Wealthy Kenyans are known for purchasing some of the most lavish and extravagant homes in the country.
Kenyans.co.ke on Thursday, March 18, spoke to Peter Mutinda, an interior designer to find out more about the exotic pieces owned by the country’s richest.
The interior designer told Kenyans.co.ke that the house decorations differed from house to house, and depending on the owner’s taste.
“I have decorated many houses since I began my career, but almost all of my clients always ask for a chandelier. Some of them import the chandeliers, while others buy locally. Some of the chandeliers cost Ksh50,000, while others cost millions. It all depends on where you buy from,” he said.
Mutinda went on to add that the mansions and maisonettes owned by the rich boasted huge terraces while others had even mausoleums.
Former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko’s Mua home, which is valued at Ksh150 million, has a family mausoleum where his father is buried. The Mua home also a conference hall and a place where the names of the family members are engraved on the floor.
Former Makueni senator, Mutula Kilonzo, kept three lions and two cheetahs in his Machakos ranch. Reports indicate that the late senator spent almost Ksh 1 million every month to feed the animals.
Mutinda added that in addition to the chandeliers, the rich also had big safety boxes, gigantic book shelves that filled entire walls, rare artefacts and designer furniture.
“The materials used in some of the homes are imported from abroad. The houses are decorated using state of the art materials and the paintings are custom made, “he said.
The number of Kenya’s super rich is one of the fastest growing in the world, with the richest 10% Kenyans earning an average of 23 times more than the poorest 10% according to Oxfam International.
