The formation of the nation-state in Turkey saw the use of electrical technology not only in industrial and public spaces but also in domestic settings, with the goal of fostering a rationalized home culture. The newly illuminated exhibition spaces of Republican Turkey were, at the time, symbols of promise and futurism. These spaces aimed to inspire a spirit of progress, admiration, optimism, belonging, and togetherness among citizens who gathered to experience them. The modern home similarly reflected this new spirit, functioning as one of the exhibition spaces of the emerging regime.

The promotion of electrical lighting developed alongside the Republic’s broader project of shaping citizens into rational, scientific, efficient, logical, healthy, and hygienic individuals. Electrical commodities were often advertised with images of modern women, men, and children to reinforce the regime’s emphasis on "modernity." As electric light — representing the zeitgeist — entered homes, it also became part of the evolving interplay between new routines and material objects.

Extending beyond the intentions of the ruling regime and acting as an agent of change, electrical technology transformed domestic interiors while embodying the Republic's abstract modernization ideals. It also helped create a distinctive material culture.

This article examines how the spread of electrical lighting in domestic spaces influenced modernization efforts during the early years of the Republic, both discursively and practically. By analyzing official and popular publications that encouraged the domestic use of electric illumination, it aims to offer an interdisciplinary perspective on contemporary debates about rationalized and modern homes in the 20th century.

*the publication is in Turkish.