Bridge For Design March 2015 Bridge For Design March 2015 | Page 109

The French bed in this guest bedroom contrasts with a painting by Tonio Trzebinski of his daughter learning to ride her bicycle

had, which are used to protect the tribe and their herds of cattle.
Also from Kenya are rough-hewn wooden Turkana headrests and
beaded bottles that were made more recently in Anna’s workshop
from recycled bottles. Recycling recurs throughout the house. The
refectory table in the dining area is made from the timber of a dhow
that ran aground on the beach in Mombasa, the mast forming the
legs. Other parts of the dhow have been used to make beds and the
staircase. The idea was originally Tonio’s: he used dhow wood to
make a pair of coffee tables he gave Anna as a Christmas present –
the start of his furniture-making business.
No kitchen adjoins the dining area. Instead, this is housed in

a separate building connected to the main house by a walkway.
Similarly, the spare bedroom takes the form of a magnificent safari
tent, a five-minute walk through the bush. With polished wooden
floors and a fully stocked drinks cabinet, it is lit by Swahili lanterns.
Upstairs in the main house are three bedrooms, an office and
another veranda, furnished with a day bed and a comfortable chair
– one of Anna’s favourite places: ‘In the last half-hour of daylight,
when the sun is setting behind the house, it lights up the forest in a
golden glow, the birds break into their final song and it is so calm.’
Her bedroom is decorated with a variety of fabrics and, in the
bathroom, antique Indian lights run on paraffin and electricity.
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