—no matter how unfortunate—contains a kernel of opportunity. “You can play a lot with them,” he says. It didn’t hurt that the house was perched on a prime plot of land with unencumbered views of the Aegean Sea.
Outside-the-box thinking has become a calling card for Sanayi313. After studying at the Inchbald School of Design in the U.K., and a stint working for Hubert Zandberg, Karavil returned to Istanbul to set up a design studio with his brother, Amir, in 2014. It’s an unusual, hybrid brick-and-mortar concept that contains their atelier, a shop, and a café (sanayi means “industrial” in Turkish, while 313 is the number that appears on their door; it also happens to be Amir’s birthday). “When I started my job, I didn’t want to create a portfolio to show my clients,” Karavil explains. “Instead we created a space that’s like a window to our work.”
The Bodrum house was particularly challenging: it required not only a complete aesthetic makeover (the heart-shaped pool was just the start) but also a technical overhaul, in keeping with the region’s strict seismic requirements. Working with landscape designer Murat Pilevneli, Sanayi313 reconceived the property as a series of verdant, stepped platforms that follow the terrain down to the sea.
Exterior
For the renovation of a 1990s-era house in Bodrum, Turkey, designer Enis Karavil of Sanayi313 completely transformed the existing structure and grounds. Both the home and the site follow a stepped structure. The building and pool are clad in local hekimköy stone.
Pool Terrace
One of the key design goals for Karavil—who worked with landscape designer Murat Pilevneli—was to unify the property with the breathtaking views of the sea. Where a heart-shaped swimming pool once was, the design team put a pristine infinity pool. “Bodrum is the Saint-Tropez of Turkey,” Karavil says.
Pool Terrace
The home was designed to be porous to nature, meaning there’s no single “main” entry.
Outdoor Dining Terrace
A sheltered outdoor terrace alongside the pool hosts alfresco dining and lounging.
Staircase
The living quarters are oriented around a dramatic spiral stair, Sanayi313’s key design move.
Living Room
Furnishings throughout the home were kept sparse to be more kid-friendly and to foster a laid-back atmosphere. The painting is by Austrian artist Hermann Nitsch.
Bar
An antique table serves as a chic bar. The flooring is travertine, and the artwork is by Jannis Kounellis.
Stair
SANAYI313 covered the walls in a soft plaster finish. The timber stair introduces warmth.
Living Room
The living room features a dramatic fireplace. The sculpture is by Marion Verboom.
Staircase
Sanayi313 covered the walls in a soft plaster finish. The timber stairs introduce warmth.
Stair
The home’s three levels all are accessible by the central staircase. A large skylight above gives the space the feeling of an atrium.
Upper Level Landing
Karavil wanted the home to have the feeling of a hotel, so guest quarters are arranged like suites with plenty of space to lounge and relax.
Staircase
The home’s three levels are all accessible via the central staircase. A large skylight above gives the space the feeling of an atrium.
Upper-Level Landing
Karavil wanted the home to feel like a hotel, so guest quarters are arranged like suites, with plenty of space to lounge and relax.
Bedroom
In a bedroom, the burl headboard is a custom design by SANAYI313.
Bedroom
In a bedroom, the burled headboard is a custom design by Sanayi313.
Landscape
Murat Pilevneli exercised a light touch with the landscape. Here, a palm-lined path paves the way to a living area.
Lower Garden
A manicured lower garden is one element of the terraced property. There’s also a separate guesthouse on the site.
Landscape
Murat Pilevneli exercised a light touch for the landscape. Here, a palm-lined path paves the way to a living area.
Jetty
The home meets the sea by way of a T-shaped jetty. It features pool loungers and an outdoor sectional for outdoor lounging.
The Designer
Enis Karavil, co-founder of Sanayi313.
Lower Garden
A manicured lower garden is one element of the terraced property. There is also a separate guesthouse on the site.
Jetty
The home meets the sea by way of a T-shaped jetty. It features pool chaises and a sectional for outdoor lounging.
Anchoring the half-acre site is the trilevel main house. The designers wanted to break with the traditional whitewashed homes that dot Bodrum’s coastline while still feeling true to the region. So they reclad the building in hekimköy, a regional stone. “We wanted to create something authentic,” Karavil says. “It was a great combination in my mind.”
No matter where you enter the home, you’re greeted by its pièce de résistance: a grand spiral stairway that cascades down a central light well like a peeled orange. “My design process started with the staircase,” Karavil says. “I wanted to have a monumental staircase that looked like a sculpture.”
Airy communal spaces, including the living room, dining area, and a chef’s kitchen, are contained on the lower level. Sleeping quarters, meanwhile, occupy the upper two floors and were designed like hotel suites (Sanayi313 developed four distinct layouts) so that family and friends could feel as if they are nestled in their own discrete sanctuary. The palette is humble and light, defined by plaster-washed walls, timber wainscoting, and custom furnishings in materials like linen, wicker, and rattan, “materials that remind us of summer. Nothing very serious,” Karavil adds. Some seriously desirable artworks, though, including pieces by Arik Levy, Hermann Nitsch, and Marion Verboom, can be found throughout.
But the main attractions are just steps outside. Off a covered outdoor living room lies a postcard-worthy infinity pool that the designers carefully excavated to maximize vistas and mimic the emblematic blue of Bodrum’s waters. “When you look at the pool and the sea, you feel that they’re somehow connected,” Karavil says.
From the pool, guests can choose their own adventure: they can pay a visit to the property’s California-inspired guesthouse, one level down, or meander through the lush lower garden. The compound’s grand finale is a T-shaped jetty, decked out with a pristine row of white sun loungers and umbrellas where the residents can soak up the sun and take in views out to the glittering Aegean and that mythical “eternal blue.”
And there are even more vistas to behold, says Karavil: “When you go [back] into the house and see the staircase, you’re like, ‘Wow.’ ”
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