Tastemaker Anna Trzebinski’s New Lodge in Nairobi Is a Trendy Slice of Paradise

Trzebinski felt Nairobi lacked inspiring communal space dedicated to creatives, so she and her team converted her former family home into a gathering place that would bring together Kenyan doers, makers, and thinkers, as well as travelers from afar, who could stay on the lush property in the city’s Langata neighborhood.

Turning from dressing humans to dressing the house, she combines traditional patterns from Kenya’s Samburu and Maasai peoples, natural materials like driftwood, and European elements—say, a forest green Chesterfield chair—to create an eclectic, distinctly Trzebinski look that mirrors her fashion line. “There are many layers to everything I do. Most things are highly textural,” she says. “But it’s not all about the space, it’s also about you in the space and what that does to you. I always hope to achieve balance and harmony and a space that is inspiring to be in whilst being a very clear expression of something.”

That something is Trzebinski’s family story. She filled the house with her personal art collection gathered over her lifetime, which is anchored by works by her first husband, Tonio—a painter who was tragically murdered in a suspected carjacking in 2001—as well as pieces by their two children, Lana and Stanislaw, who are also artists. Tonio’s former studio now houses five of the eight guest rooms at Eden (the others are in the main house), with an additional Artist-in-Residence cottage rounding out the accommodations. “To tell you the story of my hotel would be to tell you the story of my life,” Trzebinski says.

Although she warmly welcomes travelers to Eden, Trzebinski is clear that Eden is not just for “heads on beds,” but rather for guests and locals to congregate with similarly “discerning and socially engaged” minds in a “very contemporary expression of Nairobi.” For casual socializing, there’s the alfresco Deck restaurant and bar, open for lunch and dinner, where she’ll often host events. She also provides guests the opportunity to explore beyond the house, tapping her network to host visits to the studios of artists, designers, and other creatives throughout Nairobi. Trzebinski also runs a humanitarian program and a sustainable investment program. “We really want to be a true keyhole oasis to enter into an authentic and vibrant city on many levels,” she says.

In opening Eden to foster the creative community, Trzebinski found the closure she needed on the most recent chapter of her life—one that she describes as magical, but marred by tragedy, between the loss of Tonio and the upheaval of the pandemic.

“It was my opportunity to finally tell the story of my family, of our lives, of our loss, of our creativity, of our collections, of our friendships and experiences, and of our identity as Kenyans,” Trzebinski says. “This was my chance to just be in the silence, no space, no time. Just create. And in the process, all was good.”