House E, in the village of Shela, on Lamu Island, called out to its owners, long before they stumbled across the land. A plot above the shoreline, overlooking the inimitable coastal landscape of Kenya, summoned their curiosity to its soil. Before it had walls, walkways and windows. Before any vision of its rooftop gardens, rows of succulents and cacti, its creeping bougainvillea and passion fruit, its papaya, mango and palm trees. Before the vegetable garden with its aubergines, tomatoes and watermelons. Only the dunes from which the home was shaped, were present.
In keeping with the topography of the landscape, the house rises and falls in all of the right places, shaded by a canopy of trees. From the beach, it’s completely out of sight, discreetly conforming its raw concrete and stone, timber and reed to blend in with the surroundings. Instead of a traditional Makuti roof, its construct is defined by straight lines and cubes. Like a series of shoeboxes placed alongside one another.
Rooms open and close as they please, some without doors at all, each spilling onto a terrace or into the garden. Where all six bedrooms and bathrooms converse through the leaves, and the East African light.
According to the owner, life at House E glides symmetrically, yet freely. With her mind commanding a linear perspective, and her heart full of curves, the living spaces are in constant conversation with the energy of the outdoors.
The lounging and dining areas, the kitchen and entertaining rooms, the ample terraces and magnificent swimming pool exchange a permanent dialogue with the sea and its meandering canal. Everything about this home is a memento of her youth. Shaped by school holidays spent wandering Lamu. Barefoot with the donkeys and sun kissed on the dhows, in a world without cars and noise.
Living the Lamu life
Returning to the island years later was an immediate reacquaintance with the Swahili spirit, for the owner. As though the dunes had been patiently keeping her future family’s place for a decade or two. The island’s rich culture, deeply rooted and generously lived, seeps into the daily rhythm of life at House E. Shoes discarded, stance softened and stride slowed down, the mornings will be spent with the tide and the sea air. Afternoon visits to the village and evenings on the terraces. Overlooking the roof gardens and beautiful desert roses as the sun begins to set. Leaving a trail of new colours across the landscape.
You and your Kenya clan will cruise along the coastline in dhows, visit the Old Town of Lamu – a UNESCO World Heritage site. Plenty of strolls along Shela Beach that stretches for miles and miles. Dipping in and out of the warm waters. Perhaps a trip to the Takwa Ruins, or Manda Island. Snorkelling the turquoise waters with the ocean’s wildlife. There will be those days when you simply lap up the romance of the villa. Enthralled by the light and the way it lands across the surfaces. Casting shadows and silhouettes with its voluntary shapes. Some might be doing some yoga or enjoying a massage, while others are swinging in hammocks, reading for hours.
The resident chef will be preparing your meals in accordance with your palates and appetites. Some of the ingredients sourced from the garden, others from the local markets. The dedicated team of staff will tend to your needs in the most sincerely hospitable manner. Letting you get on with the things you came here to experience. To savour the gathering of friends and family that you’ve brought along with you. Rediscovering that younger side of yourself, as if this home has been waiting for you too.
To be reminded on what it feels like when wandering was an education, perfection was simple, and freedom meant furnishing a small corner of the world with nothing more than time, curiosity and the courage to live openly.
Written by Colleen Ogilvie