Moments Villas Redefines Luxury Living Through Wellness, Nature and Thoughtful Design
NAIROBI, Kenya — The first thing Moments Villas does is make you pause.
Just beyond the entrance, a glass-wrapped courtyard filled with bamboo interrupts the usual progression into a home. Instead of leading directly into the main living spaces, the design draws visitors into a quiet, light-filled centre where greenery moves behind glass and natural light falls from above.
It is the first of several carefully planned encounters throughout the house — what the designers describe as a series of “small arrivals”.
That philosophy has helped Moments Villas, developed by Canaan Developers Limited, earn international recognition. In 2024, the project was named Best Residential Interior Show Home Africa at the International Property Awards, specifically recognising its interior design.
For Canaan Developers and the design team at Lehem Interiors, the name Moments became more than a title. It evolved into the central idea behind the development.
“The name Moments played a big part in our design philosophy,” says Ace Oreal, Chief Creative Director at Lehem Interiors. “The house was envisioned to host special features in every space. All these experiences create unforgettable moments.”
Designing for wellbeing
The concept reflects a wider shift in residential architecture, where luxury is increasingly measured not only by size and finishes but by how a home supports wellbeing, connection and everyday living.
At Moments Villas, wellness is incorporated into the architecture rather than added as an afterthought. Natural light, greenery, outdoor spaces and quiet areas are woven into the layout to create an environment designed to encourage residents to slow down and reconnect with their surroundings.
Located on Mzima Springs Road in Lavington, Nairobi, the development consists of four homes, each measuring approximately 5,000 square feet, on a one-acre plot.
The decision to limit the development to four villas was deliberate.
“Moments was created for the modern luxury buyer’s need to retreat after a long day and enjoy a moment of quietness, while still staying close to family life and the depth of nature,” says Yohannes Kidane, Head of Business at Canaan Developers.
According to Kidane, the objective was to create spaces that improve the experience of living rather than simply increase the amount of space available.
Nature woven into the home
That philosophy extends throughout the interiors, where architecture and nature are designed to work together.
Rather than treating interior design as a final layer, Canaan Developers involved Lehem Interiors from the early stages of the project. This allowed privacy, movement, natural light and household routines to be considered alongside the architectural plans.
“The team at Canaan Developers made it clear they were looking for a house that supports how residents connect with each other and with everything around them,” Oreal says.
The relationship between the villas and their natural surroundings is particularly evident in the courtyards, gardens and terraces.
“This project is born from the dialogue between nature and architecture,” Oreal says. “That gives Moments its soul.”
The entrance courtyard is the first example. Elsewhere, the guest wing opens onto a private garden, while the master suite features a screened balcony large enough to accommodate an outdoor massage table, creating a private wellness space within the home.
These features are not simply additions to a list of luxury amenities. Instead, they allow residents to experience natural light, greenery and outdoor living as part of their daily routines.
Kidane believes Kenya’s climate provides an opportunity for residential architecture to make greater use of outdoor spaces.
“If you actually think about it, how many countries are lucky enough to have perfect year-round weather?” he asks. “Isn’t it time our architecture allows us to truly experience Kenya the way it should be experienced?”
A kitchen designed around real life
The same attention to functionality is evident in the kitchen.
While open-plan kitchens have become a popular feature in luxury homes, they can create challenges for households that frequently entertain, cater at home or rely on domestic staff.
Moments Villas addresses this by dividing the kitchen into two distinct areas.
The first is a display kitchen designed for social interaction, complete with an island bar and breakfast nook that opens onto a small courtyard. Behind it is a second working kitchen connected to the scullery, laundry and staff quarters.
The arrangement allows residents and guests to interact in one space while household preparation and service operations continue discreetly in another.
It is a relatively simple design decision, but it reflects a broader philosophy behind the project: luxury does not necessarily mean adding more. Sometimes, it means removing elements that interfere with how a space is intended to function.
A different approach to scale
Moments Villas also takes a deliberate approach to scale.
While Nairobi’s luxury property market has often associated grandeur with imposing entrances, large volumes and double-height spaces, the designers at Moments chose to emphasise horizontal lines and proportions.
“In this project, we wanted to emphasise the horizontal lines,” Oreal says. “That’s related to luxury. Luxurious houses are horizontal, not vertical.”
Vertical elements are still used, but selectively, creating contrast within the overall design.
The main living area, for instance, extends across two storeys and opens through full-height sliding doors onto a garden terrace. A marble fireplace stretches through the height of the room, providing one of the few strong vertical features within an otherwise expansive composition.
Elsewhere, glass replaces conventional feature walls, allowing views, daylight, furniture, sculpture and greenery to become part of the interior experience.
The television is placed in a dedicated theatre, leaving the main living area focused on conversation, the garden, the fireplace and the changing natural light.
Smart-home technology further simplifies the experience, allowing doors, lighting and curtains to be controlled from a phone rather than through multiple switches.
Luxury through small moments
Ultimately, Moments Villas is designed around discovery rather than one dramatic reveal.
A visitor encounters the courtyard after entering, sees bamboo through glass, moves from the kitchen towards the garden, watches a terrace door slide open and eventually discovers the privacy of the master courtyard.
“We designed for a series of small arrivals rather than one grand reveal,” Oreal says. “Do it without emotion and all you have specified is square meters. We created different moments across the whole house.”
It is this deliberate attention to experience that earned Moments Villas its 2024 International Property Award.
For Canaan Developers, the recognition also validates an approach in which architecture, interiors, nature and functionality are considered together from the beginning.
“The best ingredient in making or designing a house is emotion,” says Kidane. “If you’re doing things with love, I think it will lead you to something that is positive as well.”
He argues that the true measure of the villas is not simply their size, but the experiences they create throughout the day.
“We are looking beyond the dramatic size that any developer can build, into the extraordinary moments the villa can give throughout the day,” he says.
At Moments Villas, luxury is therefore presented less as a measure of how much house a resident owns and more as a measure of how deliberately that space can be experienced — through light, nature, privacy, movement and the quiet moments in between.
