When the Kenyan-born Khadambi Asalanche bought a home on London's Wandsworth Road in the 1980s, he found that his old Georgian house had a bit of an issue with damp. He began putting pieces of wood up on the walls to combat the moisture, carving intricate designs into them himself, and it wasn't long before the project spread to the entire house. Khadambi's designs incorporate elements from African, Islamic and British cultures, and Maev Kennedy talked to independent curator Giles Waterfield about what makes the house so striking:
"It has still a very strong sense of the man who created these
interiors. It is such a gentle place, so soft and welcoming, and yet at
the same time it could be seen as a statement of independence and
individuality in terms of ethnic origin."
Khadambi died of cancer in 2006 but left the house to Britain's National Trust, and the group hopes to raise the money necessary to open it to the public for all to enjoy. See more pictures of the extraordinary interiors here.
