Effects of the Process of Modernisation/ Westernisation on Interior Design in the Ottoman Empire

Abstract

This study traces the transformation in the usage of interior space, furniture and household goods in Ottoman life at home and in palaces in the late 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. In that period during which modernisation/westernisation movements accelerated, a general transformation was seen in Istanbul, the capital city of Ottoman Empire. Therefore, this study seeks to ascertain how this transformation was reflected in household goods, goods that were used daily by the Ottomans, and their usage of interior space in houses; why the Ottomans wanted to passes western household goods; what those goods represented for them and how they perceived that transformation. At last, this study seeks to ascertain how this transformation of the palace and house daily life reflected in house design.