torna Residency - İznik, Bursa
**** Please note: We may need to use the Şile house as a residency base until our Iznik houses are ready to live in and work together **** Last updated: April 2026
The house is located in the historical town of Iznik (Nicaea), which is only 90 km south-east of Istanbul. The area has long been known for its traditional pottery and tiles.
Our village Ömerli, is only a 10 minute drive north of the town in a beautiful setting surrounded by olive groves and fruit farms. It is home to a small community of wonderful and kind people whose families have lived there for generations. Our house is a 90 odd year old, 4 storey traditional Ottoman-era house. It has a timber-frame with earth render and limewash.
Over the years we have been restoring the house to bring it back to its former modest glory. We have been continuously teaching ourselves to craft and produce many of its parts. Our aim has always been to bring it back to what it may have been like 90 years ago and never to produce a clean and modern space that sits behind a historical facade.
Accommodation
The house is home to torna and our small family of three. We initially planned to finish the restoration by 2025, but we couldn't. At the moment we have one clean and ready to stay-in guest bedroom which will be the resident artist's room. The room is calm and simple with beautiful views over the lake, the olive groves and the garden. It has a fitted wardrobe space which the previous owners used as their mini washroom. The floors will creek and the lime on the walls may leave a light powder on your top if you lean against them for too long.
Studios - Work Spaces
The resident artist gets a desk and work space of their own on the top floor which will be shared with other torna activities. It is a vast open space with a beautiful balcony looking over the village, fruit farms, Iznik lake and the mountains across the village. In addition to this, around the house and gardens you will be able to find various spots where you can calmly read, write or just be.
torna Residency - Şile, Istanbul
**** Please note: We may need to use the Şile house as a residency base until our Iznik houses are ready to live in and work together **** Last updated: April 2026
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Şile is a small fishing town on the Black Sea coast, near Istanbul.
The house is located inside a small group of houses. Even though there are a few people who live here all year round, most people come back to Sile for their summer holidays.
Şile is a vibrant, colourful place with many characters you will be sure to come across. It is especially famous for its ‘Şile Cloth’ which is a cotton cloth that is produced in the town with techniques specific to the region.
The house is a 20 minute walk (10 minute cycle) to the beach and the town. There is also a swimming pool a few minutes away from the house which is open to use from mid-May to mid-September. We have a large private garden that is perfect for working during the day and relaxing in the evening.
Accommodation
The house is home to torna and our small family of three. At the moment we have one extra guest bedroom which will be the resident artist's room. This is a nice bright room with an apple tree as its neighbour.
Studio - Work Spaces
The resident artist gets a desk and work space of their own on on the ground floor of the house. It opens to the garden patio which is pretty cool in hot summer days.
Making-of-house notes from 2016-2020
2016-2017 / ROOF TILES - MUD RENDER AND WHITE WASH THE FRONT FACADE
• We arrived today. Made plans with the carpenter for the roof, bought some water proof (breathable!) membrane, got a couple of boxes of Coco Pops (Dave wanted them!), and ordered some timber. While we were in town, we were introduced to the previous owner of the house.
• The carpenter has been bossing us around, telling us how we should do the rendering fast and better. It has worked though. He's been happy with the result. He said we were hardworking, which made our day!
• Our next door neighbour has a massive olive grove. He took us there and made us pick a whole bucket load of green olives. Neighbours are constantly giving us food and fruits. It’s pomegranate time. The older aunty from the house in front of ours gave us a whole crate of them!
2016 / August - WALLS
• I have been taking off all the old paint off the first floor's walls. Dave has been filling the gaps with the old mud bricks.
2016 / BUILDING ONE OF THE SIDES OF THE HOUSE
2016 / November - TAKING ALL THE OLD CONCRETE OFF OF THE KITCHEN FLOOR AND WALLS
We've been working on the concrete floor. We broke the layer and took out the stones previous owners had placed underneath. All the way down is the original mud floor! Then we started taking down the stone bench by the wall. We found out that it is not an original part of the house. It was built on around in the 80s in order to hide the rock bed the house is sitting on. So we decided to take it down to let the rock breathe.
2017 / May - WATER & SWAGE PIPES
We've been working on the concrete floor. We broke the layer and took out the stones previous owners had placed underneath. All the way down is the original mud floor! Then we started taking down the stone bench by the wall. We found out that it is not an original part of the house. It was built on around in the 80s in order to hide the rock bed the house is sitting on. So we decided to take it down to let the rock breathe.
2017 / June - ROOF TILES FROM ANOTHER OLD HOUSE IN TOWN
• A couple of days earlier while we were strolling around İznik on our break day, we saw an old house about to get demolished. Dave wanted to go and speak with a guy and his enormous belly who were both standing right by the house and telling the workers what to do. Dave asked him if we could buy the old traditional roof tiles and the original timber pieces. The man and his belly were kind and they said we could have anything we want as long as we pay for the workers to take the tiles down and drive to our house. The following day we started demolishing the 100 year old house with the workers.
--> Someone is on the roof taking the tiles off ---> Gives the tile to the guy on the ladder --> The guy on the ladder gives the tile to the guy by the trailer --> finally the guy by the trailer gives the tile to the girl (me) standing inside the trailer who lines the tiles... We did this non-stop for about 4-5 hours. It was crazy hot and it was the Ramadan the men were fasting. We didn't want to have any drink next to them so we ended up not having any either. It was a day!
(Updated 2026: There is now a soulless car park in the place of the house. Someone thought it was much better for the world to knock it down, flatten the ground it stood on and just pile cars onto it. There is an old man who sits on his stool right by the entrance to the park, collecting money from the drivers.)
2017 / November - DAVE'S SASH WINDOWS
Dave came back to the village for a week on his own to work on the old oak timber for the sash windows. He spent the whole week cutting the over 80 year old, massive and extremely hard oak into amazing pieces to be used as window frames in the house. Dave's using the ground floor as his wood working studio. He's now finished with cutting old wood into pieces. He is working on cutting the pieces in special angles. They look amazing! They are heavy, sturdy, and would probably live for another 80 years or so.
2018 / February - CLEAN ROOM
We are back in the village. This time we thought it was time to get out of the tent and make one of the rooms our safe and clean room. We bought a new wood burner for this room specially, bought a cheap-ish traditional rug looking floor mat from Eminönü, borrowed a double bed from my dad, put the curtain on and we finally have a nice warm and clean room in the house!
2021 / June - BACK TO THE VILLAGE & FINISHING OFF THE FRONT FACADE
This is the first time we could be back after so long. First we had a baby and couldn't come with him, then there was the pandemic and we weren't allowed to come. But we are back now and are learning all the fun impossibilities about how to restore an old house with a toddler! Things do get done but only 10 times slower.
- 2026 - NEXT?
After this we carried on with the restoration works, there are loads of photographs for the proof but we haven't found the time to sort them yet. We can now just about 'live' in the house. Check our instagram blog page for the recent work updates on the 2nd torna house in the village we started working on in 2025 and please don't hesitate to get in touch if you are interested in helping us or sharing your restoration knowledge, ideas, experiences with us :)
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