NAFASI THE BLOG

I was extremely ecstatic to get our floors painted, and I cannot believe how good they look, and how unique our home now is. :) Once they were sufficiently dried, we were able to bring all of our stuff back in and set up our home!  While we were gone waiting for the floors to dry with our things on the front deck and hoping for draught, the rest of our larger furniture also arrived from Kigali! ...and sat on our deck outside for a weekend... BUT! We got it! Here is how the house is looking... Our Island! With the modern black metal stools! And shiny black floors! And Patrick using it just as intended :)  Our extra long, extra deep, extra big sofa (at Patrick's request!) It does smell a bit like skunk maybe from being outside that whole time... Anyone know how to get that out? Anyone know if there are skunks in Rwanda?  A few weeks prior Patrick and I went to Kigali to talk with Gervais, the carpenter who made our sofa, island, apothecary, and bathroom...

Jean Baptiste! You can tell he's cool, right? :) This is him greeting me at his workshop when I went to go visit. Jean Baptiste has had a lot of special requests by me with my weird American designs and painted wood which was thought to be kinda crazy. He has done a great job and installs everything for us at our house. It's been wonderful working with him! The workshop is a really cool place where there are tons of carpenters and seamstresses all working in the same government run spot called Gakiriro.  A lot is happening!  This wood is all going to be my furniture. I got the tour of the rest of the place as well. Here is all the big wood working machines.  This is the storage area where finished pieces live. This is actually a good representation of the general furniture aesthetic in Rwanda. Curved lines, stained wood, very ornate pieces. Wasn't really what I was going for in my house unfortunately!  Then...

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!  ...