NAFASI THE BLOG

I can't wait anymore! Here's the Living Room Visualization Board too! How fun is this!? The turquoise batik as the curtains, all of the fun pillows, and the art is Cuban movie prints we brought here from our last trip! That alone leads to an obviously colorful room. The sunlight pours in our big french doors. The shelf will be filled with our fun books and colorful knick knacks too! The sofa will be the biggest piece in a clean light gray fabric. I loved the look of these floor cushions, and I'm going to try to replicate them here too! Lots of plants inside and a cool indigo rug. Everything leads to a breezy vacation-y natural and organic yet bright and colorful living room we won't want to leave! The goal here was to feel like we're living on vacation... And let's face it- we pretty much are in this gorgeous country! :) Love, Teri

Do you remember our "kitchen" before? Yeah this one- THIS one- Where the faucet didn't reach the sink, and things fell behind the counter through the inch of open space, and the wood countertop was moldy, and the sink was only 4" deep?!? Say GOODBYE to that mess. Luckily they had a bunch of extra supplies left over from other projects in storage here, and I got to go through them and use them to update our kitchen!! :) I chose these huge high gloss black (probably floor) tiles and chose them for our backsplash! (Gotta admit- Patrick was the one who suggested we even get a backsplash. I didn't think that we would have a chance. I believe we now have the only tile backsplash in all of Rubengera.) Here I'm laying the tiles on the floor to show the installers how I wanted them staggered and not lined up for the backsplash. This is a stone countertop that they also had extra of! Now we had to cut it a lot and it has 2 seams along that one small co...

It's time to show off the big plan! I've been so excited to share this! Getting this together really lit a fire in the whole project for me. When I have something more tangible to look at as an end goal, it really motivates me to move on each piece of building my home. Now that I can totally imagine how I want our home to be, I don't feel like waiting to live in it! I want to make moves and get it done. :) I also find it very helpful as a designer to treat myself like how I treat all of my clients. Otherwise, it is very easy to get lost in the millions of design directions I could go. I like to nail down one direction, set the plan, and implement it through and through. So yes- I made myself my own visualization boards! :) The inspiration for the kitchen came first, I think because it was in the most need. I knew I wanted to have fun with this kitchen and make it colorful (even though that's not necessarily what Patrick would want) because one day we'll live in ...

This is my all time favorite part of the whole project. When you're in the design phase, anything is possible. I can try out color combinations, and custom dimensions, and become inspired by everything.  I usually start any project with a layout, and this time was no different. I had the dimensions of our small and cozy house, and I wanted it to feel bigger. We already had the kitchenette in place, and so rooms were defined kitchen and living room. They were nice and open to each other though! The kitchen space leaves plenty of room, probably for a dining table next to the kitchenette. Patrick and I already spent the last year and a half with a tiny kitchen though!! And our front porch was the best spot for eating anyways.. So we thought it would be better to move the dining table outside with the view, and build our kitchen out even bigger. We ordered a refrigerator and stove which came pretty quickly, and then I got to measuring for more cabinets and a huge island!  ...

One weekend in the beginning of living here, I was having a harder time than usual adjusting to my new life. Now, after being here about one full month, I am getting used to the idea that it will take a little time to get our house to where I want it. But it is very unsettling coming back to a dusty empty house, especially before I came to my new peace with it. My remedy for that weekend is as follows.  First, I met Joe Christa. She i s an  I nterior Designer here and a very hip young Rwandan woman! She automatically made me feel better. I could relate to her, and she knew all the cool places to go to get me on a good start. We organized a time to go to Kigali together and she could show me around! Kigali is about 2.5 hours away from where I live, and I made the trip there and back on that Friday. Oh boy was it necessary!  She first showed me Kimironko Market where I bought some decorative baskets and these awesome stools that are traditionally meant for...