Two Cottages—Renovated Using Less Than $150K—Embrace Living With Kenya’s Wildlife

Naeem Biviji and Bethan Rayner of Studio Propolis recycled materials and DIY’ed construction to build their Nairobi retreat.

A six-month project, designer Naeem Biviji thought when he first saw the pair of 1950s cottages in a roughly one-acre compound in Nairobi that he and his wife, Bethan Rayner, hoped to refurbish rapidly. Instead, it took them 15 years.

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Zahid Sardar
Zahid Sardar is an author specializing in architecture, interiors, and design. He currently writes the Material World column for the San Francisco Chronicle.