Tosin Oshinowo is one of thirteen African architects, product designers, and interior designers featured on Netflix’s Made By Design. The show, which released at the end of 2021, aims to highlight the extraordinary talent coming from the continent— while also making an impact globally.

Oshinowo is featured on episode 2 in which she talks about her journey to becoming Nigeria’s ‘beach house queen,’ a nickname given to her for her work in designing some of the country’s most luxurious beach houses to-date.

Of note, is Acquabella, a home she finished in 2017. Her client asked for a bungalow-style home with major emphasis on the pool, and Tosin did not disappoint.

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The home features an outdoor barbecue area for cooking with friends, a stunning pool that extends the length of the home, 3-bedrooms overlooking the pool with the master suite looking at the ocean, and a private outdoor seating area with a unique sky view.

“Being a great designer or architect is about thinking about the experience. It’s not just about creating buildings or rooms. What aura do you create? Do they remember that when they leave? What senses are invoked in them,” Tosin Ochinowo said during her Netflix episode.

Tosin currently runs Lagos-based CM Design Atelier as well her own custom furniture brand that translates to House of Lions in Yoruba. She went to secondary school in Nigeria before going to the UK for her university and post-graduate studies. After working in London and Rotterdam, she moved back to Nigeria before opening her own office in 2012.

Her style, she says, is afro-minimalism. It’s a way for her to marry her love for clean lines and spaces with traditional Yoruba styles.

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“I believe in strong use of color. It can be a powerful thing. I embody my architecture in my real life. It’s a holistic approach.”

Tosin Oshinowo recalls her first Nigerian project in Dream Plaza in Victoria Island— it was the Café Neo coffee shop, which she ended up designing several of the locations.

“It was an interesting project because we literally only started with a logo. The owners knew they wanted it to be young, hip, and for a young Nigerian who had a bit of understanding about coffee. We were able to create something very unique, authentic, and very African. Nobody had done anything like that.”

To see more of Tosin’s work, visit her website: cmdesign-atelier.com.

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