Beauty, simplicity and timelessness.
Inside the spaces designed by Elvan Arolat, founder and owner of L1 design, you will find beauty, simplicity and timelessness. Applying art with engineering, vision with focus, she believes it takes research, analysis, creativity and, above all, communication to create an environment that is right for the people in it.
From a pied-à-terre in Manhattan to a private villa or luxury hotel in Turkey, Ms. Arolat gathers her clients' vision and infuses those ideas into the overall design concept — always considering a space within its larger context.
Elvan Arolat, Founder & Owner
"It is my own Utopic Challenge to create a unique and comfortable place where my clients can live their lives and simply be."
Context
Local history, nearby architecture, and the people in the vicinity are critical elements in every design, so each space feels relevant within its larger milieu.
The Senses
Natural, clean and relaxing environments that address the senses through texture, lighting, and engagement with the surroundings.
Practicality
Sensible, inventive ways to maximize a space and its potential for comfort, aesthetics, and the requirements of daily life.
Biography
Elvan Arolat comes from a family of architects. Born in Turkey, her mother, father and brother, Emre Arolat, are accomplished architects. Her greatest inspiration is her mother, Saziment Sayilgan Arolat, a pioneer for women in architecture in Turkey and worldwide.
By entering the field of interior design, Ms. Arolat built upon her exposure to the disciplines that comprise the work of an architect — engineering, physics, geometry, drawing — and took them to an even more artistic plane.
Her degree in hotel and restaurant management gave her a solid, practical grounding in business and hospitality. She went on to study interior design at Parsons The New School for Design in Paris and New York, honing both the human and artistic aspects of interior design and the technical tools needed to transform a concept into a reality.
She has worked on a wide range of residential projects, from pieds-à-terre in Manhattan and private villas in Turkey to every space and room in several luxury hotels. Leveraging her background in restaurant and hotel management, she has also created the interiors for several restaurants in New York and Istanbul.
During what she calls “her apprenticeship” at EAA Architects, Ms. Arolat completed designs for multiple world-class hotels — full interiors spanning lobbies and reception areas, bars and restaurants, spas and saunas, outdoor spaces and pools, and every detail inside individual guest rooms. Recent projects include the Museum Hotel in Antakya, the St. Regis in Maçka, Istanbul, and the Palmarina Bungalows in Yalıkavak-Bodrum, Turkey.