Man Cave
Gigiri, Nairobi · 2023
A private bar room built behind a hidden door in the bookcase of the adjoining library. The inner room has a dark navy-painted ceiling and exposed ductwork, two walls of floor-to-ceiling leather-bound books, a warm timber-top bar counter with black iron bar stools, and a wall of spirits on open shelving. A warm timber wall runs the length of the lounge zone where a brown leather Chesterfield sofa sits beneath a hoop candle chandelier. Edison string lights run across the ceiling throughout.
The Brief
Create a private bar and lounge room accessible through a concealed door in the bookcase of the adjoining library — warm, intimate and fully equipped for private entertaining.
Our Approach
The bookcase door keeps the room invisible from the library side; only when the correct panel is pushed does the passage open. Inside, the room uses two distinct materials — dark navy paint on one half and warm cedar timber cladding on the other — to separate the bar zone from the lounge. The leather-bound book walls on two sides reinforce the library character even within the bar. Edison string lights and the hoop candle chandelier provide the only ceiling illumination, so the room is always lit at a low ambient level suitable for private entertaining.
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