The future of kitchen design in Kenya is… rural?
A growing number of Kenyan homeowners are intentionally blending traditional cooking wisdom with modern cabinetry and layouts. From planning space for three-stone cookers in suburban homes to designing counters based on where “shosh” used to peel nduma under a tree, this trend isn’t about nostalgia — it’s about efficiency, culture, and emotional memory.
Let’s dive into why your next modern kitchen might just be your grandmother’s dream — with WiFi.
The “Shosh Blueprint” Design Trend
Architects and interior designers in Nairobi, Kisumu, and Nakuru report a rising pattern: clients showing up with very specific requests inspired by how their grandmothers used to operate in the kitchen.
Requests like:
- “I want a window where I can see the goats — just like shosh’s kitchen.”
- “Include an outdoor sink. My cucu always did the dishes outside in the shade.”
- “Put a firewood storage area — I’m still cooking githeri the way she taught me.”
This isn’t just sentimental — it’s functional.
Why It Makes Practical Sense
Many older Kenyan kitchens were open, airy, and grounded in practicality:
- Ventilation: smoky dishes like kienyeji chicken needed serious airflow
- Outdoor-in design: people moved freely between kitchen and garden
- Multi-use spaces: one area could roast maize, dry herbs, and hold a toddler
Designers are now translating these principles into modular, high-end designs that still allow for traditional cooking and family life.
What This Looks Like in Modern Homes
✅ Hybrid stoves — gas plus 3-stone or charcoal setups on the side
✅ Outdoor kitchen patios for ugali nights or nyama choma
✅ Herb drying zones — using built-in wooden racks near kitchen windows
✅ Flexible seating — benches or low stools like in rural homes
✅ Garden integration — kitchen herbs right outside the door
Emotional Architecture: Designing for Memory
Many homeowners — especially millennials building in upcountry towns — are choosing to integrate emotional memory into physical structures.
They’ll say:
“I want to hear the rain hit mabati like when I was 8.”
“My aunt used to cook with a lantern. Give me warm lighting like that.”
“Design it so I can cook with my mum and not bump into each other.”
The result? Spaces that feel alive with heritage — but also Instagrammable.
It’s Also About Identity
As urban lifestyles dilute ethnic and family traditions, this “shosh-inspired” design trend allows Kenyans to reclaim identity.
For example:
- Luo homeowners adding isikuti drums and sufuria hooks as décor
- Kikuyu families installing spaces to mash waru with wooden pestles
- Coastal homes keeping a corner for mahamri prep using family recipes
This fusion of past and present is now a form of storytelling through architecture.
Architects Are Now Asking: “How Did You Grow Up Cooking?”
Some Nairobi-based interior firms have started including an unusual question in their kitchen design consultations:
“How did your grandmother cook?”
It helps them uncover practical preferences — like needing more prep space because your family makes chapati in bulk, or avoiding modern ovens because you use traditional pans.
Sustainability Bonus
These kitchens aren’t just beautiful — they’re sustainable.
✅ Less reliance on full-electric cooking
✅ Use of natural ventilation and daylight
✅ Locally sourced materials like wood, clay tiles, and stone
✅ Encouraging farming + homegrown food just outside the kitchen
They marry modern comfort with low-waste, slow-living principles your grandmother practiced daily.
Final Thought
Bizarre? Maybe. Beautiful? Absolutely.
In a world of stainless steel and marble countertops, Kenyan homeowners are proving that there’s space — and soul — in remembering where you came from. By drawing inspiration from their grandmother’s kitchens, they’re building homes that feel like home.
Because even in a five-bedroom maisonette with fiber internet, there’s something powerful about cooking just like shosh did.