This Global Home | Day 8: Turkey

Hi, I’m Julie! I am an expat living in Istanbul, Turkey with my husband and 4 kids. We live in a 5 story apartment building that sits on top of a row of shops, located on a busy street. Our family of 6 shares 3 bedrooms, and while it can feel a bit cramped when our kids get energetic, we are thankful for this colorful apartment that we call home!  Connect with me:     Instagram

Welcome to our living room! We knew we wanted our home to be a place of comfort for our family, as well as a place for people to gather, so lots of seating was a priority. I have fallen in love with Turkish rugs. I love the history, design, and the creative ways the weavers use natural products to create each one. Every rug has a story and I love weaving ours into theirs.  

This is my happy place. No matter where we live, my husband has always let me have a place that’s just for me. It’s been everything from an out of order bathroom, to an attic, to this sweet little spot in my current kitchen... sometimes you gotta use what’s available when it comes to overseas living. This sweet place is where I read, write, and create!  

This is my kitchen! I usually always have kids around me when I’m cooking, and especially when I’m baking! My favorite times in this kitchen have been when our Syrian friends have come over and cooked huge Syrian feasts for our family! I’ve really loved sitting back and watching them feel at home in my kitchen. It brings me so much joy! 

We haven’t always had such a large table overseas, in fact there have been times where we haven’t even had a table at all. But as our family grew, along with our desire to show true hospitality, we realized we needed a place where everyone could pull up a chair and feel the love of community. I love this quote from @houseofbelonging “When you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence.” 

I love having a balcony! It’s where our dryer is (sooo thankful to have a dryer in this current season overseas), where my plants are, and where my kids like to sit when they need some alone time. We all share rooms in our family, so sometimes one of my kids just needs a space to be alone. Creating this space has been so healthy for apartment living!  

This is our tiny guest bathroom. No one in our family really likes to use it because hello uncomfortable square toilet seat! Last year, water poured through the ceiling, and the damage is pretty extensive. Our landlord has yet to fix the damage, so let’s just say if you are the last one awake, you get stuck with the musty, falling apart, square toilet seat bathroom!  

I have some pretty artistic kiddos, so rather than shove those masterpieces in a drawer to be forgotten, we created an art gallery for all our guests to see!  

This is one of my favorite spaces in our living room - our plate wall! We love to take road trips throughout Turkey, often picking up a plate to remember extra meaningful places as a souvenir. 

This is the view from our living room window. We live in a residential, non-tourist area of the city with an awesome mall within walking distance. We live near a large mosque where we hear the call to prayer 5 times a day. We also have a beautiful outdoor market that sets up nearby once a week! We love our neighborhood!