NAFASI THE BLOG

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...

So right away during our first week here, we took a trip to Kigali (the capitol which is about 2.5 hours away by car.) You can get a lot more variety with purchases there and we figured we needed a LOT! Mostly what we needed was convertors for the walls so we could charge our computers and phones and everything, plants to decorate with, and then just basic household items like dish ware and that. It was fun. Tiring at times too, but really fun. This is us checking out. We got wine glasses, water glasses, mugs, plates, bowls, bathroom mats, pots, a pan, hangers. Hangers were important to get us out of our suitcases and into our closets! This trip really helped us settle in.  This is T-2000. It's basically like the Walmart of Kigali which has anything you can think of all shipped in from China All those hangers! Then they box it all up for you because it is illegal to use plastic here! We loaded up the car as you can see! The back of the truck was all filled wit...

There are a nu mber of staff houses that are huge and lovely and perfect and new. Those are the kind of houses that I was expecting. I now get the impression that seniority matters to get those newer homes though, and since we're the newbies, mine and Patrick's fate led us to our cute little fixer-upper. It's been here longer, it's a little more vintage, going for the tiny-house hip vibe! We were surprised, but working with the infrastructure and design teams on our renovations is what it's all about. Let me walk you through our humble abode! The Living room area which opens to the kitchen.   The kitchen We have a hallway! Where our bedroom and bathroom are off of. The bedroom Our bathroom of relaxing neon ocean blue. Our front porch... That porch is our sanctuary. It's the best area of the house that we don't have to touch. And the view is incredible. Our house has THE best view. While we may not have the ...

My style is pretty all-encompassing. It’s great for working with new clients all the time with unique tastes and all different ideas. It’s not so great when I’m working on my own home. It’s so hard to decide which direction to go with my own design. For clients, I can pinpoint exactly what they’re looking for, but for me… it is a major challenge. Ultimately I usually land on something bright and colorful, with a lot of pattern and texture. Something dramatic. But I’ve done that. My apartment now is such an eclectic nest of layers and soft scaping, little vignettes and feminine touches. So where do I go from here? Well, I figure I always give my clients a style analysis before we delve into any home project, and it should be no different for my own home! Although since I have so many styles and so many directions that I could potentially go, I thought the best route would be to see what Patrick likes, and work with his style! The analysis involves going through a bunch ...

In this design, my clients #1 priority was how to represent their personalities. They wanted to display their travels, and to showcase who they are as a couple inside their home. They wanted subdued color, a comfortable coffee table option, and an earthy aesthetic. As lawyers, their living room resembled a study almost. The process was fun, and the loft turned out perfect.  F or the full transformation, r ead  my guest blog, THESE BUSY LAWYERS CALLED ON A DESIGNER FOR THEIR D.C. LOFT MAKEOVER ,  that I wrote for the  Washington Post's Apartment Showcase  blog! Love, NAFASI   (William Yeung Photography)   (William Yeung Photography) (William Yeung Photography) (William Yeung Photography)

This was one of my favorite projects. Not only because it is such a dramatic before and after, but also because my client was so fun and adventurous! He was always on board to try something funky. Take a little step by step look at everything we accomplished. So much fun! :) He had just moved in here and knew that his home had potential. Notice the boring wall color, dated light fixture and strange chair rail. Potential town! Love a bump out! :) What will become the dining area... The color palette I presented him with. Things getting messy in the brainstorming process! Proud client with his mood board! :) The moodboard! (We ended up swapping out black accents for a neutral gray instead.) The floorplan to scale. Now we're getting moving! Some fun color added to the walls. :) We were able to go bold and made such a large impact with color alone! Things are starting to filter in. Pi...