Lydia Wanja is an interior decorator whose biggest marketing tool is her own home. The 27 year old is building a steady client base for her fledgling business, many of them drawn in from the pictures and videos she posts on social media showcasing her beautiful apartment. She has filled her space with colour and warmth, what she describes as “dopamine decor”- and she can do the same for your home too.
A gallery wall filled with mixed media art. A steel rack holding lamps, picture frames, books, and plants. A lamp in the shape of a smiley emoji ball, and another one with a base that looks like a human hand. A playful mix of colours, materials and textures. Plants on every corner. These are some of the things that make Wanja’s home a feast for the eyes.
“I enjoy things that spark joy and interest. I am an artist so my home reflects my creativity,” she says.
Wanja was not working as an interior decorator when she moved into her apartment two years ago. At the time, she was a real estate agent, more focused on helping people find the right homes than on making their current abodes beautiful and stylish. But she has always been artistic, and slowly, her home became one of her favourite creative outlets.
“I’d come home tired from work and find that creating decor for my home brought me a lot of joy. I’d go to Pinterest for inspiration, shop for materials and work on art for my walls,” she says.
“Now I look around and I feel giddy with joy when I see what I have made,”
Putting art education to good use
Her current favourite creation is a poker-card inspired collage of family portraits rendered in black and white prints and framed in red. She has a Tiktok video out on how she made it. The frame holds centre stage on her gallery wall, flanked by a hand-painted Bauhaus print she created in one weekend, a large frame containing a postcard with the words “it feels so good to be home”, and a donut-shaped orange lamp.
She made most of the other art pieces on display as well, including a large green portrait of a woman in a hat, which is so well done it looks professional. To add diversity and interest to the paintings, she has included a small sculptural bust, a hanging plant, and tiny frames of different types holding tinier prints. Looking around, one gets the sense that if you pay enough attention to the world, anything could be art.
Wanja studied art in high school and on top of helping to hone her skills as a painter, it has given her a foundational knowledge of how different materials, colours and textures work together.
“During art lessons we learnt how to combine colours, what looks good together, and how to style different things to maximum impact. For example, red frame on my gallery wall pops because it’s surrounded by more muted colours,” she says.
Curating slowly, over time
Everything she has she has slowly collected or made over the past two years. Her one bedroom flat provided the perfect blank canvas. It came with a large window in her living room, and one wall painted a surprising shade of dusty pink. She has retained the colour, as well as the standard landlord off-white on the other walls, choosing instead to add interest through decor.
“When I moved into this house I only had plants, so my one requirement was that the apartment should have a lot of light so they could thrive. Good lighting has a way of elevating even small and drab rooms into welcoming spaces, making them feel larger than they really are,” she explains.
Building a steady roster of interior decor clients, a post at a time
At 27, Wanja’s apartment is an essential part of her coming of age story, and holds a special place in her heart as the home that has helped her transition into a career that taps into her artistic talents. She has been working as an interior decorator for seven months now. Although this was not her intention when she started decorating her home and sharing the process publicly on her Tiktok page, she appreciates it for the opportunities it has brought her way.
“A lot of my interior decor clients find me through myTiktok videos. They see me share my house and message me saying, “Oh, how did you do that?” and I am happy to help them work on their space,” she says.
She however advises that there is more to interior decor than just copying what someone else has done in their houses. The best homes, she says, reflect the life and interests of the person living there. They tell a story about who the person is and what is important to them.
“My previous house was a copy paste of other people’s ideas, and it did not feel like me, although it may have looked nice. Now I am more attuned to what I actually enjoy, and what interests me,” shares Wanja.
Home is where you can be yourself
For her, home is a place where she feels safe, comfortable, and creative. If she had to describe her style in three words, she’d say that it is eclectic, dopamine-inspired, and cozy.
“My home is inspired by nature because nature makes me feel good. I have incorporated that using plants, wood, ceramic, and glass. I use these materials as the basis for my home decor, add art to honour my creative side, and in this way I build layers and interest,” she says.
She often advises her clients and audience to embrace the unusual, noting that individuality cannot be found in mass production. To that end, she likes shopping at thrift stores because they stock unique pieces that are difficult to find in regular shops.
“I got my love of thrifting from my mom, who would buy decor magazines, then try to find the featured pieces from thrift stores. That way, she kept our home looking beautiful at an affordable price,” she shares.
The last thing that Wanja thrifted is a frame she bought for Kes 300, then customised to suit her style. She believes that investing in one’s home is always worthwhile, and it can be done in an affordable and accessible way.
“Prioritise your home and set aside the time and money to make your space look good. Since you spend a lot of time in it, it should make you happy. It will improve your quality of life,” she says.
Wanja’s top tips for decorating
- Decorate for yourself. You could copy someone’s design and it still would not feel like you, so make it yours.
- Don’t be afraid to play because that’s the only way you achieve the wow factor. Experiment and mix things up.
- A big couch works well in a small space because it prevents you from getting small pieces that end up looking like clutter. Just buy it in a lighter colour to lessen its impact.
- Think about the material of what you buy. For example a coffee table made of transparent acrylic is great for a small space because it gives the illusion that it’s not occupying too much space.
- Change things up every once in a while. Reorganise and redecorate using what you already have. You don’t always have to get new decor to freshen up your space.