Retreat in Kenya

Today we are going over to Africa, to the Kenyan island of Lamu where Robert Peugeot (vice president at one of the companies within his family’s French automobile empire) and his wife Domitilla, hired E. Claudio Modola to renovate their house. The 4,800-square-foot getaway overlooks the Manda channel. If the house were to be summed up in a single architectural symbol, surely it would be one of the several barazas, the cozy, covered outdoor nooks where one can eat, drink, sleep or socialize while taking full advantage of ocean winds.
Tour Time!

In a baraza, or conversation area, Indian fabrics add bold infusions of color. The door surround is from a 16th-century palace.

Another of the house’s barazas. “The crescent moons,” says the designer, “are commonly found on the front or back of the dhows, put there for good luck.”

The corner master bedroom opens on two sides to capture breezes coming off the channel. “The bed was made by local Swahili artisans,” Modola says, “as were most of the house’s pieces.”

A guest room

Enhancing its privacy and views, the pool was fitted into a portion of the lot that’s 30 feet above the activity of the adjacent beach. Bruce Hobson handled the gardens.

The poolside pergola, says Modola, “is more of a Mediterranean than an East African feature.”

The rooftop baraza is where the Peugeots and their guests retreat in the evenings for drinks.

Photography by Tim Beddow

All images and information from Architectural Digest.

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