It’s not often that my inner cheapskate, travel fiend and design voyeur find common ground. But I’ve found a way to satisfy my three alter egos—and that’s by staying in apartment when I travel.

I discovered apartment stays during my first visit to New York—which was the first time I used Airbnb, a site that lets travelers find accommodation with locals around the world. Living in a funky East Village apartment owned by two cat-loving graphic designers immersed me in the lives of real New Yorkers —- Ugly Betty filming around the corner, 2 a.m. shouting matches, steep stairs and all. With real New York living for half the price of a hotel room, I was hooked.

Saving money appeases my inner bargain hunter, while the design voyeur in me is delighted with the access to a Parisian, Roman, or İstanbullu home—and the little details that it can observe and appropriate for future use.

Suzan’s charming apartment in Istanbul gave my inner design voyeur lots to be happy about. From the chic striped bench, to the embossed silver tray on the coffee table, to the caramel wing chair in a traditional Maltese balcony, every detail pointed to a relaxed, eclectic style that I wanted to nab for myself. But… how?

Then I saw her cushions.

Suzan’s little cushions combined bright colors and traditional motifs with graphic appeal. She’d made them herself using fabric imported from Kazakhstan, which she’d spent days painstakingly combing Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar to find. A small sachet of lavender sewn into every pillow made each one smell as good as it looked.

In an act of truly gracious hospitality, Suzan agreed to share her fab fabric with me. When she opened the big wooden baul in her dining room to let me choose my own bolts of cloth, it felt like Christmas had come early.

Our hostess had only one request: “You must send me photos when you’ve made them!” Picking up a cream fabric printed with tulips, she said, “This is special: very classic, very Turkish. Think of me when you look at this one.” Tulips originated from Turkey, after all, and are their national flower— making that meter of cloth a perfect souvenir.

My own little pieces of Istanbul (and Kazakhstan)

It took me a while, but I finally finished those cushions. Yes, I sewed them myself! I’m just a beginner, but it doesn’t take a sewing machine ninja to sew three straight seams and put in a zipper.

With ikat prints enjoying a renaissance in both fashion and home, I love how these prints have both a traditional origin and a current appeal. And it seems Kazakhstan beat us all to the whole chevron/zigzag trend.

Not only do the cushions look perfect in my living room, but they have some great memories sewn into them, too. Looks like my inner design voyeur just got promoted to style thief!

Freelance writer Deepa Paul-Plazo lives in Amsterdam with her husband and cat. She travels, dabbles in creative pursuits, and swings wildly between having way too much and not enough free time. Follow her Amsterdam adventures on her blog (currystrumpet.blogspot.com) or on Twitter (@currystrumpet).