A House of Art - 575 Wandsworth Road

At 575 Wandsworth Road, you’ll almost want to tip-toe in and hold your breath for fear of disturbing the fragile beauty of this intriguing work of art. When, in 1981, the poet, philosopher and novelist from Kenya, Khadambi Asalache, purchased this home at 575 Wandsworth Road, he found a serious problem with humidity in the dining room of the basement apartment. So he began attaching pine floorboards to the humid wall and slowly continued embellishing even the ceilings and doors of the home with refined wood carvings done by hand using pine doors, floorboards and wooden boxes that he would typically find in the trash. Today, this Georgian-style abode, transformed into a masterpiece of wood-carving, is a true gem where all the decorations on the walls, door and floors can still be seen. And then there are the rooms furnished with handmade pieces, the collection of inkwells and other refined objects, as well as the postcards and the typewriter of Khadambi himself.