Changing uses of the middle-class living room in Turkey: the transformation of the closed-salon phenomenon

Abstract

Structured as a think piece, this study examines the transformation of Turkish middle-class living room practices and their material settings from the 1930s to the 2010s in accommodating the changing uses of that space. First, the spatial division between the public and private aspects of domestic interiors in the culture of the early Turkish Republic is discussed, with a focus on the change from traditional uses to more Westernized and modern functions and styles; through the review of relevant literature, the development of the living room as it reflects changes in the domestic culture of the early Turkish Republic is traced. Next, the closed-salon practice, which excludes daily routines and everyday clutter and requires a high level of cleanliness and order, is discussed as the dominant prototype. Finally, the paper analyzes the transformation of this prototype to meet the evolving role of the living room in the middle-class Turkish home.