Troy White’s apartment feels warm and it is not just because our host is chatty, friendly and quick to laugh.
It is more because of the mix of white and brown couches, the art pieces that bring some colour to the all-white walls. It is because of the white carpet on which the brown coffee table stands.
The warmth is also in the white dining table and seats and his African artefacts. Then his potted palms and crotons were placed at strategic positions in his living room and on the balconies.
A quick survey of his living room tells you that someone was intentional about everything that was put in there.
Troy White’s siting room.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
“Majority of the people who come to my house say, ‘Wow, I feel comfortable.’ I like this because not only is my home the place where I live, it’s also my office.
“I am in the entertainment business, so I often invite musicians, artists and DJs to my house to talk and network. I also do marketing and events for brands.
“Therefore, when I want to close a deal, I have people come to my home and I will have music playing in the background, lit candles and incense burning.
“I like appealing to people’s senses and when they are in a comfortable place, it is the best way to make them feel calm,” Troy tells the Business Daily.
Pulling off the design
When we set out for Troy’s home, we intended to write on all-white homes but got something better. Troy exposed us to how to design a majorly white-themed home perfectly.
“I love white because it makes spaces feel and look larger than they are,” Troy says, adding, “Then I like to add the earth tones into the design. This includes brown, beige, lavender, burnt orange and burgundy to make things pop and make the place feel a little warm.
Troy White’s dining room in this picture taken on June 26, 2024.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
“I mix the white with earth tones because all-white spaces remind me of museums, which appear cold, and when people come in, they just feel tense.”
Troy was born in Philadelphia, US. When his ex-wife secured a job opportunity in Kenya 10 years ago, they packed up, left their home in Harlem, New York and together with their two children moved here. This was the beginning of Troy’s house-renting journey in Kenya.
Living in apartments
“We saw it as a good opportunity to raise our children in a different culture. I have lived in Kabete, Spring Valley and after Covid 19, I started living in apartments,” says Troy, adding that finding a home in Kenya is easy.
“There are many homes here and you’ll be spoilt for choice. As for this apartment, I used to sit in a private club at Movenpick Hotel and I would look across and see that this was a beautiful building.
“The former General Manager at Movenpick introduced me to the landlords of this building. I loved this apartment because of the three balconies, and I always have guests,” the 58-year-old.
The balcony with a view of Nairobi’s skyline.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
He shares about his journey.
“I picked up my keenness for interior design from my mother. She has always been into interior design and she used to be a model so she was also inclined to fashion.
“I grew up in the hood in Philadelphia but when you were inside our home, you wouldn’t tell that you were in the hood until you came out of the house.
“The inside was nice and warm. There were more colours. I remember our wallpaper being white and velvet blue.
Improving the apartment
In March 2023, Troy moved into the apartment. “The fact that it was all white-walled attracted me to this apartment. I like it because it is more windows than it is walls.
“ I love the light because I like to feel like I am outside but I am inside,” the father of two says, adding, “My rent is between $2,000 (Sh258,762) and $4,000 (Sh517,524) a month.
Once I realised that I wanted to stay in this apartment for a while, I had to make it mine. So I added the potted plants and the artwork, replaced the carpets, and the drapes, and put the fur carpets.
Sh2.6m improvements
The improvements cost him around $20,000 (Sh2.6 million).
“I added the pillows, the television is a picture frame so artwork pops up all the time. I like African war artefacts, that is why I have the shield, the Masai knife, the arrows and bows. I love skins, so I got animal skins for every room in the house.”
Every piece of artwork has meaning to Troy.
On one section of his white wall, he has a painting of Lenox Lounge, a historical club in Harlem. On the other end of his wall, Troy has a photo of Jimi Hendrix.
“He is a favourite all-time track musician and he is the greatest guitarist of all time,” Troy shares.
Three types of white
Georgina Achieng, an interior designer, helped Troy design his apartment. She says, “We have three types of white interior decoration that you can play around with; basic white, warm white and cold white.
“Cold white gives a very harsh or cold feeling and it is often mixed up with grey. Then there is the warm white, which is the one with earth tones like brown and beige. Basic white is a fully plain without any undertones to it.”
In designing Troy’s home, Georgina says she had to use Troy as the inspiration, “Getting to know what he likes and what he doesn’t like helped. He likes things that are African and screaming but then again he likes certain things to be quiet so we moved toward warm white.
“Working with Troy was smooth and seamless because he already knew what he wanted and all that was left was to simply help him find what he needed and help bring his vision to fruition.”
Getting it right
Njeri Muita, also an interior designer, says that most homeowners fear white and “it is often me who encourages my clients to take up white. Many people fear white especially those with homes with children.
“White is all about mixing colours. It does not have to be painted walls only, it can be the furniture and even the bookshelf.”
One of the bedrooms in the all-white painted apartment.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
She adds, “To get it right, ensure that you establish rules for the house. For instance, no entering with shoes but cleaning socks, no eating in the room; and ensuring that it is always dusted.”
Perfect design
If you are designing your living room and want to embrace white interior design, this is what Njeri suggests.
“You can inject some more colour apart from the white to make the room lively and not boring.
“You can start with white leather coaches then to break the monotony of colours you can have a rug of a different colour and a brown coffee table.
“You can paint your walls white but then have artwork and picture frames with different colours. For a white room, I will encourage lighting that has some metallic gold in it and use neutral-coloured window sheers and drapes.
