Daydreaming of Istanbul

Since seeing this exquisite jewel of a home, a couple of days ago, I have been daydreaming about it, letting my mind wander through every embroidery and pattern-bedecked room, having a little mental holiday in Istanbul. 

Built for an exiled Hungarian pasha in the 1850s, as a hunting lodge, Macar Feyzullah Pasha, in Istanbul, Turkey, this is now the home of revered antiques dealer and decorator Serdar Gülgün (shown above, with his niece and nephew). His unerring eye for beauty has allowed him to restore and reinvent the home to become this magical oasis. Filled with his own antiques collection, arrayed with jewel-hued silks, velvets, and other luxurious textiles, patterned walls, and just the right touch of quirkiness, like not-too-perfect hand-painted details, the rooms of the pasha are utterly captivating. 

To me, this place seems like something out of a Wes Anderson film, a delicious fairy tale, where the most intriguing sorts of people must surely be having fabulous conversations, as they sip rich coffees and nibble on delicately spiced pastries, while elegant harp music wafts from unseen sources. Is this place real, or a fantasy? It is truly magnificent. 

What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall, at one of the famed dinner parties hosted here! How about you?

{All images via Town & Country; click on images to see larger versions}