Elif, who is now living in Montreal, is the Turkish-born trendsetter behind the Insta-Famous account, The Fashion Medley. She has the coolest edgy-chic look in town. We recently had the pleasure to shoot her Beni Ourain rug in her beautiful living room and got a chance to chat a little.

1.   How would you describe your personal style?

Ugh this is my least favorite question 🙂 

I think it’s masculine and minimal with edgy and sometimes whimsical details.

2.   Do you have a style Icon?

I get inspiration from different people all the time, lately Instagram is my biggest inspiration source – mostly geniune people who are not bloggers or fashion professionals that have really cool Instagram pages. In terms of icons; Lauren Hutton, Caroline Bessette Kennedy, the Olsen twins and mid 2000’s Kate Moss are always my favorites. I’m loving the Hadid sisters’ looks nowadays.

3.   You recently moved into a new apartment here in Montreal. What was your inspiration in terms of home décor style?

My interior design aesthetic is a lot simpler than my fashion sense, I love mid century modern. Palm Springs homes were my biggest inspiration and names like Neutra, Breuer, Wegner, Koenig etc.

Shop this look: Beni Ourain Rug from Baba Souk, Couch from Article, Table vintage from Etsy, Plant Stand from Hudson + Oak and Hook & Stem, Ceramic vase is vintage, clear vase from Vuela, wall scone is from Urban Outfitters.

4.   You recently finished decorating your living room and it’s so beautifully curated. How did you go about creating this flawless space?

For me the sense of space is really important, I don’t like cluttered interiors but I also don’t like super-simple and minimal homes either. So my aim was to create a space that looked like a living room/gallery that shows real people are actually living in it. For example, I wanted a leather couch but I made sure we bought the most comfortable one because it’s where we spend almost 80% of our time. I chose a daybed instead of a second couch or many other chairs because I love the architectural aspect it brings to the entire living room.

Our light fixtures and coffee table are vintage, so they actually are mid century furniture. I also have a lot of original vintage artwork. It was important to me that nothing in the living room looked so familiar, I wanted everything to look unique – which is why the Beni Ourain rug is one of my favorite pieces in the entire living room. It has imperfect lines and it brightens up the entire space. Even though it’s a bohemian rug it somehow fits my home perfectly and I think it’s what takes the room from a generic “space” to a living room.

5.   We know you’re such a trendsetter and you have an eye for design. Would you mind sharing what you think will be the next big trend in home décor?

As I’m still following the interior design concepts of 60 years ago, I’m not the best person to ask about new trends 😉 I know terrazzo is huge right now, also Vladimir Kagan style legless, curved couches. I don’t know if it can be considered new but painted ceilings also seem to be trending well.

6.  We know you love neutrals but what’s your take on the next HIT color?

Terra cota, camel, taupe (do these count as not-neutrals?) 😉 Peach and light pink too.

Thank you so much for sharing Elif. I’ll be dreaming of Palm Springs for a while. – Stephanie.